Bultaco Astro 250
As featured in the June 2001 Vintage Views
Don Miller of Metro Racing in Bristol, Pa., is the proud owner of this beautiful mid-1970s Bultaco Astro flat tracker. Afficionados of the Spanish marque don’t refer to years of manufacture, so in Bul-speak the machine is powered by a Model 195 250cc engine, built by the legendary Woody Kyle.
“I’m very proud of Woody’s motor,” Miller says. “It’s awesome, especially the way it pulls off a corner.” It’s fitted with a 44mm Mikuni carb, ceramic-coated Jemco pipe, Magura hydraulic clutch which Miller helped R&D for Magura, K&N air filter and a Hugh’s Bultaco folding shift lever, not to mention the WKR internal trickery.
The chassis is stock, with 35mm Ceriani forks, Grimeca brake, Works Performance shocks, Sun rims, Goodyear DTII tires and Magura throttle.
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Miller built a number of the bits himself (and offers some of them on the side for sale). Among them are a kick plate to keep the rider’s steel shoe from banging up the frame, adjustable-preload fork caps, chain tensioner, folding brake pedal, carb overflow can and bike stand.
The level of detail is fantastic, and nowhere more so than the bodywork. It’s stock Bultaco, painted by Miller in candy-apple red, pearl white and gold-leaf striping. At the back end of the tank, as if they were tucked between the tank and seat, are three $100 bills. Yes, they’re real, glued into place, and they pay homage to Miller’s hero, Evel Knievel.
“I tore the bottoms off and stacked them up when I went to buy something,” Miller says of the partial bills. “They just counted them and dropped them into the drawer. Evel Knievel is big on that; he used to glue the whole things on the tank of his Harley XR. I could only afford half of them. They’re real—if you look you can see the watermark and all.”
The seat isn’t a vinyl reproduction; it’s “fine Corinthian leather” left over from a Bugatti automobile that a friend of Miller’s restored.
The Bul was formerly ridden by Rusty Rogers, and Miller has owned it for about a half-dozen years. He races it in AHRMA events, as well as AMA District 6 and 7, and indoor races. He runs 11Y, because Don Castro sent Miller a set of his old number plates when Miller provided Castro with a machine to go vintage racing. The Castro plates are safely on display at home, but the number lives on.
Miller restored cars and motorcycles for 20 years before he and his wife, Peg, purchased Metro. The company offers what Miller says is the largest selection of motorcycle-logo products—more than 70 different logos on everything from racing jerseys to Zippo lighters.
