Ossa's on the move
By TMX Archives on 30th Jul 10
THE eagerly anticipated all-new Ossa TR280i was given its official active debut last week when development rider, former World Trials Champion Marc Colomer, gave an impressive demonstration in Gerona, Spain, last week for an invited audience.
Colomer, World Champ in 1996, has been testing the revolutionary Ossa none-stop since early this year and development of the fuel-injected two-stroke has been rapid. The Ossa not only features fuel-injection but a radical laid-back cylinder, the fuel tank is mounted where the front down tubes normally reside and the radiator sits right behind it right out of the dirt, relying 100% on the fan to draw-in cooling air. The cylinder is also reversed which makes for a radical exhaust design behind the cylinder. The pioneering - for trials - two-stroke fuel injection is a battery-less Kokusan system.
Ossa, a brand new company based in Gerona, has the rights to use the iconic brand name, and claims that the six-speed TR280i is the lightest trials bike ever, weighing in at just 64.5 kilo. The radical-looking chassis is a combination of wrought aluminium and lightweight Cho-Mo steel tube.
About the only major change to the spec since it was launched to an amazed trials world at last year's Milan show is a switch to conventional Marzocchi forks rather than the USD versions. Ossa say that they still intend to go the USD route but conventional forks will remain an option. Rear suspension is a link-type featuring an Ohlins TTX shock.
Ossa claims that it remains bang on course to begin production of the first batch of what will be 1,250 units in the first year with 80% of production scheduled for export. British importer Nigel Birkett will keep us bang up to date on when the first production models are due to arrive. Birks is due to visit the factory for his first look at - and hopefully ride-on - the production version of the Ossa which he last saw in the flesh in Milan last year, next week.