Bultaco M49 Sherpa T Restoration

[MikMan48]

Hi everyone,

I posted in the welcome area but thought I would start getting this thread caught up to where I am currently at on my restoration of my Bultaco Sherpa T 250. I have done many other restoration projects but this is my first motorcycle project

The bike was originally purchased by my late Uncle Bud on August 21, 1970 (I have the original bill) and he used it mostly as a hunting bike as he had other bikes he used in trials riding. Fast forward to while I was in high-school it turned out my science teacher was the son of the Bultaco dealer for our area and knew my Uncle well

From what my Dad told me Uncle Bud was 2nd or 3rd best in all of Ontario in numerous championships at the time. Time passed and the bike sat since I believe the 1980s. At the end of 2018/early 2019 Uncle Bud gave me the bike before he got sick, and I always told him one day I would fix it up. At that time I was 21 years old and in college and didn't have the funds or time to embark on fixing it. Due to his illness Uncle Bud's memory faded and I had his tired bike in the corner as I took car of his property/small farm and said I would fix it up. He ended up passing away in October of 2024, I left work that day and went to reflect out in the shop, and knowing that his celebration of life would be hosted within the next few days I rolled the Bultaco out and spent hours detailing it to surprise both my parents and our family

I am still trying to learn the process of this forum so I hope I added the "barn find" pictures correctly

 

And this is ready for the celebration of life

[MikMan48]

While going thru pictures I found quite a few cool ones of the Bultaco and various trips he had went on.

With the rough cleanup done I decided that I would work on the bike once I wrapped up another project I was currently working on. I would never repaint it as it is in such nice original shape, however I would tear it down and go through everything from top to bottom to make sure it was riding ready and use it as a little toy in my wood lot

The bike sat quietly under a sheet until fall of 2025, with it being uncovered to show many people throughout the year and quite a few kids taking pictures with it at various gatherings

[MikMan48]

One of the old pictures wouldn't fit in the last post, and it's the one I think is the coolest with all the bikes!

I also saw a gentleman selling repop signs on Etsy and purchased one for the shop wall