Build a Bultaco TSS from scratch

[spartanman]

Originally Posted by blaine.hale

This guy had a 34mm mikuni on it (you can see in the pics.)

So it does. I really like double tube frame. I had to shoehorn a big K&N filter against the single seat tube on mine.

Good luck with it all.

[blaine.hale]

I'm scheduled to pick up the Bandidos on Easter Sunday.
Guess you guess will get treated to more pics after that. I'm actually going to use almost everything on the bike for the racer. The forks will need modifying, brakes will need some adjustments, clip ons, frame reinforcements etc etc.
Woooo! This is all starting a lot faster than I imagined.

[PSchrauber]

Originally Posted by blaine.hale

I'm scheduled to pick up the Bandidos on Easter Sunday.
Guess you guess will get treated to more pics after that. I'm actually going to use almost everything on the bike for the racer. The forks will need modifying, brakes will need some adjustments, clip ons, frame reinforcements etc etc.
Woooo! This is all starting a lot faster than I imagined.

So you will take the original Bultaco brakes, as I know they tried to develop their brakes and did make som noticable improvement but still even the later brakes are ... well ... I like Bultacos very much but the truth is the truth ... crap.

I'am very lucky that my Bultaco has the theoretical maximum speed of 90km/h or 55 miles/h down the hill and with wind from behind. Still I would guess I need twice as much of braking distance on the street as if I would have bad maintainced Grimca hubs mounted but my Sherpa is a trials machine so there is no need.

Maybe there are steel liners inside I do hope so for you if not ... there is a swap available maybe Bultaco did here too some improvements as they did to the engine comparement, this will be interesting.

The forks look nice, hopefully they are still straight? If not this will cost some money but the difference between stanchions that are only 2mm out of straight to a pair that is really straight and with fresh + polished chrome is worth the money. If you need new and probably also progressive springs and adjustable preload Magical offer this feature very recommended in my personal view.

Looking forward to the next steps, well done so far.

[jcf]

Looking forward to watching this project develop.

The brake thing - As far as my Metralla and I relate it to my early 911 - a lot of people say they are less than adequate - but they didn't say that back in the day.
They are very nicely matched to the machines performance level and were by all reviews impressive back in the day - "...braking performance is exceptional" (Cycle World Jan. 1964) and "You can bring it to a dead stop from 30mph in 27 ft." ( from a 1965 print add).

Of course compared to today's standards they are not so great, but if you ride the [old] machine you got instead of the way you would a modern machine they are plenty adequate.
When used as a control tool they are not so aggressive as to kill momentum and give really nice feedback and allow subtle modulations.
- And that for me is what is so cool about these old momentum machines - the feeeeeeellings.

Here's a pic of my birthday present to myself and my M8 to hold us over till Blaine's project gets off the ground.

[PSchrauber]

Very cool race bars!!!

To the brakes, - again, here I'am probably a little bit blinkered from my personal experience,
comparing the rear brake blaine.hale showed us here:



To the brake of mine, (before rebuild):


The set up looks likewise beside the actuating through wire and through rod at the Bandito.

After rebuild the brake plates:


When mounting I found out they did not work at all, they where sliding so much I could not even turn the wheels, these are NOS brake pads! I chalked them, put them in again and found out that they where slide nearly everywhere:




I then gave them away to the shop that mounted the complete brake plate with the brake pads mounted to a shop and they turned them down:



So they do really fit now to the drum of the hub:




As you see I did everything possible to get them perfect adjusted, still the braking power is not very high ...

When looking at a Metralla I at least see that the front brake is cooled and have double action, the rear brake has only single action but should have a double pin for each brake plate when I remember right ??? With the double pin
you have the advantage that the brake plates will have better contact to the hub.



What would be an improvement too would be to mount steel liners inside the hub instaed of the brittle chroming shown in the pic above, this will improve braking too, (again I have no clue what Bultaco mounted inside the Bandito brakes ... )

Will be interesting to see ... looking forward to pics of the parts.

[blaine.hale]

Picked up the bikes today. The complete one goes to a silent buyer. I get the parts bike. Basically I get all the major components for my TSS vury vury cheap.










Here's what I get to work with. I knew it was seized, getting into this, but I didn't know it was this bad. Turns out it seized juuust below the exhaust port opening and the exhaust port was left uncapped and it was thrown outside. Plenty of dirt crust and critters in there. Cleaning it won't be so bad but I'm pretty sure that cylinder will need to be bored a size over once I get it unstuck. I'll probably let it sit in marvel mystery oil for a week or so then approach it with a mallet and piece of wood. The Amal carb has been pulled and is soaking in pinesol to be swapped out on the other bike for a mikuni.
The frame is rather rough too. Hopefully once it's chemical stripped and blasted, it won't be pitted. I COULD have asked for better but I make do with whats put on my table :)

[PSchrauber]

Wow, looks nice and ... well ... pretty used too.

There are different rims mounted? Have you made a decision here, I personal would take low bead rims out of aluminium from Morad (former Acront), these are lighter.

A close pic of the drumbreak surface of the hubs would be nice too.

To the deassembling of the engine, to fill the piston / cylinder combo with WD40 or something better for a week or so is a good idea, I would then first try with heat, heating up the cylinder, then I would only try pushing not using any punch force. If this does not work, rebuild a plug, take out the ceramic stuff, weld a grease nipple to the plug and then use a grease gun, works very nice and you will have the piston out without damages.

Maybe the piston is different to any standard Bultacos you knows ... ?

[blaine.hale]

Doh!
Don't suppose anyone has a spare 360cc, center port bandido cylinder do they?

[stainlesscycle]

that'll buff right out.

[lemieuxmc]

LA sleeve, they do stuff like that.

[darmst6829]

Originally Posted by blaine.hale

Doh!
Don't suppose anyone has a spare 360cc, center port bandido cylinder do they?

J.B. Weld!

[stainlesscycle]

i bet lynn mobley has a nos sleeve for it. i got a rare sleeve last year from him... if he does, it will be cheaper than la sleeve.

[blaine.hale]

Originally Posted by stainlesscycle

i bet lynn mobley has a nos sleeve for it. i got a rare sleeve last year from him... if he does, it will be cheaper than la sleeve.

He said "no chance!"
This is going to be a nightmare haha.

[Abdelhub]

man that broken liner is heartbreaking....keep up the good work though....

wonder if a 360 frontera or 360 pursang cylinder would slip in.....you would lose the center port but keep the gear driven bottom end....

Mike

[stainlesscycle]

call up la sleeve. i'm guessing $200ish and they got it. or you could get a universal fit, and have your cylinder guy cut/port it etc. you have enough of the old sleeve to get a port map.