Bultaco Art-Look At What You Find When You Are Cleaning!

This particular piece of industrial art appeared to me while I was performing some long overdue maintenance on my Bultaco Campera. Art really is wherever you find it. Sr. Bulto and his designers created some pieces which go well beyond what was required or needed. Other pieces, not so much, but beauty can be found through these bikes.

I had been riding the bike around the beaches and muddy flats around my home. Dirt and mud and a  mixture of sand and salt had created an exceedingly ugly coating on the front end of the bike. Maintenance had been delayed by more interesting projects, i.e. the TLR and the TY.

Luckily a lull presented itself while I was waiting for pieces to be delivered for the TY. It was an opportunity to refresh the Bully.

This is what the fork looked like before I began cleaning and polishing. It looked a lot worse than it really was. It was just a matter of applying a wire brush to the worst of it and then some sandpaper and then some metal polish...Simichrome...a German product. The fender and the fender brackets received the same treatment. And, by the way, I can see the downtube...it's on the list.

This is obviously another shot of the front hub. If you have an older bike do yourself a favor and look at the pieces closely. You will find some beautiful pieces on your old bike. Look around...you will be surprised.

TLR Exhaust Up-Date

 A month or so ago, I spent some time on this blog whining about the unsuitability of a couple of aftermarket downpipes which I had picked-up for the TLR. My complaint was that they did not fit.

As usual, especially with things mechanical, I was wrong. The fault was mine. After I had installed the WES system (which I had been using for several years) with the stock down pipe I went for several rides and a couple of weeks ago, I decided to give it another go...just to see if the new down pipe would work.

In fact the Delkevic Down Pipe installed perfectly. It has a little mounting point on the side to which a guard could be mounted. I have not seen anything which might work, but then again I have not really checked out their website. May be one of those little guards that are seen on older Triumph up pipes would work....We will see.

Just a note on the performance of the bike. It is working perfectly. The lower gearing makes it easier to get the front end up in the air to get over ledges, and the new rear Dunlop Trials tire makes a noticeable difference in rocks and deep sand. Given the problems that I have had with the TY, it is comforting to be able to go to the garage and know that I can go for a ride anytime I want....Thank you Soichiro Honda. The bike may be a little heavy, but it starts and runs every time.

Le Carburateur Diabolique...

The TY has been a source of significant frustration over the past couple of weeks. As you can see, the bike is finished, but essentially unrideable unrideable. The more perceptive among you will notice the lack of a chain, but that is not the problem.

The real problem is the carburetor. It is possessed. When I stuck the bike in the back of my garage (10+ years ago) it had multiple problems. One of the problems was that it would only run at hysterically high revs. It would not idle and it was not very interested in starting. Those same problems exist.

First I suspected a massive air leak into the cylinder. So... I removed the cylinder and applied a seal to the base gasket. I also went through the intake manifold/reed cage assembly and again I checked for leaks, and/or torn rubber in the manifold and then I applied a sealant to the gaskets and reassembled.  After all of this, there was no change...hysterical revving persisted so I disassembled the carburetor and cleaned out the idle jet and the main jet. Both appeared to be free from obstructions. I started it up again, but no change...hysterical revving persisted...something was clearly wrong, and it appeared to be beyond my limited skills.

I'm going after this problem on two fronts. First, I have a spare Chinese Mikuni carburetor which I initially picked-up off of eBay for my Bultaco Campera. Dimensionally it is identical to the Mikuni which is presently fitted to the TY (it is the original carb that came on the bike). This carburetor will be installed if my rebuild of the stock carburetor does not help. The rebuild of the stock carburetor will begin just as soon as I get the gasket/seal set from  TY Trials and my new ultrasonic cleaner. I am going to figure out this carburetor.

On a happier note, I have solved the kick-start problem, the new gas tap works perfectly and the Electrixworld ignition appears to work as advertised.

So...I am going to learn how to rebuild and properly clean my carburetor, and if I am just too thick to get that done, I will install a new carburetor. One way or another I am going to ride this bike. It is way to beautiful to set quietly in the garage.