A Metisse the Hard Way

A METISSE THE HARD WAY

GEORGE MARTIN

THERE IS, it turns out, more than one way to build a Metisse. The "easy" way is to pull out the old checkbook and send off to the Rickman brothers in England and they will mail you one (1) Metisse frame kit into which you can stuff the engine of your choice with, hopefully, only a minimum of hacking and bending.

Robert Sand of San Bruno, California, took the other route. He built his by removing the engine of his 1965 Bultaco Metisse moto-cross and installing a 1961 Triumph 500cc power plant. Sand, who is a plumbing contractor and president of San Francisco’s Bay Cities Motorcycle Club, originally planned the machine as a winter project.

“I finished it in about a month, though,” he says. “When I get going on something, sometimes I just hate to stop. I’d work till all hours on it. The frustrating part was when I’d get as far as I could go until some part that was being made was ready.”

Sand obtained the engine from Munroe Triumph Motors in San Francisco. Originally purchased at a police auction, the engine was a little battered on the outside but mechanically sound.

“They weren't sure what shape it was in inside,” Sand says. “It must have been stolen in early ’62 though, because when I took it apart the inside was nearly brand new. It was probably knocking around in someone’s basement until the police got it.”

Sand left the engine standard except for boring it .040 over and converting the ignition to 1962 specifications (energy transfer rather than battery). Motor mounts were made of 1/4" aluminum, and Sand made extensive use of spacers in the installation so he could change the position of the engine once it was in. The engine fit beautifully, though, and the spacers turned out to be unnecessary. The rear chain even lined up properly.

The seat and rear fenders are Bultaco,

but the gas tank was made for Sand by Custom Plastics. It is very similar to the original, but the deep gas sump in the Bultaco tank is eliminated to clear the rocker box covers of the taller Triumph engine. Because the Triumph uses a larger chain than the Bultaco, a new rear sprocket was fitted. The oil tank is also custom made, but it will have to be altered, since the rear wheel scrapes it under hard acceleration.

Although there are still a few bugs to be worked out, Sand is very pleased with his creation.

“I’m even a little leery of it,” he smiles. “It has all sorts of power (he estimates the weight at about 240 lbs.) but I worry about riding it hard. I guess I just don’t have enough confidence in my own work.”