Bultaco Sherpa Shocks

[bultobob]

Hi

I am restoring my 73 Bultaco Sherpa 250, and need new rear shocks.

Looking around NJB, Betor and Falcon all supply shocks that will do. The setup and rebuildability of the Falcon shocks appeals, but realistically for me, possibly an unneccesary expense.

Does anyone have any advice or opinions on which shock would give the best performance and value for money.

Regards

Edited April 15, 2008 by Bultobob

[old trials fanatic]

Hi

I am restoring my 73 Bultaco Sherpa 250, and need new rear shocks.

Looking around NJB, Betor and Falcon all supply shocks that will do. The setup and rebuildability of the Falcon shocks appeals, but realistically for me, possibly an unneccesary expense.

Does anyone have any advice or opinions on which shock would give the best performance and value for money.

Best performance ? well depends on how sensative you are.

Value for money ? Think you need to go a long way to beat the Betors. Especially if you fall off regularly and are not expert enough to exploit the questionable "advantages" of Falcons etc. Though Falcons do have a large following on this site.

Heard some very good reports about the "Magicals" which Mick Andrews sells.

You pays your money etc etc.

Personally i think the money is better spent on a new tyre and a pair of Betors but that wasnt your question was it?

How about going to a couple of Classic rounds and seeing what the National Championship series riders choose?

Good luck

[bultobob]

Thanks for your comments, from what you suggest I think I'll go for Betors and put the money saved towards that new tyre!

[bambam_n_chunx]

I would go for NJB shocks.

I have used them in the past and they work perfectly well.

I used the middle model with thicker rods.

Also I`m led to believe if you bust one norman will sell a single which works out cheaper but dont quote me on this.

[jon v8]

The RH Betor shock on my Ty dumped all its oil after about 8 trials so I'm not too impressed.But that is one shock - they were too stiff anyway,much better with only one damping !

Think I'll go for a different make next time.

[swooshdave]

The RH Betor shock on my Ty dumped all its oil after about 8 trials so I'm not too impressed.But that is one shock - they were too stiff anyway,much better with only one damping !

Think I'll go for a different make next time.

One of my Betors won't hold gas any more.

I'd go for the Falcons because I believe they are rebuildable. Is that correct?

[alan_nc]

Interesting topic to me as I need shocks for my Model 92. So where is the best place to buy the Betors? I thought that the original Betors on the bike could be rebuilt - where can you buy kits?

Alan

[woody]

It doesn't matter which brand you go for it is pot luck whether they work how you want them to work when you get them and also whether they last for any length of time before blowing a seal.

I have a pair of Betors on my 1968 Bulto and they work pretty damn good, my mate has a pair on his '73 325 and they feel dead by comparison.

I have a pair of Falcons on my Majesty and they are probably the best twinshock shocks I've ever had, the back of the bike works brilliantly. However, they've lost their oil after 2 years and the bike isn't used every weekend. Somehow they still work well... I've 2 pairs of Falcons for my Ossa. One pair work well and have lasted about 6 years before blowing the seals. The other pair which are supposed to be an identical set-up are nowhere near as good and give poor performance...!!??

I've Falcons on my C15, work well but have blown the seals after 2 years, bike not used every weekend.

Yes the Falcons are rebuildable and on a DIY basis if you can refill them with nitrogen (air is probably just as good but you need a correct valve attachment otherwise you won't get the air to stay in when you remove the pump as you need 90psi) If you send them back to Falcon for rebuild it will be new seals and rods, not just seals and it isn't cheap. There is also the matter of turnaround time which may or may not be quick.

Rockshocks can work well but you may need to try different valving and springs from the standard set-up if you are say 14 stones or over as standard set-up has softish damping and spring rate. They are rebuildable and are easy to work on. However, they are the most expensive (discounting Falcon alloy shocks which are head-spinningly expensive)

NJB come in 3 specs, standard, expert and trickshocks, standard being the cheapest at

[swooshdave]

Interesting topic to me as I need shocks for my Model 92. So where is the best place to buy the Betors? I thought that the original Betors on the bike could be rebuilt - where can you buy kits?

Alan

I looked into getting the original Betors on my M49 rebuilt. From Hugh's it was about the same cost as buying new Betors. If I was going for originality it wouldn't have been a question.

Some original Betors can be rebuilt, although parts may be getting scarce. If they have them, Hugh's would be the place to go for kits.

Some of the old Betors can't be rebuilt.

[feetupfun]

If you do the rebuilding yourself, you can buy individual parts for Falcons and just replace what you want. That way you don't have to replace the shafts. The parts are not cheap though. I usually only replace the oil seals and the dust seals when I fix seal leaks on Falcons.

Not sure of this is the main reason for the variability in seal life on Falcons, but the Falcon seal life can be shortened if you rely on the rubber mountings twisting to provide the movement as they rotate about the mounts. They need to rotate freely on the mounts to minimise side loading of the seal/sliding bearing.

I'm happy with Falcons overall (well - happy enough to buy three sets so far) and have done back to back comparisons with the Betors that look just like Falcons and found the Betors have damping that is a bit too heavy for my liking.

[stevec]

One of my Betors won't hold gas any more.

Isn't that called flatulence?

[troutrader1]

Betors are rebuildable,

They have a clip under the alluminium dust seal carrier. anyway if you have any mechanical ability you can rebuild and better the performance of your betors with little trouble. but I am in Aust and cannot get any help from the manufactures of these shocks. I have used ATF dextron III to rebuild and nitrogen recharge, catterpillar earthmoving O'rings and have had no recalls. a shame that the company producing these shocks are not interested in refining such a good design?

[woody]

I know the older ones were rebuildable as the pair that I bought from Sammy Miller about 7 or 8 years ago were. They were advertised as rebuildable also back then if I remember correctly.

I haven't seen the current Betors but was told they are no longer rebuildable, they aren't advertised as rebuildable but that means nothing... is this incorrect then, is it the current Betors you're saying can be rebuilt? If so getting seals and O rings from local stockists shouldn't be a problem and it means the damping can be altered to suit personal preference if necessary whilst they're apart.

[dabdab]

Can anyone provide the contact details I should use to buy a pair of " Majicals". Email, web site would be good. Does Mick himself sell them

[woody]

Can anyone provide the contact details I should use to buy a pair of " Majicals". Email, web site would be good. Does Mick himself sell them

Don't know whether Mick sells them himself over here, but as they are advertised on Todotrial website, you may be able to buy them through Todotrial. If you e-mail them and ask, Horatio speaks good English so he will be ale to answer your question. The only problem is that buying direct from the Spanish suppliers means you have to pay by bank transfer usually, they don't do credit/debit cards payments or paypal.