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Budget Parts-Bin Bultaco - CELEBRATING TEN YEARS! 🎂

158241 Views 608 Replies 50 Participants Last post by  Tanshanomi
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[Not So Low] Budget Parts-Bin Bultaco

Since someone asked, "Building a bike from scratch, worth it?" elsewhere on this forum (http://www.caferacer.net/forum/general/16705-building-bike-scratch-worth.html), I thought I would start a build log on my own budget scratch build. Okay, so at this point it's not anything that could even be called a "build." It's more like "holding spare parts up to each other," seeing how they might someday be part of a functional motorcycle.



In this picture:
Frame – 1977 Bultaco Pursang 370 Mk10 Model 193
Swingarm – 1976 Yamaha YZ125
Fuel Tank – Early '60s Rex KL35
17" Rear Wheel & Axle – 1981 Suzuki GS450T
19" Front Wheel & Axle – 1980 Suzuki GS850

I also have a few more assorted smaller bits around the garage.

This all started almost six years ago with the swingarm. I saw it on eBay and I thought, "hmm, that would make for an easy monoshock conversion," So I bought it for $23 shipped, without any sort of clear use for it other than for "something...someday." I next got the matching Suzuki star-spoke wheels from two different guys locally, and they reminded me of an old concept drawing I'd briefly toyed with about 16 years ago for an old Pursang 360 parts donor...



My old Buls are long-gone, but I've been pining for another one. Once I stumbled on this late-model frame, enough of the ingredients were present for me to start envisioning a monoshock Bultaco streetbike.

Don't expect lots of frequent updates, but I'll post here as I slowly continue developing the project. Since this is strictly a toy, my cost-control strategy is to wait and slowly acquire suitable parts that show up on Craigslist or Ebay for remarkably cheap prices...but I'm already getting excited enough about this to become an impatient hunter. I currently have a line on a pretty 4-speed 250 Matador motor and a 175 Alpina 5-speed, but both are more than 200 miles away.

...patience, my boy. Patience...
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I like it with the glass trunk better than the upholstery. Needs a bit of matching front fender for balance.
That worked out well. Pretty easy fix when you have the lathe sitting there.
I agree on the seat, that the superbike finish would look good. Maybe even with a band/grab bar accent at the back along the line of the Kawasaki's
The squareness of the Nisa will go better with the tank.
I see what you mean about the bars they are pretty high at that. If you are not worrying about the total Cafe look then less wind with the larger fairing is probably the best bet. As a side note; in the real old days before clip-ons the guys used cafe bars that fit into the bar clamp but swoop down and are positioned like clip-ons. That's if you ever want to chase the look.
Easy enough to drop the windshield down on the Nisa.
Let's see it with the tank.

Looks like it could stand to sit a couple inches lower.

I guess you can't click on pictures to magnify them anymore?
You have it sitting nicely now. Good look for the bike. It's a shame about the quality, I had understood Airtech stuff was well made.
Really like the tank colour. Did you say what it was somewhere in the thread?
It turned out well for the first effort and new tools. You need to be looking for faults to find them, nothing jumps out. You are more critical because you know where to look.
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Once in place your machine work will likely never be seen again.
It's a nice looking instrument and panel. The neutral and signal indicators are clever.
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