Sherpa 350

Bultaco Sherpa 350T Model 199. This is a restoration that I completed in 2011. I purchased this bike on 2nd January 2011 from The Isle of Arran. My understanding is that it was purchased new by someone from Aberdeen who was involved in the Oil Industry and was used once for the SSDT then not used for many years before it ended up in Arran. The owner was sad to see it go but had decided to sell it to make room (and provide finance) for the completion of two beautiful Honda Red Rocket Motocross bikes.

The Sherpa was in good original condition although the tank had been repainted by a previous owner. She refused to start when I went to pick her up – thought to be a faulty HT coil caused by the extremely cold weather. However replacing the HT Coil, Sparkplug and (Frame Mounted) Condensor still produced no spark so I had to call Dave Renham at Bultaco UK and ask him to post me a Flywheel Puller (Great Service as always from Dave)

With the puller and a bit of heat I soon got the flywheel off – and nothing seemed to be amiss. In fact it was like it had just left the factory – I honestly don’t think the flywheel had ever been removed before. I cleaned the points and connections popped the flywheel back on, adjusted the points and she started first kick. A quick run down the street to check that all the mechanicals were working then it was back to the garage for a full strip down. Removing the head confirmed that there was no engine wear so apart from cleaning and polishing the casings I did not strip the engine any further.

The photos below show the (mostly cosmetic) restoration that I had to undertake which included :-