1972 Bultaco 250cc Matador MkIV Trail Bike

1972 Bultaco 250cc Matador MkIV Trail Bike
Registration no. not registered
Frame no. B-7500763
Engine no. M-7500763
One of motorcycling's many legends, the foundation of Bultaco was occasioned by the resignation of Francisco Xavier Bulto from Montesa, a company he had co-founded with Pedro Permanyer in 1945. The Montesa board wanted to withdraw from racing; Bulto disagreed and left in 1958, taking most of the racing department with him to set up a new company – Bultaco. By the spring of 1959 the fledgling concern's first machine - the Tralla 101, a 125cc two-stroke - was ready for production. Given the circumstances of Bultaco's birth, it should have surprised no one that the company began racing soon afterwards, successfully entering a team in the roadster class at the 1959 Spanish Grand Prix. Sherpa trials, Pursang moto-cross and Matador trail/enduro models followed in the 1960s.

The machine offered here is a Matador MkIV, a model designed by Luis Carreras, a gifted engineer who had left the Italian automobile industry to join Bultaco in 1969 and would be responsible for most of its subsequent motorcycles. Previous owner Michael Dawson purchased this Matador from Romero Motors in Sant Adria, Spain in January 2014. The current vendor purchased the machine at a UK auction in July 2014. Only some eight miles have been covered since its restoration. The machine is offered with paperwork relating to its purchase.