The False Neutral

Bultakenstein is still a thing. I recently retired and have more time to work on it, so progress is…um…progressing. It now has a Yamaha SR250 swingarm, which corrects a bunch of the issues I ran up against with the DT175 swingarm, while simultaneously making the rear engine mount much lighter and simpler.

My approach at this point is to get the bike running and configured as a road racer. If I want to do lights and road equipment and make it street legal later on, I’ll treat that as a separate phase of the project.

— Pete

Re-thinking Bultakenstein

Progress on Bultakenstein has been fairly mired for a while now, and part of the reason is that I've incrementally lost enthusiasm for it. In an attempt to re-energize my motivation for it, I bolted up the "nice" BSA tank and exhaust, pulled it out from its back corner of the workshop, and rolled it out into the driveway to have a good look at the state of it.

That didn't really help me get motivated, because I didn't like what I saw. As it sits now, I'm just not feelin' it.

Part of the problem is the many fabrication details I'm not happy with. When I started on this in fourteen years ago, I didn't have many specialized tools, such as a welder or lathe, and I had relatively little fabrication experience. As a result, many of my components turned out too heavy, ugly, overly complicated.

However, in a more general sense, the overall proportions are pretty wonky, for multiple reasons:

- I've never liked the look of the 17-inch rear wheel; it's wimpy and out of proportion with the rest of the bike. I ended up with it only because it was cheap. Even worse, there are almost no tires available to fit it.
- The Norton Proddie seat has to go. Number plates don't belong on a street bike, and the result really ruins the bike's lines. I bought it primarily because it worked with the frame mods I'd made. Same old story: grasping for a simple, attainable solution rather than staying true to what I originally envisioned as the end product.
- I don't really like the fat Astro exhaust.

Looking at the bike now, I just see a long string of compromises. I decided to go back to my original inspiration: a big-bore version of Bultaco's final Metralla and Streaker designs, the company's only cast-wheeled, disk-braked road bikes.

I wondered what it would take to make the bike something I'd be excited about again. I considered every option, from just getting it running and selling it off as is, to going back to just the motor and frame and changing everything else. In the end, the rear of the bike is the biggest offender. I did a quickie photo-chop resolving the wheel and seat issues, and painted all nice and shiny. Yes, I think I can get excited about this.

I still don't like the pipe, but I can live with it and the cost of a chrome exhaust really is prohibitive.

I have found and purchased a GS400E/S 18" rear wheel. The tire on the one I have is over a decade old, so having to buy a new one really isn't a tragedy. I will have to re-research my seat options. Also, I'm going to trash my footpeg mounts and remake something better.

All this will add expense to an already obscene price tag for this project, but there's really no reason to go forward and end up with something I'm not happy with.

You may have heard me sing the praises of SendCutSend. Here's the latest I've ordered from them: alloy mounting adapter plates for my custom caliper installation. 3/8" thick outer, 1/4" inner. One of the nice things about SCS is that you don’t need to use CAD software; I upload 2D EPS files I create in Adobe Illustrator, and they work fine. I added the stylish lightening/accent slots and blue anodizing just because I could. —Pete

BIG NEWS!

“The Bride“ won’t be making the return journey home from The One Moto Show in Portland. Instead, it will stay in the Pacific Northwest, entering an unexpected new phase that will launch it on a whole new trajectory. (Turbocharging and fuel injection may be involved!)

Garrett had never seen The Bride in the flesh. But, over the last few weeks, getting a chance to ride it and study it up close really increased his enthusiasm about what I’ve created.

BUUUT…as the experienced engine-builder and hot rodder in our little podcast trio, he’s itching to lean on the motor a bit and turn the performance up to eleven, as well as make some possible suspension upgrades.

I am SUPER stoked about this. I will hold onto the title indefinitely, but I’m giving Garrett carte blanche to make whatever changes he wants. I view this as a creative collaboration, a sort of mechanical remix track: I’ve had a wonderful experience crafting this bike into what I felt it should become. And frankly, the final result largely exceeded my expectations. Hooray! But what now? Garrett will take my version of the bike and rework it, adding his own take on where HE thinks it should go.

I will be 1,500 miles away, and I don’t expect Garrett to provide all the minutiae of his progress and build decisions. So there may not be much to report on here, but we will update you whenever possible.

- Pete