Looks sorted now: Some people like trials for some this sport is probably too slow Anyway very good that the bike is "saved" again. The dents and marks are "commen" on such an old bike as these bikes have frequently bite into stone. Thank you for the update.
thanks for the comments. it's a fun bike but i'd rather it go to someone that will bang it on rocks versus letting it sit in my garage and get ridden maybe 2x a year.
got it in Lynchburg Tn. It was a buddy of Curt Comers. Still sorting it out, hard start issue, carb seems fat on the bottom end, needs tires........
A buddy of Curt's bought it from me. I didn't have a hard time starting it but I felt like I had to clean the carb every time I ran it at all. Have fun with it. I hope to have another old bultaco someday.
Cleaned the carb, new points, runs much better now! seems to loose spark after about 15min? I need to move the condenser, and /or a new coil? looking for a new brake and shift pedal...Have magura bar levers on the way, added one "turn" of preload to the shocks so it turns better now.
Thought I'd revive a reviving thread. Back in '08 or '09, I bid on a Sherpa T o eBay thinking "it's so low I'll never win." Well, I won. Had to drive to LA to pick it up and I stored it for about a year until I moved out if Las Vegas and went back on the road. Meanwhile, I rode the bike once, gif about an hour, until it quit running and wouldn't restart. Put it in storage and went on the road. Fast forward 8 years and my brother and I signed up for a Small Engine class at the local community college. First up is the Sherpa, then I'll do my Alpina, finally finish the restoration if my '69 Ducati Scrambler. So last week I pulled it into the shop and got started. Tank was clean, carb had some residue 2T in it, which served to protect it all these years in storage. Found out why it quit: the clip fell off the float needle. Odd it was stuck closed, as that is against gravity, but oh well. Carb looks brand new. (Bing 84 28mm) Other than a small shiny bit on the needle, it looks like it was assembled yesterday. So while I'm waiting on the rebuild kit from Bing International, I started playing with the cosmetics. The tank was, shall we say, rough. But reading on a UK trials forum, someone posted that the oxidation on the Polyethylene tank responds well to sanding, I dug in. Sadly, I only had 600 and 800 grit here, from doing a headlight restore, but here what a few minutes of sanding wrought. Before: After: As luck would have it, I'm also taking a Plastics Repair and Paintless Dent Removal class, and we're doing airless and Nitrogen plastic welding right now. That polyethylene tank will respond wonderfully to welding. I'm just uncertain I can find a matching blue rod. Probably going to see if I can fix those scratches with stitch welding and, if not, use a natural rod. The only blue I've found so far is a much darker Yamaha blue. It won't look perfect, but it will be 99% better. Brought some 120 and 320 DA pads home with me so I'll finish up the tank this weekend and order a new decal st from Hugh's. I need to repaint both the side covers as well because they've been boot-worn down to the fiberglass. The PO rode this thing in classic trials a lot. PS: I ran a borescope down the spark plug hole to see how the intervening years had treated the piston and cylinder. At first I was a little bummed out to see what I thought was scoring on the cylinder wall, but on closer inspection it turned out to be cross hatching. I'm thinking the PO had redone the engine not too long before he sold it.
Hey, can anyone out there in Bultaco-land tell me what size/pitch the drain plugs-primary fill plug is? I changed all my fluids last night in class but neglected to bring a pair of calipers with me so consequently I couldn't bring any new crush washers. Need to get a new gearbox plug, anyway. One flat had been completely ground off by riding. Had to remove it with a pair of vise grips so it doesn't look pretty. The good news? After 10 years the gear lube looked like honey and the primary oil was clear as a hot summer day.
Well, tonight was the night. Got the kit in from Bing, had to make a phone call as they'd include two top ORings (1 required) and one small one. (Two required). While I waited for that I cleaned it up, fixed the broken cover on the Magnatek CDI and did the detective work on my Alpina and Scrambler. (I shelved the Scrambler project mid-way through the 12V conversion and, after 10 years, I had to refresh my memory as to where I was, what I had, and what I still needed to purchase.) Anyway, after a bit of a snafu tonight: I somehow lost the top ORing playing with the carb. Luckiliy I had a spare. So after running home to get it, mounting the tank and installing a new fuel line, it fired right up. Well, "right up" for a Bultaco that hadn't started in 10 years anyway. I think it took about five kicks. I quickly discovered the nylon banjo washer on the Bing was a mistake (proper red fibre ones on order. Bing didn't stock them) but I filled the float bowl once or twice and shut off the petcock and, in the end, almost succeeded in getting it to idle with the choke off. I'm sure on a warmer day it will run fine. It Lives!!!
In my bodywork class this morning we played with th recently aquired stock of carbon fiber and associated paraphernalia. I've hatched a plan to build a CF pan and make a CF, gel, and leather seat for it rather than buy a reproduction seat for an arm and a leg. Should be interesting. PS: The welding sticks I got weren't a perfect match. One was a little lighter, one darker. I went with the lighter one. The biggest scratches/gouges were under where the new decal will go, but the tank looks 100% better. I'll post a pic when I finish sanding, polishing, and treating it. It will pretty much look brand new, save for a few light marks where I filled the damaged areas.
I used my Sherpa 350 almost daily for two years, up till I sold it in 2013. Only short runs though, a couple of km's each. Honest to god, I never left without tools, but never ever needed them on the road. Not once. I was always leaking some gear oil when hot, chewing up sprockets an chain sliders. Vibrations got the better of the front fender mount, and tank (holes in front started cracking). As for the tank, it's a pain to keep tidy with modern fuel. Stickers peel off, paint bubbles etc. It's fuel economy with a 30 mm Keihin and a healthy jetting was ridiculous, about 10 litres on a 100 k's. Hooning around town with that 350 screaming is hard to beat though!
That’s why I elected to leave the tank bare plastic and wait until I can find a pinstriper that can freehand the logos. I also plan to drain the tank and float bowl between uses.
