Setting up shop in very primitive conditions at an old farm owned by Bultó, things developed quickly. Keen to return to racing, they persuaded him that their greatest hope lay in forming a new company. Bultó was invited to a meeting by several of the former staff of Montesa's racing department. The suggestion to form a new company is said to have come a few days later when Sr. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of Montesa's racing department left shortly afterwards as well. Failing to reach a compromise, Bultó decided to leave Montesa to concentrate on his other business interests. Bultó, the driving force behind the racing program and responsible for much of the company’s technical expertise was vehemently opposed. As an economy measure, Permanyer (the majority shareholder) felt that the company should withdraw from racing. This slump brought to a head disagreements between Bultó and the other senior director Pere Permanyer. The move was protracted, disrupting production and was followed by a downturn in the Spanish economy. After several years of steady growth and road racing success, in 1957 Montesa moved to larger facilities. Francesc "Paco" Bultó was a director of the Montesa motorcycle company, founded in 1944.
Finally, the outstanding feature of this Bultaco is the signature on the petrol tank, that of Sammy Miller, whose name is inextricably linked with Bultaco having developed and successfully ridden the Sherpa trials model.The origin of the Bultaco motorcycle company dates from May 1958. The Pursang has been in a private collection since 2011 and importantly, the chassis and engine numbers are matching, something rarely found with classic competition bikes. It has the standard five speed gearbox and weighs just 98.5 kgs dry. It has been completely rebuilt and now benefits from the fitment of Dyno Power electronic ignition. This Pursang Mk 9 dates from 1976 and features a 250cc single cylinder motor producing 34 bhp. The Pursang achieved great success accumulating thirteen Spanish Motocross Championship titles in addition to seven in France, four in Great Britain and one in Italy. With the following year's Mk 6 version, the range had expanded to include 175cc and 200cc versions too and the Pursang had become the world's best selling motocross machine. Initially only available as a 250, by the time the Mk 5 was introduced in 1971 there were additional engine options of 125cc and 350cc.
The new model was named the Pursang 'thoroughbred' in French, on account of its being manufactured entirely by Bultaco and despite their agreement having been broken Don Rickman gave the Pursang his seal of approval, successfully racing examples over several seasons. The agreement was curtailed in 1967, with the Rickman brothers unable to keep up with demand for their Metisse machines and so Bultaco introduced their own, simpler frame with a single down tube, as opposed to the duplex arrangement of the Rickman design. Unfortunately, there were soon reports of the Spanish frames breaking as they were made of tubing inferior to that of the Reynolds 531 specified by the Rickman brothers. The Rickman brothers built machines for the UK market while Bultaco built those to be sold elsewhere. The result was the 250cc Bultaco Metisse which made its debut in 1964 and which was also known as theMestizo -the Spanish translation of Metisse, meaning 'of mixed blood'. Despite his misgivings Don won the race and an agreement was reached whereby the Rickman brothers would build their own chassis to house the Bultaco engine. The brothers liked the engine, but not the chassis. The story of Bultaco motocross machines starts in 1960 when company founder Francis Xavier Bulto engaged top British riders, Derek and Don Rickman, to try a 175ccTrallaspecial he had prepared for the Circuit de Pedralbes. 1967 saw the introduction of Bultaco's famous Pursang motocross model, which continued in production until 1981 with the ultimate Mk 15 edition.
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