Ignacio Bulto - an exclusive and fascinating interview about the Bultaco and Merlin days
Thank you to Josep Argerich for his help
Now this first thing to tell you is that this is a superb , detailed and revealing interview about the highs and lows of the legend that is Bultaco.
Then we move onto the days after Bultaco when Merlin motorcycles was created.
I had been trying to meet Ignacio Bulto for about 6 years due to me fondness for the Merlin brand of motorcycle. Merlin were a small but exciting Catalan company producing some of the most exciting Trial bikes of the 1980's. The trouble is that if you dont have the contacts , you just cant get close. Once you have the key contact , the door opens to them all. For me former Ossa and Merlin factory rider ,Joan Freixas now working at Jotagas was the key. He made it all possible. Thank you Joan.
I had been told by Joan that Ignacio loves to talk about the moto and after a few emails had been exchanged between Ignacio and myself a date was set for October 2012. We met at Ignacio's apartment in a very affluent district of Barcelona. This was the apartment he bought after he got married when he was aged about 25 years. This was the apartment he lived in when he worked for Bultaco and Merlin. I'm sure a lot went on here. The twin aspect property was immaculate and classically decorated. As i traveled up the lift to the Bulto door , it was quite surreal that the journey to find Ignacio was coming to an end.
This is a captivating and engaging interview and one that will drag you in ,lock stock and barrell , like it has me and everyone who has read it. If you have any love and interest for these motorcycles the time will be lost but it will have been well spent.
There are great stories here that bring to life the great days of Bultaco .
Now this great interview and document was only captured by me. The real reason for its success was because Ignacio gives so much in answering the questions. He tells everything and captivates his audience. He is an intelligent and very charming man who is very eloquent and well groomed.Ignacio Bulto is still passionate about motorcycles .The day after my visit with Josep Argerich Ignacio was riding in a rally on a Husqvarna . He was very excited about this and loves the feeling of being on a motorcycle. The Bulto family eat sleep and breathe motorcycles. He loves them and was introduced to them by his father whom he loved to much. He loved the opportunity to talk about the bikes , the company and the family days.
There are some Spanish names which i will have spelt wrong. In the fullness of time this will be corrected It makes superb reading and i hope you enjoy it as much as i have.
This is typed word for word , as it happened - .
Then we move onto the days after Bultaco when Merlin motorcycles was created.
I had been trying to meet Ignacio Bulto for about 6 years due to me fondness for the Merlin brand of motorcycle. Merlin were a small but exciting Catalan company producing some of the most exciting Trial bikes of the 1980's. The trouble is that if you dont have the contacts , you just cant get close. Once you have the key contact , the door opens to them all. For me former Ossa and Merlin factory rider ,Joan Freixas now working at Jotagas was the key. He made it all possible. Thank you Joan.
I had been told by Joan that Ignacio loves to talk about the moto and after a few emails had been exchanged between Ignacio and myself a date was set for October 2012. We met at Ignacio's apartment in a very affluent district of Barcelona. This was the apartment he bought after he got married when he was aged about 25 years. This was the apartment he lived in when he worked for Bultaco and Merlin. I'm sure a lot went on here. The twin aspect property was immaculate and classically decorated. As i traveled up the lift to the Bulto door , it was quite surreal that the journey to find Ignacio was coming to an end.
This is a captivating and engaging interview and one that will drag you in ,lock stock and barrell , like it has me and everyone who has read it. If you have any love and interest for these motorcycles the time will be lost but it will have been well spent.
There are great stories here that bring to life the great days of Bultaco .
Now this great interview and document was only captured by me. The real reason for its success was because Ignacio gives so much in answering the questions. He tells everything and captivates his audience. He is an intelligent and very charming man who is very eloquent and well groomed.Ignacio Bulto is still passionate about motorcycles .The day after my visit with Josep Argerich Ignacio was riding in a rally on a Husqvarna . He was very excited about this and loves the feeling of being on a motorcycle. The Bulto family eat sleep and breathe motorcycles. He loves them and was introduced to them by his father whom he loved to much. He loved the opportunity to talk about the bikes , the company and the family days.
There are some Spanish names which i will have spelt wrong. In the fullness of time this will be corrected It makes superb reading and i hope you enjoy it as much as i have.
This is typed word for word , as it happened - .
The Bultaco factory Sant Adrià de Besòs Spain - Ignacio Bulto interview
The Interview
In the kitchen - making coffee and having a chat
I love to talk about motorcycles. I still have motorcycles. I hope this week end to go on a rally with some friends on
the road bikes. My friends lend me a new Husqvarna. The very latest with the BMW engine that has the twin cylinder. I am very anxious to test this.
My wife she is in Marracesh.
Juan Freixas was testing every single bike that come out of the production line, you know to get them ready for the customer. He is very good at listening to the engine and very special for the product finish. Juan Freixas started at Merlin like a rider but like a pilot he was very good but not enough to be champion. He was very good but he did not have that little bit. Then he started working at the factory. We talk to each other but not very often. I know that he was working with Tarres for the new bikes with the new bikes that are made in Alcaniz.
