scanning the Bultaco Facebook page, lo and behold, what appears but a Metisse for sale on Craigslist just a couple hours down the road right here in Florida.
With over 75 comments on the listing I did not feel confident it would still be available. But I called anyway, had a nice chat with the owner and made an
appointment to check it out the following morning.
As it turned out, the owner, a really
nice guy, was a serial restorer and collector of flat track type bikes. In
fact his OSSA Dick Mann Replica had won its class
at Riding
Into History a couple of years before. He was selling a couple of
motorcycles to fund the purchase of a vintage XR750 with race history. We
pretty
quickly recognized we were kindred spirits and commenced to
discussing the Metisse. He had purchased it as an uncompleted project. It
retained a few
period race mods, had a fresh Lynn Mobley motor, and most
other work done other than paint and assembly. The paint was done in an
incorrect green
(should be light yellow) and had been damaged by a pinhole
leak in the fiberglass tank. A few parts, most notably the front fender
were incorrect. But it was
a complete, numbers matching example, and he
thought me a suitable caretaker to finish it. We settled on a reasonable
price and I loaded it up and was off
in an hour.
an Award of Merit behind my M170 Pursang, also shown.
Given the rarity of these old bikes, a lot of time is being spent on research to determine what is correct and what I need to do to properly finish the project. In particular was determining the correct yellow color originally used. It turns out Bultaco used many Ford paints on their bikes. For the Metisse, they chose the 60's color Springtime Yellow.
Another mystery is exactly what to call this motorcycle. Bultaco has variously referred to it a Scrambler TT, Bultaco Metisse, and Pursang. I do know they came in two flavors. This one is a TT, identified by the cylinder head and 19" front wheel. It has an advertised 36H vs. 32HP for the scrambler version.
Here's a photo as purchased. One other issue is that the front fender was one intended for the 21" wheel. Sourcing a correct 19" style fender turned out to be a little challenging, but one was found. Both were painted during the refinishing process in the event a 21' wheel were to be fitted.
There were a few period modifications on the bike that I decided to retain as they are part of the history of what is most certainly an old warhorse.
The July 1965 Cycle magazine road test is here, and a copy of the original factory catalog is below.
In April 2022, after 5 years of ownership the Metisse was sold to another Florida Bultaco enthusiast who will be its caretaker of the future.