Bultó's surname with the last three of his nickname "Paco". "Bultaco" comes from combining the first four letters of Sr. Just two months later Bultaco entered its first Spanish Grand Prix, taking seven of the first ten places. On March 24, 1959, Bultaco held a press day and launched its first motorcycle, the road-going 125cc Bultaco Tralla 101, named after a Spanish word for whip. Setting up shop in very primitive conditions at an old farm owned by Bultó, things developed quickly. Keen to return to racing, they persuaded him that their greatest hope lay in forming a new company. Bultó was invited to a meeting by several of the former staff of Montesa's racing department. The suggestion to form a new company is said to have come a few days later when Sr. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of Montesa's racing department left shortly afterwards as well. Failing to reach a compromise, Bultó decided to leave Montesa to concentrate on his other business interests.
Bultó, the driving force behind the racing program and responsible for much of the company’s technical expertise was vehemently opposed. As an economy measure, Permanyer (the majority shareholder) felt that the company should withdraw from racing. This slump brought to a head disagreements between Bultó and the other senior director Pere Permanyer. The move was protracted, disrupting production and was followed by a downturn in the Spanish economy. After several years of steady growth and road racing success, in 1957 Montesa moved to larger facilities.
Francesc "Paco" Bultó was a director of the Montesa motorcycle company, founded in 1944.
Though the Bultaco brand is still out there, actual factory production for Bultaco and Montesa ceased around 1983.
Most Pursangs were 250cc machines but 125, 250, 360 and 370cc displacements were available over the span of the model’s production, plus a works 400.
By the mid-1970’s the traditional “unbreakable plastic” fenders became factory stock.įrom the beginning, piston-port timed engines, by 1979 the Pursang Mk XII had adopted reed valves like most of its competition. This proved to be very fragile stuff so was often replaced by Preston Petty’s aftermarket parts. Noted for their unique style among collectors, Model 48 and Model 68 Pursangs, aka “Box-Tails,” also on display here at the Museum, made use of fiberglass for major body components.
Jim Pomeroy, champion motocrosser, made the name Pursang famous with his wins in AMA Pro Motocross, but also in the Spanish Motocross GP in 1973. He not only became the first American to win a Gran Prix on a Spanish bike, but also the youngest rider to win a World Championship Motocross Grand Prix and the first rider to win this type of event in his debut race! Bultaco made the best of it and in 1975, the 360cc “Pomeroy Replica” was in the Bultaco line-up.