Once a smaller carburettor was put on, it was much more manageable for me. “I struggled to ride it really and then dad and I learned the bike could have potentially been a specially-built one to be used by Vic Allan. With around 25bhp on tap at 10,000rpm from its 51.5mm x 60mm engine, it was a little peaky, as Damon confirmed with his memories of the original machine in 1973. The Pursang quickly improved, becoming less ‘Rickman’ and more ‘Bultaco’ along the way, so by the Mk2 it was properly a Bultaco and, by the end of 1971, when the Mk5 was introduced as a production bike, it was the market leader in style and performance.
However, when Bultaco got the bike it became ‘pursang’, which means ‘thoroughbred’ and, naturally, as both words were used as names the first letter was capitalized. Looking at definitions of words, the French ‘metisse’ translates as ‘mixed heritage’ and relates to the number of parts that were used to create the Rickman machines and it sounds more classy than ‘bitza’. The Pursang range was developed from machines built by the Rickman brothers, who worked closely with Señor Bulto and from their efforts came the Bultaco Metisse, which became the Pursang Mk1. What Damon was bidding for and raced in 1973, was a Bultaco Model 89 Mk5 125cc Pursang, a genuine UK machine for the new thing of schoolboy MX, which had moved on apace from the Bantams that were the first bikes to be used. A Bultaco won the world trials title nine times between 1968. Bultaco added other models, such as the Metralla, Frontera and Lobito and it enjoyed continued success in both racing victories and bikes sales throughout the 1970s. He continued: “I raced one just like this in 1973 and that sort of connection always stays with you and I started thinking ‘I wonder if there’s one out there…’ Next thing I knew I was bidding on it.” The Alpina 250 was only offered from 1971-74 with sister Alpina 125, 175 and 350 models available in 19. “To be honest I doubted my sanity at buying it when the delivery wagon turned up and unloaded it,” he grinned while showing me a picture of what was dropped off. Looking at Damon’s superb little 125 Pursang it is hard to believe what it was like when it arrived at his house. Of course, when you make your purchase via an internet auction site, sometimes you are surprised by what turns up. Whatever the case, and for Damon Wood, it is the latter of these reasons, we seek out the object of our interest. To a greater or lesser degree all of us in the classic world tend to look back fondly on the bikes we liked a while ago, or the bikes we were impressed within a particular period – it could be because we wanted one and couldn't get one or perhaps it is because we had one and regretted selling it, or perhaps a particular model was part of our growing up.
When you visit the National Motorcycle Museum you can take in a good selection of motocross, trials and enduro motorcycles.
Though the Bultaco brand is still out there, actual factory production for Bultaco and Montesa ceased around 1983.
#1973 bultaco pursang 125 plus
Most Pursangs were 250cc machines but 125, 250, 360 and 370cc displacements were available over the span of the model’s production, plus a works 400. By the mid-1970’s the traditional “unbreakable plastic” fenders became factory stock.įrom the beginning, piston-port timed engines, by 1979 the Pursang Mk XII had adopted reed valves like most of its competition. This proved to be very fragile stuff so was often replaced by Preston Petty’s aftermarket parts. Noted for their unique style among collectors, Model 48 and Model 68 Pursangs, aka “Box-Tails,” also on display here at the Museum, made use of fiberglass for major body components.
#1973 bultaco pursang 125 pro
Jim Pomeroy, champion motocrosser, made the name Pursang famous with his wins in AMA Pro Motocross, but also in the Spanish Motocross GP in 1973. He not only became the first American to win a Gran Prix on a Spanish bike, but also the youngest rider to win a World Championship Motocross Grand Prix and the first rider to win this type of event in his debut race! Bultaco made the best of it and in 1975, the 360cc “Pomeroy Replica” was in the Bultaco line-up.
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