Bultaco Campera Mk Ii
BULTACO CAMPERA MK II
CYCLE WORLD ROAD TEST
Space-Age Ignition And Five-Speed Gearbox Improve A Good Handling Trail-Street 175.
OF THE NEW Campera’s personality, the most striking trait is its stability. Designed within is a gyroscopic faculty all its own. But more than that, the basic theme of the bike is balance. It succeeds beautifully in its purpose of being a good handling, but street capable, dirt bike. It exudes a sort of harmony in which everything functions together, rather than a hodge-podge of components working in only occasional consonance.
Changes on the Mark II do not amount to a mere face-lifting. They include such blessings as electronic ignition and an ultra-strong five-speed gearbox, the same as used in the 250s. Bearing that in mind, we feel obligated to be well critical of the bike, desiring to encourage improvement of what may be one of the finest machines to appear in its class.
The Campera engine has a lot of oats. Of almost square dimensions, 60.9 mm by 60 mm, the new 175 produces 16 bhp. This is just a shade less power than the earlier 250-cc Matadors had, and it seems not a bit of flexibility was sacrificed to obtain it. Indeed, this powerplant is a torquer, with gobs of it between 2500 and 5500 rpm. With excellent low speed pulling power and a five-speed transmission, the Campera spends a good deal of its running time loafing and rarely is clutch slipping necessary. Clutch engagement is rapid, however, occuring in a bare few degrees of theiever’s travel. If not wary of this, the bike will likely zoot ahead eagerly, albeit jerkily in its highish low gear.
Although starting is quite easy, we soon noticed an annoying trait. As the kick starter swings through its travel, it oftentimes is caught at its end and held down by the footpeg. Usually it can be freed by a backward kick of your heel, and if that doesn’t work, you must dismount and deliver another, more concerted kick. No doubt, the factory will undertake a program of more sophisticated therapy to cure this situation.
While the passenger’s portion of the seat is too short for extended riding, one-up accommodation is very good. The handlebar is swept back well, and, along with the long-legged peg position, allows a most relaxed riding posture. This is particularly beneficial for dirt riding, as you can move about freely in the Campera’s saddle without weight shifting lurches.
With its Pirelli street tires the test bike feels sure-footed on harder surfaces, but the smoothies are hardly the ticket for gravelly going. However, the Campera always responded predictably in spite of the compromised adhesion.
On pavement, the machine is a genuine pleasure. With such generous torque and the yogurt-smooth geaxbox, the agile Bultaco moves through traffic effortlessly. Its balance is such that the rider’s feet seldom need leave the pegs, except, of
course, at complete stop. Much of the bike’s stability can be credited to minimal high-up weight. The smallish two-gallon gasoline tank is made of fiberglass, as are the side panels, and the fenders are aluminum.
A double muffler system is used to quiet the exhaust note. This arrangement is similar to that used on the 250 Matadors, with a large main muffler mounted on the right, below the seat, and a smaller secondary silencer in front of the right rear spring/damper. The smaller unit can be quickly removed by undoing a retaining spring and mounting screw for a substantial increase in performance and noise. The machine’s top speed is about 10 mph faster, but resultant noise is sure to attract too much attention.
The brakes are smooth, progressive and entirely adequate for the Campera’s needs. While not grabby or prone to lock wheels in the dirt, they seem well capable of absorbing freeway speeds too.
The Bultaco’s suspension is very good, with one reservation: the forks leaked badly. From discussions with several Bultaco owners, the problem is entirely atypical, leading us to assume
that our bike was assembled with ill-fitting fork seals. However, oil did stay in the tubes long enough for us to form some very favorable impressions. Without being mushy, the forks float over bumps and potholes, alike. But some bottoming of both front and rear suspension occurs on heavy landings. Directional control is good, when leaned over well in a turn.
Betor five-way adjustable spring/dampers on the rear proved their mettle, always keeping the rear wheel under control. They offer a bit less than 4 in. travel.
The Campera has a Femsa transistorized system which allows the ignition to operate independently of the battery at all times. The battery can be removed and the lighting -will draw from the electronic feeder. Also, the system doesn’t use breaker points, so the engine is that much more rehable and trouble free.
While on the subject of electrics, we are obliged to mention the horn. At best, it’s capable of a humble bleat. At cruising speeds it’s barely audible to the rider, much less to an insulated, air-conditioned behemoth. The buzzer does tingle your soles through the footpegs, which may be kinky to some, but hardly compensating.
A chain tensioner, similar to that provided on the Sherpa T, serves to eliminate chain snatch and also prevents a slack chain from jumping the sprockets.
Rather than using those soft phillips head screws to hold the engine together, Bultaco has chosen alien-head fasteners. It seems manufacturers who use the soft metal phillips screws insist on installing them with air wrenches or similar tools. And, unless you have an impact screwdriver, they can seldom be extracted without thoroughly mangling them. Fortunately, Bultaco has seen fit to ignore the temptation of a cheap shortcut. Allens abound, with the side cases deeply counterbored wherever possible, so that the screw heads are protected in event of a spill, instead of being ground away.
A sturdy looking bash plate extends up as far as the exhaust port, and to the rear, as far as the footpegs. It also turns up slightly at the sides forming a thoroughly protective shield. In spite of this, ground clearance is still 10 in.
The rubber-mounted speedometer seems immune from vibration. It is easy to read even while traveling over rough surfaces, without undue needle bounce or lag.
The value of the Bultaco Campera MK-II rests in its versatility; it performs its different duties so well. While capable of sustained freeway speeds, the bike is equally at home far from any trodden path. It boasts both the tractability and ease to enchant the beginning rider, and some of the precision no-nonsense feel of a hard-muscled racer. 37
BULTACO
CAMPERA MK II
$698