I took Ignacio a china Mug displaying many of the old English marques, such are AJS, Norton ,BSA and others and we joke that it is strange to think that his father and Bultaco helped to close these motorcycle companies. Ignacio said, no, really, he didn’t help to stop. It was evolution and there was a thought around to trials trying to improve. I remembered when Sammy came to San Antonio with the Ariel GOV132. It was unplayable that thing, impossible to ride. Not one section with the bike. It was terrible. I was 12 or 13 and he let me ride his bike. I was stuck on every rock and section. It was terrible this bike. I had my Sherpa and I could pass no problem. It was so heavy. I told Sammy you are the greatest champion with that bike as the sections it is impressive to ride with this bike. It was a road bike.
Lluis Gallach was also my rider. He was a very very good rider, really good and he had what a good trials rider needs. A very good mind and very professional.
Equipped with frothy coffee we Ignacio , Josep and myself go to the gorgeous Balcony
My Interview with Ignacio Bulto on this twin aspect balcony, of his first floor apartment in Barcelona.
I got married in 1977 and have lived here from 1978.I lived here for the Merlin years. That was a great adventure.
You were part of a large family, tell me about your childhood. What do you remember of your childhood?
My childhood was fantastic, it was very, very good. My father was a very enthusiastic person, he had a great characteristic and was able to take out of any person the best of that person and minimise the wrong things about that person. With all his onus, he had a very personal and careful relationships. He put me on the world of the motorcycle without forcing me, just making me to love the motorcycles and he started like every child with the cycle and i remember I was very small I remember my first motorcycle was really a cycle that was very well done. I remember this cycle but I do not have this now .It is really a pity I didn’t keep it. It was a Montesa Brio 91. It was made in wood with cycle pedals and I remember that I was very worried with that, as I loved so much that cycle. But it was a disaster that cycle, the weight of the whole thing was enormous and I couldn’t even move it. I had another cycle that I could go on and I was thinking this is so lovely. Why doesn’t my wood cycle work like a normal cycle. That is an old memory. I was aged 4 years old at this time, this was at the farm.
In the kitchen - making coffee and having a chat
I love to talk about motorcycles. I still have motorcycles. I hope this week end to go on a rally with some friends on
the road bikes. My friends lend me a new Husqvarna. The very latest with the BMW engine that has the twin cylinder. I am very anxious to test this.
My wife she is in Marracesh.
Juan Freixas was testing every single bike that come out of the production line, you know to get them ready for the customer. He is very good at listening to the engine and very special for the product finish. Juan Freixas started at Merlin like a rider but like a pilot he was very good but not enough to be champion. He was very good but he did not have that little bit. Then he started working at the factory. We talk to each other but not very often. I know that he was working with Tarres for the new bikes with the new bikes that are made in Alcaniz.
I took Ignacio a china Mug displaying many of the old English marques, such are AJS, Norton ,BSA and others and we joke that it is strange to think that his father and Bultaco helped to close these motorcycle companies. Ignacio said, no, really, he didn’t help to stop. It was evolution and there was a thought around to trials trying to improve. I remembered when Sammy came to San Antonio with the Ariel GOV132. It was unplayable that thing, impossible to ride. Not one section with the bike. It was terrible. I was 12 or 13 and he let me ride his bike. I was stuck on every rock and section. It was terrible this bike. I had my Sherpa and I could pass no problem. It was so heavy. I told Sammy you are the greatest champion with that bike as the sections it is impressive to ride with this bike. It was a road bike.
Lluis Gallach was also my rider. He was a very very good rider, really good and he had what a good trials rider needs. A very good mind and very professional.
Equipped with frothy coffee we Ignacio , Josep and myself go to the gorgeous Balcony
My Interview with Ignacio Bulto on this twin aspect balcony, of his first floor apartment in Barcelona.
I got married in 1977 and have lived here from 1978.I lived here for the Merlin years. That was a great adventure.
You were part of a large family, tell me about your childhood. What do you remember of your childhood?
My childhood was fantastic, it was very, very good. My father was a very enthusiastic person, he had a great characteristic and was able to take out of any person the best of that person and minimise the wrong things about that person. With all his onus, he had a very personal and careful relationships. He put me on the world of the motorcycle without forcing me, just making me to love the motorcycles and he started like every child with the cycle and i remember I was very small I remember my first motorcycle was really a cycle that was very well done. I remember this cycle but I do not have this now .It is really a pity I didn’t keep it. It was a Montesa Brio 91. It was made in wood with cycle pedals and I remember that I was very worried with that, as I loved so much that cycle. But it was a disaster that cycle, the weight of the whole thing was enormous and I couldn’t even move it. I had another cycle that I could go on and I was thinking this is so lovely. Why doesn’t my wood cycle work like a normal cycle. That is an old memory. I was aged 4 years old at this time, this was at the farm.
Paco with Ignacio in the denim shirt at San Antonio . Bultaco
Were you born at farm San Antonio?
