Pic of the day: Vintage Ossa 250 cc monocoque

Spanish motorcycle brand Ossa is undergoing a revival, starting with a new Ossa trial bike released this year.
While the brand seemed to be history, there is plenty of past experience and pedigree to work with, as seen in this lovely little Ossa 250 cc bike which finished third in the 1969 World Championship.

It was famous for its revolutionary monocoque chassis, which never really impressed the big players, though.

The Ossa 250 cc monocoque was designed by Eduardo Giró, son of founder Manuel Giró, and had single cylinder, two stroke rotary valve engine and six-speed gearbox producing 30 hp.
While not a power machine, the magnesium chassis meant the bike weighed a full 20 kg less than its Japanese competitors, and with rider Santiago Herrero, the Ossa team soon had a few grand prix victories under its belt.

The 1969 championship saw the Ossa team leading going into the final race but a crash meant they couldn’t take the title.
More success came in 1970 when the Ossa team led again, but a fatal crash at the Isle of Man TT took the life of Herrero, and the team withdrew from racing permanently.

Currently the Ossa revival sees a new trial bike in production ready for August, and another off-road model which will be presented at the 2010 EICMA show.
The Ossa TR280i shows that the brand has lost none of its innovative capabilities in the intervening years, and we’ll be interested to see what else the company can come up with in the future.