heffergm Posted December 3, 2017 Report Share Posted December 3, 2017 Engines are one of the few things that are unique among trials bikes. The only current exception is Sherco /Scorpa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canada280i Posted December 3, 2017 Report Share Posted December 3, 2017 (edited) Engines were an ossa made item but many of the parts appear to be common as they were designed by the person who designed the gas gas engine I believe so there may be some cross over, likely for more common parts Edited December 3, 2017 by canada280i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsiklonaut Posted December 4, 2017 Report Share Posted December 4, 2017 (edited) On 12/3/2017 at 10:22 AM, heffergm said: The only current exception is Sherco /Scorpa. Sherco/Scorpa is still a "classic" design 2-smoker trials motor. They recently switched to GasGas-type clutch (before they had somewhat unique clutch, but GG clutch is known to be among the best in "trials-feel", Ossa used this type of clutch since the beginning). There's no revolutionary designs on trials market anymore after OSSA went bust, I think Vertigo comes the closest in terms of revolution, but is still fundamentally a very classic design. I think OSSA scared the other manufacturers off with the experiment-and-revolutionize example - it creates high R&D costs and can make you go bust. OSSA is a highly unique and revolutionary motor, not just the near perfect Centre-of-Gravity (CoG) layout, thermal efficiency and FI but it's also smooth & superlight (I weighted an older Sherco motor and it was a pig-heavy lump compared to OSSA). OSSA motor definitely had the most potential if they had continued developing it. A well mapped injection is far superior to a well tuned carb IMHO. Ditto the cassette type gearbox - it's a dream easy to work on compared to other engines where you have to split the complete engine every time and while ironically the OSSA motor is also lighter (people used to say cassette-types are heavier). The frame is also unique because to fit this engine - fuel tank is a part of the front frame (no radiator exposed to rocks from the front wheel, hence a very clever design). Exhaust fills the rear subframe support function, both front and rear frame supports giving a better CoG compared to a classic full-frame design. The moving parts - suspension, wheels, handlebar etc are all standard parts. Also piston, rings and main bearings (after 2014 model) are actually GG parts. Hence most moving and consumable parts are no problem to obtain. Edited December 4, 2017 by tsiklonaut 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heffergm Posted December 4, 2017 Report Share Posted December 4, 2017 (edited) Yeah, i get it, I just didn't want to write a small book about it. As for Sherco/Scorpa, my contention was only that Sherco and Scorpa use the same motor in their bikes, it had nothing to do with its design as relates to any other bike, FI or otherwise. Edited December 4, 2017 by heffergm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 £2000 sounds too much for one of the last ones that had some of the problems sorted,let alone an earlier one.The main thing is do you think it suits you and do like riding it more than another brand ?Your budget should get you a Beta or Gas gas 2012 which is what I'd be looking at for a private sale.If you really do prefer the Ossa make some enquiries about spares availability other than from the vendor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aevans692 Posted December 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Yeah , I think I have moved on from the ossa now .. Been looking at a Beta , and sherco ... don't know which is better tho .. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heffergm Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 They're both fine. Better or worse among most modern bikes are perceived values rather than actual. They all work really well, just pick your fav color frame geometry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pindie Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 I picked up a 2011 tr 280i the other week. I had to do some serious servicing work and it runs sweet and is lovely to ride. It even starts ok but I’m fitting a homemade easy start kit anyway. Its a training toy so not my main ride so I’ll be happy to keep it as they aren’t that common. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 everyone makes their own engines except montesa who have Hondas. (Scorpas were yamaha) Its the age of the OSSA that would put me off as its an early one its much more likely to fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 TRY BEFORE YOU BUY, its a personal thing which make suits you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyl Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 5 hours ago, nigel dabster said: everyone makes their own engines except montesa who have Hondas. (Scorpas were yamaha) Its the age of the OSSA that would put me off as its an early one its much more likely to fail. Is the Scorpa now Sherco engine as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aevans692 Posted December 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 had a little chat with the importer today , about parts for the ossa tr280 , they seem to think they have all the parts I would ever need to keep it going .. we talked about the gear box problems, and he said that the gear selector can be a bit delicate and if they get hit hard it can cause some issues but not always .. he said that people have problems starting them this mainly because of the fuel injection system which needs priming first ... Cant help thinking that resale in a couple of years is going to be tough tho .. and 2K for a 2013 albeit a very clean bike that wants for nothing , is still a lot ... there are a few cheaper ones on eBay . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heffergm Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 You say '2K'... is that USD or sterling? If it's the former, that's a decent bargain. If the latter, forget it. You can get other things of similar vintage for the same money. Although in any case, as you say, resale will be tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aevans692 Posted December 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 yeah thats Pounds sterling .... its a lot ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heffergm Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 Actually, the pound is down quite a bit on the dollar it seems. It's not as bad as I was expecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.