Way back when, in the mid-70's, Terri and I trekked out to Cairo, IL and bought a modified Bultaco Metralla for a few hundred dollars. I began converting it into an Isle of Man replica, but got caught up in the Porsche world. Years later I still longed for a Metralla. In the fall of 2002 I found one on ebay. It was in Canada, it was not cheap, I had never bought anything so expensive, sight unseen on ebay. But I wanted this bike, sucked it up, hit the bid button at the last second and voila, I owned it.

Getting the bike here was another first, dealing with customs, brokers, delivery companies, and all that. Finally it arrived, just in time for Christmas and it was all I could have wanted. Not really a total restoration; it had a fresh repaint, nice alloy polish, rebuilt motor, etc., but retained all its original components.

This particular bike is a 1971 European model Metralla Mk.II. The Mk.II is generally considered the peak of Bultaco's road going motorcycles. They were the first geniune 100 mph 250cc bikes and won the production lightweight races two years in a row at the Isle of Man. The European version is identified by a tool box replacing the oil tank and manual pump, the lower handlebars, and the more compact headlight and mounting ears.

It's seen here at Riding Into History in 2003 with the team of judges that selected it as the Best European Classic. It was also selected as the Peoples Choice winner, which was a very pleasant surprise as that generally goes to the bigger, flashier bikes. I guess the Spanish sense of style and charm won people over.

 

In 2005 the Metralla was used as a centerpiece at a fancy charity ball. Today it resides comfortably at our in-house museum.

 

A couple of pages on the metralla from a period Bultaco catalog.