British brothers Don & Derek Rickman were motocross champions and innovators. Their excellent-handling Metisse frames outshined the factory efforts and were made for a wide variety of four-stroke singles and twins. But the Rickmans could see that the big Thumpers were on their way out and the lightweight two-stroke was the coming powerplant. In 1964 they entered into an agreement with Bultaco: The Spanish company would provide two-strokes for the Rickmans to install in their own frames for U.K. sale, while the brothers allowed Bultaco to build a licensed version of the frame for world consumption.

The bike on auction is one of the rare 1965 Spanish Metisse models, originally powered by a 250cc Bultaco single, but expertly retrofitted after 1969 with a 500cc unit-construction Triumph twin that looks perfectly at home in the so-called Petite Metisse chassis. In 2006, the engine was overhauled and the bike received a cosmetic touch-up (repainted frame, new spokes, polished rims, hubs, etc.). It rolls on genuine Dunlop trials universal tires.

The capper is Avon fiberglass bodywork pinstriped by Von Dutch. Gas tank, seat base, tailsection and sidepanels all show the man's handiwork. The left sidepanel is signed "Von Dutch, '47-'71," signifying the year he started pinstriping and the year this Rickman's bodywork was striped. The bike is titled, currently registered and street-licensed in California.