Bultaco Lobito Mkii 100
BULTACO LOBITO MKII 100
CYCLE WORLD IMPRESSION
A Little Yellow Riding Woof
QUALITY in a finished product is the end result of continued improvement. The Spanish firm of Bultaco has illustrated this process quite well in its new 100-cc Lobito Mk II.
A case in point is the evolution of the Lobito. The first one was a play bike, pure and simple. But Lobito Mk II smacks of professionalism. The ISDT influence has rubbed off on it. It sits high on full-sized wheels. The wide, flat bars are perfect for slamming across a jolting, rocky water trap in standing position, the steering geometry always working to keep the bike upright, no matter the obstacle.
The frame is a scaled down version of the larger Matador 250. Ample gusseting at crucial stress points eliminates flex. This rigidity in frame construction gives the rider full command over rough terrain. Everyone who rode the Lobito was impressed by its willingness to smooth out rough going with a mini mum amount of effort.
The front forks have increased dimen sions, along with improved damping. They performed well aside from oil seepage past the seals. This problem did
not hamper the fork action, although it did detract from the fine appearance of the machine.
Rear suspension worked easily, and the length of the swinging arm gives added stability. The rear dampers have five load adjustment positions, to com pensate for a wide range in rider weight.
The wheel sizes used on the Lobito complement its fine steering and climb ing abilities. A knobbed 2.50-21 Metzler is fitted to an Akront alloy rim on the front, just the thing for picking your way through the tight stuff. The rear 3.50-18 "knob" of the same make provides plenty of bite on wet or dry terrain.
Chromed aluminum front and rear fenders do an efficient job of protecting the rider from churned up mud, rocks, etc. The front fender is mounted in an interesting way. Flat plates are held to the fork shafts by "U" bolts; the va lanced fender is then held to these plates by self-locking nuts and bolts.
The bright yellow color of the 1.85-gal. capacity fiberglass tank is in corporated into the glass resin, and the yellow tank offsets the black three-
quarter-length seat. The added appeal of polished aluminum and chrome blended with black enamel frame give the “little wolf” an outstanding appearance.
The footpegs are located in an ideal position to allow the rider to stand or sit with equal comfort, although the standing position allows better control in pressing situations.
Heart of the machine is a 99-cc single-cylinder two-stroke. Horsepower is rated at 10 at 8000 rpm. With a five-speed transmission to relay the power, 10 horses is ample for off-road use. There are limitations to how much a small displacement engine can do, and if the rider remembers this, the Lobito
will give endless hours of trailing fun.
Primary drive is by duplex roller chain, coupled to a multi-disc wet clutch. The transmission is adequate for a machine twice the size. In fact, that’s where it came from. The big brother Matador Mk III and the little wolf share the same robust gear train.
Power is routed to the rear wheel via a half-inch pitch chain guided by a spring-loaded chain tensioner. This tensioner has a tough resilient material bonded to it, which silently allows the chain to slip over it.
The brakes are more than enough to handle the Lobito’s 213 lb. The front drum is slightly smaller than the rear,
which is in reverse of normal practice, but a larger front brake would be an unnecessary extra on this machine.
Bultaco has employed the Spanish Amal carburetor for use on the Lobito. A 25-mm diameter throat size gives excellent response. Some of our testing took us to altitudes of 7000 ft., and even at this height no hesitation was encountered. Starting was never any problem; just one or two kicks were necessary to bring the Lobito to life.
The electrical system on the Lobito is made by Femsa. It is a flywheel magneto with an external spark coil, and lighting coils.
Everyone on the staff complimented the Lobito’s handling ability. Obviously, a lot of engineering and testing went into its background to provide a truly good off-road trail bike.
The air cleaner is under the seat. To ease access, the seat tilts back. Everything works fine until you try to keep the chrome handle that holds the seat down in its proper position. It was constantly coming loose and rattling around. This may have been a bad habit peculiar to our test machine, and was nothing serious, just annoying.
Good exhaust systems are somewhat of a problem on two-stroke trail bikes. The system has to be quiet, provide correct scavenging of spent gases, and be tucked neatly out of the way. Bultaco has successfully accomplished all these requirements, and reduced a howl to a “woof.” The Lobito system incorporates a large main muffler, with an auxiliary for additional silencing. The entire unit ties in quite neatly with overall slim design of the machine, and provides the correct expansion chamber dimensions to extract low end torque.
The Lobito fills a rapidly growing need in the trail bike market. It is for the person who has had it with the so-called “dirt bikes” that really aren’t and is ready for a truly fine handling machine. The price of $595 p.o.e. is in line with the quality Bultaco provides. [O]
