scrappington Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 Found this in classic bike june 1992 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetfeet Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 heres one to look at strange linkage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fargone Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 (edited) heres one to look at strange linkage mmm.. the Ossa BLT Plonker. The innovative rear suspension design by American Joe Bolger Bolger Long Travel. Designed to try and reduce the amount of unsprung weight, and to position the shockers in a less vulnerable place, I agree it looks strange but not as daft as it looks, the guy was New Englands Motocross Champion in many different classes throughout the 60's and 70's so he knew what he was doing. Apparently! I'll leave it up to our American friends to fill in the gaps... Edited February 27, 2007 by 2fargone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toofasttim Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 Bolger successfully sued Suzuki in the '80's for stealing his design. They repackaged it with one shock and called it the "full floater" system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldilocks Posted February 27, 2007 Report Share Posted February 27, 2007 this is a little off topic but here goes.... never mind the blinkin linkage, that Ossa is in the living room by the looks of it, where did he get his wife ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fargone Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 this is a little off topic but here goes....never mind the blinkin linkage, that Ossa is in the living room by the looks of it, where did he get his wife ??? It's amazing what she'll allow when you have a BLT Plonker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 How many BLT Plonkers were made? does it work well? whats the value of these bikes now? never seen one in the flesh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylael Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 (edited) I worked at an OSSA dealership at that time. We sold at least two of these, (BLT) and to my understanding they were modified here in America. When you uncrated them you could see how someone had taken a 1976 350 MAR, and bodged this onto it, adding spray can silver paint over the welds and additional iron work. Just beneath the surface of the spray paint you could see the grinder marks and burned original paint. I thought the bikes worked quite well especially in mud sections, they had a mystical ability to grip. I have always thought the fulcrum suspension transferred upward motion into bites of traction, as the upward force was reverserd back down. Either that or it was placebo effect. At the 1977 USA nationals at Watkins Glenn NY, OSSA test rider, Jerry Young (Ryan Young's Dad) offered me a rev on his works version of this bike. This bike still featured a fiberglass tank, painted dark brown metallic, and handmade alloy sidepanels. (airbox) Jerry Young was winning alot of nationals at that time in the senior class. The following spring the BLT OSSA's began arriving at dealerships. They used KONI rear shock absorbers, and had switched to a more restrictive airbox and a slightly smaller mikuni carb. I never thought they ran as well as the round bodied amal on the '76 350 ones did. One of the local experts in our trials club rode a Bolger OSSA to a handful of minor victories before moving on to a Montesa Cota 349. It was Curt Comer's national championship winning 1980 bike. It had the big ugly gas tank with the sight glass thing on the side. He was also very good on that bike. OK now I'm just rambling as I have a bad cold right now. JL Edited March 6, 2007 by JayLael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbswm Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 the bolger ossa in the photo belonged to maryland champion chris hoffmeister.he rode it until he got one of the first swms in the usa.the ossa had a motor full of low end pulling power. the bike rode unlike any of the bikes of its time.with the betor forks and the koni shocks it gripped and flexed over any thing in the sections.the biggest drawback was the turning,you learned quick how to do floaters.i got the bike from chris and rode it from b class thru a class in the late 70`s how many did they make? less then 50,sold the bike with a dead motplat and a broken rear wheel{killed a lot of rear wheel bearings} for 100 bucks,want it back? no i bought my 82 swm after the ossa and been riding them forever...johnnyb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motomike Posted April 8, 2007 Report Share Posted April 8, 2007 Weren't the monoshocks Whitlock framed? Quite fancied one at the time as an Ossa man but not as much as the monocoque Ossas ridden by Duncan Macdonald and his father a bit earlier. Anyone else remember them, they had cut down front forks as rear units, well ahead of their time. Yes 2/4 I thought the mono Ossa was a Mick Whitlock built frame. And I remember the monocoque Ossa of Duncan Macdonald, Black in colour? Big John Hi John No the only Ossa frames Mick Whitlock made where twinshock,I had the very first one,it was L registration so I guess 1972/73 I think the frames you are talking about where in those days called cantilever,and where made for Cliff Holden then the Ossa importer ,by Eric Cheney,and yes there where only a handfull made. Just another note,I remember the Duncan Macdonald bike in the SSDT,and I am sure it had a rear disc brake ,using the sprocket as the disc Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcerem Posted November 15, 2007 Report Share Posted November 15, 2007 Was having a quick browse on Pistonheads and spotted this http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/282153.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetfeet Posted November 22, 2007 Report Share Posted November 22, 2007 thats got to be an ex John Reynolds bike surely, i remember him riding one of these. is he still about? still involved in trials in any way? does he come on this site ? can he tell us if its his old bike? so many questions but never an answer!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big john Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 I know where there is one of those green framed Ossas with all the lights and stuff still on it! No..... I don't have one and it's in original used condition, not bad nick I would say. Big John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter9000uk Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Simon Cheney rode a monoshock Ossa in a number of North Hants events in the seventies. I remember it well as I rode against him on a Cheney twin shock! Eric also made one with leading link front forks for SImon and if I remember correctly it also featured a Mikuni carb and reed valve setup. Eric's frames were a work of art and handled beatifully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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