Bultaco
Built to go
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| Industry | Motorcycle |
|---|---|
| Fate | dissolved |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Defunct | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Barcelona, Spain |
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Key people
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Francisco Xavier Bultó |
| Products | Bultaco Tralla 101 (1959) Bultaco Sherpa (1960) trials bikes Bultaco Pursang (1965) Bultaco Metralla Bultaco Alpina Bultaco Frontera Bultaco Mercurio (1960) Bultaco Matador Bultaco Astro Bultaco El Montadero Mk II Bultaco El Tigre (Other Models) Bultaco Streaker, Bultaco Mini (mini-bike), Bultaco Lobito, Bultaco Pomeroy - others by model number, also see Spanish Page for other details . |
| Website | www |
Bultaco was a Spanish manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles from 1958 to 1983. In May 2014, a new Bultaco was announced, and the company will be selling electric-powered street motorcycles from 2015. The R&D department will be based in Madrid while the factory will be located in Barcelona.
The origin of the Bultaco motorcycle company dates back to May 1958. Francesc "Paco" Bultó was a director of the Montesa motorcycle company founded in 1944. After several years of steady growth and road racing success, in 1957 Montesa moved to larger facilities. The move was protracted, disrupting production and was followed by a downturn in the Spanish economy. This slump brought to a head disagreements between Bultó and the other senior director Pere Permanyer. As an economy measure, Permanyer (the majority shareholder) felt that the company should withdraw from racing. Bultó, the driving force behind the racing program and responsible for much of the company’s technical expertise was vehemently opposed. Failing to reach a compromise, Bultó decided to leave Montesa to concentrate on his other business interests. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of Montesa's racing department left shortly afterwards as well.
The suggestion to form a new company is said to have come a few days later when Sr. Bultó was invited to a meeting by several of the former staff of Montesa's racing department. Keen to return to racing, they persuaded him that their greatest hope lay in forming a new company. Setting up shop in very primitive conditions at an old farm owned by Bultó, things developed quickly. On March 24, 1959, Bultaco held a press day and launched its first bike, the road-going 125cc Bultaco Tralla 101, named after a Spanish word for whip. Just two months later Bultaco entered its first Spanish Grand Prix taking seven of the first ten places.
"Bultaco" comes from combining the first four letters of Sr. Bultó's surname with the last three of his nickname "Paco". The name was a suggestion of one of Bultaco's premier racers, and close friend of Sr. Bultó, John Grace from Gibraltar. CEMOTO is an acronym for "Compañia Española de Motores". The other part of company logo, the "Thumbs up" symbol, came after Sr. Bultó witnessed British motorcycle racer David Whitworth giving the signal to his pit crew to signify that all was well. Sete Gibernau used to have this on the back of his crash helmet when he raced MotoGP.
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Wikipedia