Ariel HT5

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via : www.twnclub.ch

Here are some scans and pics from Mark Frei, who imported the only Ariel HT5 back in 1958 and was competing in trials and enduro Swiss championship.

The Ariel Trials version was developped from the Red Hunter series and was commercialised 1956-59. There were 2 versions available: HT5 with 500ccm and HT3 with 350 ccm. The weight was claimed at 132 kg (dry without liquid). This was clearly ahead of the 150kg of a 350ccm AJS. There was no lighter and more powerful 4 stroke trials bike around. Front wheel was 21 and rear 19(!), ground clearance about 22 cm.


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Bernie Schreiber

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Bernie Schreiber was the first – and, at the time of of his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2000, the only – Observed Trials World Champion from the United States. Schreiber was one of the all-time greats in the sport of trials, winning the world championship in 1979 and tallying 20 wins in a decade of competing in the world championships. In addition to his world title, Schreiber also won the U.S. National Trials Championships in 1978, 1982, 1983 and 1987.


Born in 1959, Schreiber started riding motorcycles at the age of 8. He began competing in trials at 10 and just five years later he was already the top-rated trials rider in his native Southern California. In a sport that rewards riding technique and experience, Schreiber developed a hard-charging style that proved to be evolutionary.


In 1977, Schreiber, riding for Bultaco, ventured into the world championships for the first time. His rookie season was a solid debut. Schreiber scored points in nine of the 12 world rounds and earned podium finishes in Spain and Germany. He ended the year ranked seventh in the world.


1978 was a breakthrough year for Schreiber. He won his first world championship event that year in France and went on to score three more wins to finish the season ranked third. During this period, Schreiber flew back to the United States to contest the non-conflicting U.S. National Trials rounds. He won the American title that year.


With the confidence he gained in 1978, Schreiber was confident he could win the world title in 1979. As usual Schreiber started off the year slowly in the early rounds, held in brutally cold conditions in Ireland, Great Britain and Belgium. The Southern Californian later would admit that he never quite got used to riding in sub-freezing temperatures... Read more thru tha AMA





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Bultaco Sherpa T

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Perhaps the most famous Bultaco model is the Sherpa T, a trials bike, which revolutionised the sport in the 1960s. At that time trials was almost exclusively a British sport using big heavy four-stroke machines. Irish trials ace Sammy Miller worked with señor Bultó to produce a lightweight two-stroke machine which, overnight, rendered the heavy four-strokes obsolete. This coincided with and, perhaps, stimulated the growth in the popularity of trials in Europe and later the USA, which provided a lucrative market for Bultaco in the years to come.



Bultaco's premier model in the USA, the Pursang, was an excellent handling and powerful 250 cc competition model that could readily compete in virtually any type of speed-based off-road competition. In later models this was expanded to 125cc, 360cc and 370cc Other models, such as the Sherpa T (trials), the Astro (flat tracker) and the Matador (trail bike), provided more targeted approaches to specific types of races.



Bultaco motorcycles were mainly powered by single-cylinder, air cooled, two stroke engines, but they also made water cooled versions. The rider was required to mix the oil and gasoline manually. Built in Barcelona, Spain, Bultaco motorcycles were exported throughout the world, but their largest market ultimately became the USA, allowing aspiring racers to purchase legitimately competitive motorcycles right out of the box.



Due to industrial unrest and market pressures, Bultaco production closed in 1979. The factory reopened in 1980, but closed again in 1983.



MotoGP star, Sete Gibernau is the grandson of the founder of Bultaco, Paco Bultó. Legend has it that Mr. Bultó asked to be buried "with his Bultaco t-shirt and his moustache properly waxed".