COMPETITION
The small team decided immediately that the only place to judge their production efforts was in the white heat of world championship events but first they needed a rider. They first approached the young Gabino Renales who decided to jump ship from Mecatecno as the end of his contract approached as he was inspired by the potential of the machine after early testing. The results came immediately such was the machines potential.
The 7th place finish at Bilstain in Belgium at the opening round of the world championship in 1986 was very encouraging. He continued to accumulate points in the other rounds and finished up with a solid 7th position at the final Finnish round.
At the end of the first season Renales finished 14th overall in the final standings and second in the Spanish championship for Gas Gas, they were very happy with the new machines performance. The following year he was joined by Andreu Codina who was the rising trials star in Spain. But it was still Renales who shone first with a fine 3rd place at the opening world round in Spain (won incidentally by Luis Gallach on the Mecatecno) and the magical moment at the second round in Bilstain where he won the event!
At the end of the season he moved up to 10th place in the final standings ahead of Andreu Codina who finished in 12th place. Both Narcis Casas and Josep Pibernat knew they were onto a winner.
Construction
The Comet was well thought out from the beginning and the styling even looks fresh nearly thirty years on. It stands very proud in its red and white livery which was typical of other machines of this era such as the Yamaha TY, Fantic 301 and the JCM 303. The tank-seat unit is simply magnificent flowing in a very similar way to the machines originally from the ‘Thumbs Up’ brand Bultaco.
However, as it is a one piece unit made from fibreglass, it has some issues with fragility and can quickly show cracks, chips or even worse, catastrophic failure in the event of a big crash. Fuel also evaporated from these tanks. These issues seem more common since the universal introduction of lead-free fuel spiced with ethanol.
Sitting astride the machine you immediately feel at home. The geometry looks good from the saddle although this is hardly surprising at it was defined by the master, Paxuo from Torello. The footrests seem higher than normal but this is a very 80’s phenomenon. Looking at them the footrests resemble something familiar. Yes…yes, they are from a Bultaco Sherpa! Why not recycle old stocks? They were first seen on the Merlin so why not the Gas Gas as well?
The Halley is slim and purposeful, and it looks like an easy machine to ride even if it displays its large cylinder displacement on the side panels.
Accessibility is excellent with two screws and a judiciously placed elastic band to remove the tank seat unit followed by a single screw for access to the air filter. Nothing is superfluous; the thought that has gone into the machine makes its simple to maintain in top condition when used in competition.
Gas!
Let’s go! I have, since a young age, been used to starting the 325cc Bultaco and so I gave it my usual vigorous kick – and remained suspended in the air! This beast has some compression! Its looks belies this ‘little’ Halley label. The full 327cc are very evident and certainly instil trepidation in the rider. Finally a couple of kicks later and we were off to test the machine.
I already have my memories of watching Gabino Renales firing the new machine with the strange name up the biggest of the climbs at the Belgian World round of 1986.
The excellent work of Paxau in the distribution of weight makes it feel very manoeuvrable. A real trick rider’s tool for its time! Some of the test riders of the time who really pushed the machine to its limits found that in certain circumstances it could feel light on the front wheel when riding rocks. The feel of the engine is phenomenal as there is no harsh piston-induced jerkiness as it fights to overcome the high compression, and it is much smoother than you would imagine with excellent torque. It comes as a real shock when you compare it to the super quick response of modern engines. You do not need to worry; even if its rev range seems limited there is more than sufficient power to humble the largest of obstacles.
Even the suspension, which is more supple than today’s machines, control wheel movement and give a comfortable supple response, which is again typical of how machines were set up at the time.
This is a really attractive machine, even though in Europe there are few events to ride against machines of a similar age as the air-cooled mono class has not really taken off. This machine, thanks to its rarity, has already become a collector’s item and I guess in the future we will not see too many of them being used in anger, which is such a pity.