A bargain 250
As always I read the edition 92 of OBA from cover to cover, including Rob Carmichael’s article about his youthful Bultaco adventures (“Black Bultaco Meets Black Cat”). In this article he said the 250 Bultaco Metralla was “the cheapest 250 at the time (in 1967 the Metralla Mk2 had a retail price of $642.00 in NSW)”. If my memory serves me correctly, just one year later I purchased my 250cc Jawa Californian for $495 and that was all I could afford. I don’t recall the name of the shop I bought it from, but it was a small and I believe a short-lived business; I think it was in the back streets of Ultimo, Sydney.
I am not trying to compare the Jawa with the Bultaco in anything except price, but the Jawa was ideal for the novice that I was at the time, as it was very reliable and easily maintained, despite my mechanical ignorance. Its modest performance was ideal for Sydney commuting, but still sufficient for the occasional jaunt down the highways, such as they were back then, including a couple of trips between Sydney and Melbourne. Its heritage meant that it also coped adequately with the occasional off-road run or abusive paddock bash. In 1971 I even raced(?) it around Amaroo Park in an Intervarsity motorcycle competition. I still ride this bike (refurbished & maintained, not restored) so it was well worth the initial outlay.
I reckon you hold a unique distinction in road racing a Jawa Californian. The Ultimo shop would have been Cycle World Australasia in Harris St, which were the Jawa/CZ distributors from 1968 to 1970. The business was owned by Bill ‘Tin Legs” Watson, one of the district’s “colourful characters”, and the head mechanic was Victor Hofman, who had five ISDT Gold Medals to his name as a Jawa/CZ works rider. ‚