Basket Cases

[Montesa13]

Hi Greg,

I have a TL125 black plastic inner guard it's not in great shape though but you are welcome to it if you want it? It's still attached to an old rear guard again not "concourse" condition to put it mildly but again you can have it for the price of postage if interested. I'll try to get a photo of it in the next couple of days so you can see what I'm talking about exactly and if you want it?

I'm after a chain guard to fit a M124 Sherpa T if anyone can help with that?
Cheers mate.

Montesa13

[chippy]

Hi everyone,
Montesa 13, I'm sure Greg would gladly have the parts you are offering. Greg has helped me a lot over the years, and still is, and he has a few "loan" bikes that he lends people wanting to try Trials. Thank you for offering them to him. I'm sure if he can help with your parts, he will.
Rod, are we going to see a photo of your Ossa as it stands now? I do like the before and after photos as we all appreciate the work that goes into fixing bikes. Yes I'm sure out paintworks will be outstanding.
David, I think there is going to be a nice collection of Ossa's this year. I've just got a hunch!!!
I've also come across this article regarding Ross and it might answer a few more questions.

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[Rod]

Definitely not a Basket Case as you can see, just needs a little tidy up and a new seat. The left side of the tank has copped a few hits over the years hence why I want to epoxy the inside and repaint the outer. I have new cables and brake shoes also to install. Would also like to replace some of the rusty nuts and bolts but some are very hard to find, such as the fork pinch bolts on the triple clamps which are M7 x 40 socket heads (allen key). 7mm anything is rare. Can anyone suggest where I might find M7 socket heads preferably in Australia and more preferably Brisbane?

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Here's a pic of aftermarket Kawasaki KX footpegs ('97 to '07) that fit with a little modification.

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[Trango]

Can anyone suggest where I might find M7 socket heads preferably in Australia and more preferably Brisbane?

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There is a shop in Ipswich called nutz & bolts that specialize in exactly that. It may be worth a phone call.

[Rod]

Cheers.

[David Lahey]

Here is Col Phillipson's MAR. Another Aussie with a very nice look about it

[Ross Grimsey]

RE newspaper article on page 48, i can still vividly recall the please explain letter i recieved from Sport and Road a few days later ! I never really came to grips with the Ossa it just didn't seem to suit my style of riding, The Bultaco seemed to put a lot more of your weight on your hands and i found it a lot more stable on uphill sections. The Ossa also seemed to be high compression and it would stall very un predictably at the worst possible moment of course, after complaining to Sport and Road i later recieved a letter from Mick Andrews with a list of modifications ( i still have the letter here somewhere ) these included fitting 2 head gaskets and welding a steel washer over the end of the exhaust outlet to reduce the diamiter of the outlet,( We used to smooth the power delivery on 250 ty's by fitting the muffler off a JC registerable model ) i never tried the mods as by this time i had had a gutfull of driving the back axle out with a sledge hammer after every practice session as the axle would bend. At my own expense i had the rear hub modified to accept a Yamaha CT1 axle which was a good deal thicker and it used to bend as well ! The paint used to blister and fall off the tank as the fibregass was porous and the petrol fumes would come through ! With hindsight i guess they did have some good points i just can't think of any at the moment. One thing i do remember, Geez that Bultaco felt unbelievable when i got back on it ! The thoughts expressed here are just my own experience with that particular model, The Ossa marque has a long and glorious history in trials so i am sure they could be fettled into a competitive bike and some of the Ossa's i have seen on this site just look superb !

[Rod]

Hi Ross, great to hear such things from the horses mouth. I know other great riders from your era weren't overly impressed by the Ossa either.

[Rod]

Ross, was that the end of your partnership with Ossa? Sounds like it would have been.

Did you end up going overseas and riding the SSDT?

[Joe Henderson]

Hi all,

There is a common thread running through the Ossa derision.

It concerns the 350 and 310 MAR Ossas (White/Green and Green/Black both.) which, in my experience, were not a patch on the 250.

This includes the orange and yellow grippers - 250 good, 350 bad.

Much the same as the 250 and 350 Monoshock Yams and exactly like the early 250 and 325 Bultacos.


I bought a brand new model 151 325 off Sammy miller and it was crap within a fortnight. " Wont plonk, wont go up hills" as Dave Thorpe said when I complained to him at the Hoad Trophies trial that my identical bike to his "Works" 151 325 was a pig!

This was while watching Mick Andrews and Mart Lampkin swoop up and down the wet and greasy chalk hills of Hampshire while I could hardly find enough grip to get to the section begins cards.

I chopped it in for a new 250 Ossa Mar and never looked back.

Happy days,

Joe.