scot taco

Thanks for the reply Spark2.I thought it was probably as good as the other two in it,s own way.I would like to find a running fixer-upper,but I don,t see them for sale very often in these parts.

Just curious how the 247 Cota stacked up against the other brands from that time? They sure are a pretty bike!

Thanks for all the information from everyone.

Where do I buy a good set of trials bars that are with a 6 or seven inch height or does anyone make risers for a TY250A? I would prefer that they had little or no sweep back.

I forgot that I wanted to add to what OTF said.I have watched my classic trials training video by Mick at least ten times and one of my favorite parts is watching him ride that rigid,I think Bantam,around that rock section.It is easy to see how he got his nickname!

Thanks for the replies.My lower clamp does step down.They look like the same forks that my old model 92 had.I guess for now I will just disassemble them for cleaning and inspection. What is a good weight fork oil and how much? I weigh about 165lbs.

Yes I would have to agree with Woody.I just about lost my manhood from the tank of my ossa pennine last year and blamed it, at first,on the stock shocks,but looking back I,m sure it was more my lack of proper technique in getting over the log.There is also I guy that rides our vintage class on a bone stock ty250 who is a senior expert in the modern class. I,m sure could beat a bunch of the modern bikes with his TY as he rarely takes a dab. It is easy to get carried away about wanting to build a trick bike when looking at all of the beautiful ones on the web.I guess I just want my bike to work as intended in pretty much tip top stock form.I agree with an article in CDB by Don Morely.I wouldn,t want sections to get too crazy for twin shocks because the bikes are too tricked out.One of the attractions of twin shock class is the fact that I can probably improve and do it well enough to have fun and still be in one piece for work on Monday.

My 199a has a set of older forks on it with the tapered fork tops and no pinch bolts on the top triple clamp.Is the dampening system going to be much worse than the stock 199 forks? I,m guessing that it might be.What would be the best upgrade I could do to these forks?

I learned to ride on a TL125 and have had various twin shock trials bikes over the years,but never really trialed seriously.I,ve done maybe 7 or 8 trials in the past 15 years.I have never thought that the suspension was real important on my trials bikes.I want to get a bit more serious about it (twin shock) so I,ve been trying to learn as much as possible. I saw the two Santigosa Classic trials clips today and noticed the black Sherp T. I,m sure a lot of it was the rider as he seemed to be very good,but it looked like his Puma Sherpa worked really well,especially the suspension in the rocks.It seemed to me to work better than most the other bikes. Oh,and for those who may not know it,when your throttle is stuck put your gloved hand over the exhaust end and this will choke it off and kill it! I sadly know from experience that the fellow that slapped the hand of the guy reaching for the plug wire did him a big favor!

Thanks for all the info gents! This site and all of you are a huge help.

That would be enough to ruin your day! I,ve read that they only made 700 and something so I was curious as to how many might have made it here.It.s a pretty neat old bike,but I am kicking around trying to trade it for a MAR.

Thanks Colin for the great pics.I had to disassemble the bike today so I could cut the swingarm bolt out.When I removed the end silencer I noticed something loose inside rattling around.I wasn,t sure if I was going to cut it apart,but now I am and your pictures are a big help.I would assume,from what I,ve read,that it would be the perforated tube thats come loose,but it sounds like it,s in the end like maybe a baffle plate. Where did you buy the new perforated sheet? I,ve never seen that before.

In my opinion he is the best!!

Yes,the way it,s presented by OTF the Yamaha definitely wins!!! I hope Mick will forgive me. I must add though,very nice Ossa OTF!

Thanks for the clip of Eddy.I have never seen him ride and that was beautiful! That Honda would be a nice one to add to the dream collection.

Thanks for all of the feed back. I thought that being both developed by Mick that they would be pretty comparable.My friend that sold me the TY250A now has a TY250C and says that he maybe prefers the power band of the A. We are both bottom of the rung intermediates so maybe the A model is easier to ride. I also have a 1970 Plonker that I rode in a couple events last year.While not as good as the TY,I always get a kick out of riding it.The motor is a real tractor and runs like a watch and yes the brakes are pretty bad.I have recently purchased a Bultaco 199a that may prove to be harder to ride than the TY for my ability,but I,m in it to have fun more than anything and the two bikes that I most wanted back then were the Sherpa T and MAR. I would probably have to sell the TY to help get a MAR,but that is a hard choice because the TY is like old faithful or a timex.It,s nickname is Old Yellar! Another point against selling it for a MAR is the fiberglass tank on the MAR.I have had only marginal success with Caswell. Thanks again! Scott

Just wanted an opinion from someone who has experience on both of these bikes.I have a TY and would like to find a MAR and just wondered how they compare.While on the subject,was the 350 MAR better than the 250?

Thanks Woody,I did find more helpful article.

Thanks Bondy,it,s good to know that I can have it done if need be. Thanks pschauber for the pics and details on how to do it.I will probably try and do it myself to save $,especialy knowing that I could send it out if I screw it up.I do a lot of welding at work and I have a mig welder at home so I think that I should be able to do it.The tricky parts would maybe be not getting things too hot when welding and getting the packing in correctly.

I have read that one of the things that they did to help keep the factory bikes in top tune was to keep the silencer properly packed.I don,t see any way to do this unless it was cut open.Is that what they did? I haven,t had mine off the bike yet,but I,m guessing they are talking about the end silencer/exhaust piece and I,m just curious how to repack it if thats possible or even necessary?

Hi Doug, The trials in Tilton is part of our NITRO series also.It,s about 3.5 hours for me.If it,s a free weekend work and family wise I,m going to try and make it.

Thanks to everyone for the replies and help in understanding it.I guess it really doesn,t matter because I believe they looked the same and should be pretty close,if not the same as far as parts go.I am just happy to have finally found one!

Hi Bondy,how can you tell that one is an 83 and the other an 81? I have seen a few listings that say my 199A is a 79 and more that say it,s an 80.I guess it doesn,t really matter,but I am curious what year mine is. I was also looking at bikes in the garage section and saw one of yours.It looked great,nice job!

I have a 1970 ossa plonker/pennine.Does anyone have an idea of how many were sent to the united states ? I,m just curious if it was a rarity here.

Thanks for the info Doug,I will mapquest it to see how far it is.I,d like to see a Fantic 240 in person.I think those are one of,if not the best looking twin shocks out there.That must be a rarity here in the midwest. I only made two trials last year with NITRO Trials here in district 17.I hope to make it to most of them this year.We have a vintage class,but it is usually pretty small.I,m trying to get more of my vintage mx buddies to show up and give it a try. Cheers,Scott