• Only 198km covered since restoration was completed
• Much originality preserved
• One of the very best examples
The Background
The Spanish may never have had much of a motor industry, but when they put their mind to building vehicles, they couldn’t half do a good job. Glossing over Seat, car enthusiasts need look no further than Pegaso to see an array of exquisite machines which, in engineering and aesthetics, were more than a match for the best 1950s Italian coachbuilt efforts. On the motorcycle front, there was Montesa and then Bultaco.
Francesc ‘Paco’ Bultó was responsible for both marques. He left Montesa in 1957 over a disagreement about the company’s racing programme and established Bultaco the following year to concentrate on competition. Although it did build bikes for road-racing, it was off-road bikes for which Bultaco would gain a lasting reputation.
One of its most famous was the Sherpa T trials model, which was developed in the 1960s when trialling was still an almost exclusively British sport. It was developed with the aid of celebrated Irish rider Sammy Miller, who rode the two-stroke Spanish upstart to victory in the Scottish Six Days Trial in 1965, 1967 and 1968 and won the European Trials Championship in 1968 and 1970.
With other riders, Bultaco claimed the European Championship a further seven times and the Scottish Trial four times throughout the 1970s. The Sherpa’s fame spread internationally, and it became one of the most popular trials bikes in Europe and America, regions which previously had not had much interest in trialling.
This bike was in Britain at least as early as 2017, when it was owned by a gentleman in Newark-on-Trent. Its condition testifies that it has evidently been the recipient of a high-quality restoration at some point in the recent past.
The vendor bought it early in 2021 as the latest addition to his small collection of classic motorcycles, all of which have been kept in concours-standard condition. On purchasing the bike, he proceeded to register it with the DVLA for road use. It is with some regret that he has taken the decision to sell his collection, although not too much as the reason for it is to make room for a Jaguar XK120.
In addition to the newly-issued V5, there are documents detailing the Sherpa’s registration and several documents issued by the Bultaco Club UK, including a certificate of authenticity issued in April, 2021.
There are some scans from a Bultaco technical book outlining the specifications of the 1976-1977 Sherpa T 350 (Model 183), and an invoice from In Motion, the Surrey-based motorcycle trials specialist incorporating Bultaco UK. The purchase from In Motion included the Bultaco Workshop Service Manual for All 5 Speed Models, produced by Bultaco UK, which the new owner should find very useful.
Without hyperbolising unnecessarily, we believe this could be the best example of a Bultaco you will find in Britain at this time outside of a museum. All trials bikes went through a period of rough usage early in their lives, so the fact that this looks factory-fresh tells us it has been restored in the past. We do not know when, but we would imagine it was only within the last few years.
The restoration appears to have been done to the very highest standard, with an excellent paint finish showing no signs whatsoever of deterioration. The black vinyl seat is as close as anything gets to being perfect, and was most likely reupholstered during the restoration. If the bike had been ridden in anger, it would have taken its toll cosmetically on the frame, but that looks as if it were brand-new, too.
The wheels are almost certainly original, as the patinated Akront decal shows its age, but the tyres appear to be brand-new. Speaking of originality, we are pleased to note that the Sherpa has not been over-restored, and those parts of the bike which remain in bare metal, such as the headstock, boast a beautiful light veneer of patina.
On a thorough examination of the bike, we were only able to identify one fault, which is that there are some cracks in the rear light lens.
Having seen this bike run, its mechanical condition appears to match its exemplary cosmetic condition. It idles beautifully, with a steady and consistent tickover. Given how comprehensive the restoration appears to have been, and the fact that there are only 198km on the odometer, we believe it is very likely that the Sherpa benefitted from an engine rebuild and mechanical overhaul as part of its restoration. Certainly, all the mechanical parts are remarkably clean and free from oil drips, so it looks to be very well sorted.
Since the Sherpa has not been put through an MoT test, we are unable to vouch for the efficacy of its brakes, but the general high standard of all other aspects of the restoration makes us believe that it would sail straight through the test whenever it might be presented.
Trialling, for a long time, was a strictly British pastime. Given that it mainly consists of riding a bike slowly through wet, ankle-deep mud, it is perhaps not hard to see why, but Bultaco came along and changed all that. The Sherpa played a pivotal rôle in the sport, turning it from a British eccentricity into a global phenomenon enjoyed by names no less significant than that of Steve McQueen. Of course, the fact that it won the European Championship nine times and the Scottish Six Days Trial seven times hasn’t harmed its reputation, either.
Sadly, cultural changes – video games, social media and whatnot – mean that the far more visceral, challenging and noble sport of motorcycle trials is no longer the major phenomenon which once it was, but it does still benefit from a dedicated enthusiast following in Britain and around the world. Perhaps most significantly, the Land’s End Trial has been staged by the Motor Cycling Club every Easter weekend since 1908, and that’s just the kind of exhilarating experience where this Bultaco would feel right at home.
The only question is, when a bike’s been restored as well as this, is it too nice to go crashing through muddy sloughs and up rocky outcrops? We’ll leave that for you to decide, but at least if you do get cold feet about taking the Bultaco off-road, you know it’ll look great mounted on your living-room wall…
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1976 Bultaco Sherpa T 350
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