I recently was approached by a gentleman who said he had without knowing bought Sammy Miller's first Sherpa T Bultaco . Later when he grew suspicious of  his bikes history he went to great lengths to discover the truth and to authenticate his bike as the real deal. The story is very very interesting and should give all those who think they have a special bike ,  hope of discovering its heritage .

 

This exact motorcycle changed the history and entire course of our sport . The previous heavy four stroke British Trials machines were unfortunately made redundant almost overnight , by this Bultaco , which heralded the start of the Bultaco and Spanish Trials trials invasion. Simply put ...this bike gave reason for the bike class  and term "Pre 65" .

 

You can read about the detail of this bike and the story of the investigation to find the truth , here on my hobby web.

 

http://www.retrotrials.com/the-actual-bultaco-that-changed-the-sport-forever.html

 

Ray Haslam used to ride a very early Sherpa back in our early Surrey Schoolboy days, wonder if he still has it?

Fascinating story, thanks for putting it together in your usual comprehensive way.

Seems incredible that this bike disappeared into anonymous obscurity until this owner bought it.

Brilliant story. Sammy Miller is a legend and so is this bike.

Forks are different in the photo of Sammy riding the bike in the article to this one

Yes . As we all know Sammy is restless and constantly changing one thing after another after another . Even much lesser riders change forks so its a given that Sammy would be tinkering with this and everything else ... continually.

This is exactly the sort of bike our new class at Peak Classic Trials Club is set up to cater for. Perfect example of the ethos of the Forgotten Era class 

Joners has a number of interesting bikes and all beautiful. 

Yes Bezaboy. He has some nice old bikes.

Yes old trials F. Slowly but surely the World is moving on .I don't know anything about British 4 bangers and the time will come when the little niche I love so much had been forgotten also (Not for a long while yet though) ... sob sob. .... Look what you've made me do !!!. I've got all soppy lol.

I know where there is a good old bulto like that for sale. PM me and I'll forward a number. He's not online to my knowledge.

Fantastic news.That makes a lot of sense. Someone asserted on this forum before that SHM's original 669NHO was an M4 not an M10.

 

Does anybody else notice in the article how much lower the front of the engine sits in that frame compared to a prod'n M10? The engine is tilted noticeably downwards at the front.

Edited November 23, 201510 yr by jc2

Hi Guy's.

 

You know the story now?

 

Well just a recap.

 

Before Sam decided to do anything about the approach from Bultaco, he came along to a back alley in Banbury to try the machine below.

 

This was Dan Shorey's play toy for the winter months to help him keep fit.

 

We did a lot on this Sherpa N to try and and make it better has  a one day trials machine.

 

However there were a lot of faults with the bike and the gears that have been mentioned were a pain at braking and I seem to remember a special set was sent to try and solve the problem.

Wheel clearance and mud blocking was a problem as were the forks.

 

But the silencer was the biggest pain, in the end we cut it in half and removed most of the internals.

 

Anyway Sam must have thought that the machine had potential because he signed on the dotted. and the rest is history.

 

Charlie. 

 

Thank you Derek and Charlie for that information. Ive read your posts about 30 times trying to glean as much as possible . Its very interesting and adds meat to the bone , from people right there.

 

So a sneaky Bulto first competitive ride out for Sammy. Impossible today ..but these were different times.

 

"This was Dan Shorey's play toy for the winter months to help him keep fit.

 

We did a lot on this Sherpa N to try and and make it better has  a one day trials machine.

 

However there were a lot of faults with the bike and the gears that have been mentioned were a pain at braking and I seem to remember a special set was sent to try and solve the problem."

 

Was Dan a Bultaco sponsored rider then to get these parts ?

Was he predominantly a motocross riders or .... ?

Were many others of these Sherpa N's imported ?

 

Im guessing Sammy got a big head start on modding ideas with Dan's bike then

Hi Guy's.

 

Hi GG.

 

Yes in 1962 going forward Dan Shorey was a "Works" racer for Bultaco and was on very good terms with the family.

 

And was the first to ride the 196 cc Race bike, that was instigated by Ken Martin. This was a Kart engine, And don't forget that these Kart engines were the biggest earner for Bultaco at the time.

 

Regards Charlie.

I love this old bike history. Charlie and Deryk thanks for sharing what you guys know. I know Sammy's museum would like another biography completed in the colour / photo magazine style of Sammy's bike collection book. It's because the Mick Walker (RIP) which I really enjoyed in their opinion just isn't that visually appealing. There's also the challenge of getting Sammy sat down long enough to get any useful information. He's always thinking of a bike that needs mending . I suppose there's a mountain of work to complete always there.