Bultaco Sherpa Model 49

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 Spanish manufacturer Bultaco produced their first off-road model, the Sherpa N (developed from the Tralla 101 road model) in 1960, but under the strict rule of Franco none of these made their way out of the country.

However, when Sammy Miller rode in the 1963 ISDT in Czechoslovakia, he had a secret meeting with Bultaco boss, Don Paco Bulto, and they agreed on the development of a new lightweight machine to replace the ageing but legendary Ariel GOV132.

Miller was invited over to Barcelona to assist in development and the first prototype machine was ready by the autumn of 1964. In November of that year, Miller signed on the dotted line for Bultaco and, with that simple stroke of a pen, effectively put the final nail in the coffin of the British-made trials machine. It is only because of his actions on that day that we now have pre-65 competitions to rule out these Spanish machines, such was their impact on the trials scene.

The first model was the radial-headed Sherpa Model 10, this being superseded by the Model 27 in 1969 and the Model 49 in 1970, both modified in line with Miller's input and now sporting a 5-speed gearbox with a beautiful spread set of ratios to cope with all types of terrain.

The machine offered here is a 1970 registered Model 49 250cc that has benefitted from many of the Sammy Miller modifications similar to both the work carried out by himself and by Dan Shorey, including a modified sump plate replacing the original tubing, a two-stage Miller exhaust and side stand (these being mods that Miller carried out – at a price – on customer bikes before producing his own Hi-Boy frame).

Said to be in good running order, the bike comes with current V5 but it is worth noting that DVLA have put the engine number down twice on the paperwork rather than printing the correct frame number, an error which can be corrected when submitting the paperwork for change of owner.