One of the most critical items on any off-road bike is the tires. A good set of tires makes and average rider like me ride somewhat better. Of course I don't mount a brand new set of tires every time I go riding. In fact some semi-worn tires will outperform brand new tires in the right conditions. Since knobby tires don't grip rocks and roots as well as a trials tire, off came the knobbys and on went a set of trials tires. The front is a Mitas 2.75x21 and the rear is a Michelin X1 (tube type) 4.00x18.
Next came moving the front fender down to just above the tire. This may not seem like such a big deal, but the low-mount fender actually makes it easier to aim the front tire. At first I fabricated a set of mounting brackets from 1/2x1/8 aluminum stock and mounted an aluminum front fender that I scrounged out of a pile of Bultaco parts a friend had in his garage. This looked okay, but I knew that the aluminum fender could easily get mangled and really wanted to use the plastic front fender that I had use during the initial restoration. Unfortunately I couldn't get the correct bend on my homemade brackets.
After getting the front fender sorted I scrounged a used pair of Hebo aluminum trials bars. These bars worked better for the stand-up riding position, but they were quite low and I'm fairly tall. Renthal made a pair of Vintage Trials bars, but I decided to hold off spending the cash and went with the Hebo's.
At this point I figured things were good enough to at least try my first trials event, but along the way I came across a used Sherpa-T slimline tank and seat pan. The tank needed some fiberglass work as did the seat pan, which was broken off and needed new foam and a cover. This tank was actually in better shape than the e-Bay Alpina tank the bike currently sported. So I repaired the fiberglass, sanded the tank and painted it with some red and silver spray paint I had laying around. I also added a black pinstripe between the red and silver. Too bad I didn't look closer at the tank. Once I mounted it on the bike, which required cutting off two ears on the frame, I filled it with gas and watched as gas poured out the bottom all over my garage floor. Over the years gasoline left sitting in the tank had eaten through the tank bottom. Always, and I do mean always, drain fiberglass fuel tanks after you're done riding. Particularly if you're using pump (ethanol) blend fuel. So off came the tank while I did more fiberglass work and sealed the tank using Caswell Sealer (same stuff I used on the e-Bay Aplina tank). Once that was done the tank went back on and I crossed my fingers as I poured more pre-mix inside. It held!
Next I turned my attention to the seat pan. Actually I used my friend Bob Young, who owns Burnt Hills Upholstery in Burnt Hills, NY, for help with that. At the time Bob just happened to have a Model 92 Sherpa-T in his shop and he used the seat pan from that bike to repair the half a seat pan I had in fiberglass. Bob also cut some foam and fitted a new cover onto the seat. It actually looks pretty darn good, especially considering he did all that work for nothing... Well maybe a few beers here and there.
Next came moving the front fender down to just above the tire. This may not seem like such a big deal, but the low-mount fender actually makes it easier to aim the front tire. At first I fabricated a set of mounting brackets from 1/2x1/8 aluminum stock and mounted an aluminum front fender that I scrounged out of a pile of Bultaco parts a friend had in his garage. This looked okay, but I knew that the aluminum fender could easily get mangled and really wanted to use the plastic front fender that I had use during the initial restoration. Unfortunately I couldn't get the correct bend on my homemade brackets.
After getting the front fender sorted I scrounged a used pair of Hebo aluminum trials bars. These bars worked better for the stand-up riding position, but they were quite low and I'm fairly tall. Renthal made a pair of Vintage Trials bars, but I decided to hold off spending the cash and went with the Hebo's.
At this point I figured things were good enough to at least try my first trials event, but along the way I came across a used Sherpa-T slimline tank and seat pan. The tank needed some fiberglass work as did the seat pan, which was broken off and needed new foam and a cover. This tank was actually in better shape than the e-Bay Alpina tank the bike currently sported. So I repaired the fiberglass, sanded the tank and painted it with some red and silver spray paint I had laying around. I also added a black pinstripe between the red and silver. Too bad I didn't look closer at the tank. Once I mounted it on the bike, which required cutting off two ears on the frame, I filled it with gas and watched as gas poured out the bottom all over my garage floor. Over the years gasoline left sitting in the tank had eaten through the tank bottom. Always, and I do mean always, drain fiberglass fuel tanks after you're done riding. Particularly if you're using pump (ethanol) blend fuel. So off came the tank while I did more fiberglass work and sealed the tank using Caswell Sealer (same stuff I used on the e-Bay Aplina tank). Once that was done the tank went back on and I crossed my fingers as I poured more pre-mix inside. It held!
Next I turned my attention to the seat pan. Actually I used my friend Bob Young, who owns Burnt Hills Upholstery in Burnt Hills, NY, for help with that. At the time Bob just happened to have a Model 92 Sherpa-T in his shop and he used the seat pan from that bike to repair the half a seat pan I had in fiberglass. Bob also cut some foam and fitted a new cover onto the seat. It actually looks pretty darn good, especially considering he did all that work for nothing... Well maybe a few beers here and there.
Left side of the Sherpina following Stage One. 
Right side of the Sherpina Following Stage One. Note the stock Alpina tank and seat in the background.At this point the Sherpina was ready for her shakedown trial, or so I thought. Let's just say that riding a vintage bike in a modern trial is exercise in futility. On top of that the bike was geared way to high, the clutch was way to stiff and I had no clue what I was doing. It was a good thing the kick-start lever popped off, a common problem with Bultacos that use a clip to retain the kick lever. This led me to Stage Two.
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