FOUND ON eBAY

The happy owner of the Butler Tempest used in this article, Frank Delubac, tells us the history of his purchase.

“A fan of classic trials for more than a few years I was looking around eBay UK when I saw an advert for a Butler a bike that I knew nothing about. It had been restored and the advert mentioned it was similar to the DOT, James or Greeves. It had a registration document (V5). There had been no bids for the first few days and the price seemed correct.

A phone call to Stuart Brown of BPS racing informed me it was a very rare model. After he looked at the advert he called me and said ‘Frank, it’s a superb bike, and I know the seller’, he contacted him on my behalf and a few days later I became the proud owner. Stuart delivered the bike for me for the price of diesel and as he said ‘you have a very good deal’.

“Stuart collected the bike from the well-known rider Peter Salt, who rode Bultaco and Kawasakis amongst others, in the Cheshire centre. It only needed a new sump guard and side stand. Joel Corroy relined the brakes. I changed the handlebars, levers, grips and control cables. I modified a rear brake lever from a Sherpa and made some aluminium side panels. I fitted an Amal carburettor from Ossa as these are easier to tune than the original. I also decided to seal the fuel tank to protect against modern fuels, and repaint. Thanks to my friends in the French classic world (FFVE) I was able to get it registered in France. That was how the bike entered my life.”