No, In Barcelona, not at the farm. At this time, people in Spain, everyone have the birth of their children at home
What year did your family buy the farm?
My Grand Grand Father buy this farm Antonio and my father was passed it and inherited it
Which of your brothers and sisters did you spend most time with?
I spend a lot of time with many of them but mostly with the similar ages to me. My father marry pretty late at this time, he was 36 and then he had very 1 year in between 3 girls, myself and 2 more girls. I had a lot of relationship with my 5 girls. With the other 4 boys that came later I had less of a relationship with them. I still have a good relationship with them but I don’t have so much of a relation with them as they were so much younger but on the other hand I have been Spanish Champion in rallying with my 2nd youngest brother Alvaro. Rallying in Spain some time ago was run in teams of two and my team mate was Alvaro, my brother. It was a very funny time
No, In Barcelona, not at the farm. At this time, people in Spain, everyone have the birth of their children at home
What year did your family buy the farm?
My Grand Grand Father buy this farm Antonio and my father was passed it and inherited it
Which of your brothers and sisters did you spend most time with?
I spend a lot of time with many of them but mostly with the similar ages to me. My father marry pretty late at this time, he was 36 and then he had very 1 year in between 3 girls, myself and 2 more girls. I had a lot of relationship with my 5 girls. With the other 4 boys that came later I had less of a relationship with them. I still have a good relationship with them but I don’t have so much of a relation with them as they were so much younger but on the other hand I have been Spanish Champion in rallying with my 2nd youngest brother Alvaro. Rallying in Spain some time ago was run in teams of two and my team mate was Alvaro, my brother. It was a very funny time
Paco Bulto - Ignacio Bulto interview
Your father, what was his character like?
He was working very much but on the other hand he was a tremendous family man. He loved the family and he loved it almost as much as the motorcycle so he was a real motorcycle follower. He was a successful entrepreneur . He was an enthusiast. He loved the family and was a very enthusiast of the family. He was an enthusiast of the motorcycles. He was an enthusiastic entrepreneur and he knew how to take out the best things from his team so he transmit a lot of emotion and passion . I think this was his characteristic. He was a leader and people follow him but he was not a leader. He was not a dictator, he did not impose nothing, he was just convincing. He just convinced people and they followed him because they feel very well at his side.
At what age did you live at the farm?
I have never lived at the farm. I live here in Barcelona.I live at C/ Josep Bertrand. I went to school here about 100 metres away at the Sant Ignacio College . My father only lived at the farm at the end of his life when Bultaco closed. Before that we were living like a family in Barcelona and we were going to the farm every holiday and every weekend. We live a lot at the farm but not like a central home.
He was working very much but on the other hand he was a tremendous family man. He loved the family and he loved it almost as much as the motorcycle so he was a real motorcycle follower. He was a successful entrepreneur . He was an enthusiast. He loved the family and was a very enthusiast of the family. He was an enthusiast of the motorcycles. He was an enthusiastic entrepreneur and he knew how to take out the best things from his team so he transmit a lot of emotion and passion . I think this was his characteristic. He was a leader and people follow him but he was not a leader. He was not a dictator, he did not impose nothing, he was just convincing. He just convinced people and they followed him because they feel very well at his side.
At what age did you live at the farm?
I have never lived at the farm. I live here in Barcelona.I live at C/ Josep Bertrand. I went to school here about 100 metres away at the Sant Ignacio College . My father only lived at the farm at the end of his life when Bultaco closed. Before that we were living like a family in Barcelona and we were going to the farm every holiday and every weekend. We live a lot at the farm but not like a central home.
The Bulto home in Barcelona. Ignacio Bulto interview Bultaco
Looking towards the Bulto home in Barcelona. Ignacio Bulto interview Bultaco
The park being the Bulto home in Barcelona. Ignacio Bulto interview Bultaco
What age did you leave home?
When I get married at 25 to my wife Matilde Marta. She has a name a little a bit like a spy because it is Mati Mata. Mati for Matilde and Mata is the surname. Before I leave home I was always travelling to the competitions so did not spend much time at home anyway.
Did your father come from a big family?
Yes, but not as big as his one, as we were 10 brothers and sisters of my father. My fathers family had 8 brothers and sisters. My mothers family was 14 so big families.
And it was a wealthy family?
Oh, it was good .They had a good life and had industry in Vilanova i la Geltrú . That was Fabricas Marques that made textiles sheeting and cloth
When I get married at 25 to my wife Matilde Marta. She has a name a little a bit like a spy because it is Mati Mata. Mati for Matilde and Mata is the surname. Before I leave home I was always travelling to the competitions so did not spend much time at home anyway.
Did your father come from a big family?
Yes, but not as big as his one, as we were 10 brothers and sisters of my father. My fathers family had 8 brothers and sisters. My mothers family was 14 so big families.
And it was a wealthy family?
Oh, it was good .They had a good life and had industry in Vilanova i la Geltrú . That was Fabricas Marques that made textiles sheeting and cloth
Paco Bulto - Ignacio Bulto interview
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Paco Bulto - Ignacio Bulto interview
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