Ossa Phantom 250
OSSA PHANTOM 250
Cycle World Road Test
Short-Coupled, But Fast And Tractable. It Really Shines In The Tight Stuff.
WHERE IS IT going to end? For years the motocross world trundled along in low gear, selling last year's models with different paint jobs as this year's models. changing only minor items like the handgrips or levers from year to year.
Then, early last year (about the time that Honda introduced their 250 Elsinore), the volcano erupted and began spewing forth one fine motocrosser after another.
Ajid the progressive impn wen^ said ^motoerosse rs
“Ossa?” you say. “What’s an Ossa?” Ossa is the third member of the Big Three in Spain. Along with Montesa and Bultaco, they have helped to make Spain a truly powerful force in the off-road world—and that’s not even to mention their many road racing victories. Ossa, which translated means Bear, used to be much better known than it now is. At least it was more of a household word to motucrossers. But with the advent of the “new” machinery, it seemed-to fade into the background, content to occasionally sell a few bikes, but not interested in coming out with a newwersion. But Ossa*wasn’t content.,-And they’d been secretly preparing their own bomb to drop on the market. We saw the first photos way back in June of ’73, but we were told that production models would not reäch our shores until August or September of the same year. From having worked with Spanish manufacturers before, we knew that they really meant summer ‘74. So we waited.
The wait worth it becaus^ these guys have built one fine racer. TheTIllhtom Is á blue and orange lopk-getfer. The tank and fenders, are made of fibergT^s^od fin the fiberglass fenders), which have been impregnated with the paint and then sprayed with a protective clear coating. We noticed the coating only because it peeled like a sunburned back after the first time we rode it. The paint job then proceeded to wear away as well. While the pain| is still intact, the bike looks sharp, so be sure and let all fnBse you wish to impress see the Ossa bejorea y°u nde it. t -f. * *'
The fuel tank is large, holding more than 2.25 gallons of pre-mix, which is good since the 36mm Bing carburetor and the powerful engine slurp fuel at a pre-energy-ensis ra te 7 2 % Decked out in fiat black, the engine looks identical to the mill in the Ossa Stiletto, the MXer that the Phantom*replaces. Looks are one thing, performance is another. The new engine is so much superior to the old Stiletto’s that there really isn’t much to compare. One was good in its day, the other is good today. And today, the word is FAST.
We should mention that toward the end of our test, we did eÄ|rience some clutch slippage, which was particularly bad \^rcn power shifting. But until the unit began misbehaving, the Phantom could pull the YZM Yamaha that we tested last month. Half a bike length out of the hole, it held that lead going into fifth. When the Ossa was going into fifth, the YZM was peaked in fifth. Good-bye.
The chassis, which follows established Ossa practice, is a double cradle unit made from mild steel. The swinging arm is made from aluminum alloy. We heard rumors that Ossa had Tremendous problems with swinging arm flex on the first prototypes that John Banks raced for them. We noticed no such nasty habits, and must compliment Ossa on having an exceptionally sturdy rear fork. Apparently, the early models had steel swinging arms rather than the aluminum ones.
The seat is tops for comfort. It’s heavily padded, wide and long enough to allow riders of varying sizes to fit comfortably on the bike.
Suspension is by Betor. We liked the front forks. We didn’t fall in love with them, we just liked them. They could be better. The problem was only a mild one, but there was
ffciceable harshness upon compression. We hoped that they ould eventually break in and loosen up, but they didn’t. Rebound damping was perfect, so we decided not to change the fork oil. We’d rather put up with a little harshness than have a front end that pogos around.
The rear shocks were surprising. While they couldn’t hit the really bad potholes like the YZM’s monoshock could, that is, smoothly, they were capable of going through the less serious stuff just as well. They look to be short on travel, but what they do have is so well controlled by damping, that you really
don’t miss the extra half-inch of movement. The progressive 60/90 springs have five preload positions.
Handling is quick. Too quick for a bike with this much power. The geometry isn’t bad. In fact, we like the way the Phantom steers, but if you couple the tight-line geometry with a mere 54.5-in. wheelbase, you’re riding an overpowered 125. And that means that at full-blown racing speeds, you’d better be concentrating with every brain cell or you’ll get to find out just how good those leathers you bought are. Fortunately, it isn’t a constant battle. You don’t have to fight the Ossa all the time. It races along smoothly lap after lap and it waits until you think you have mastered it. Then it Bozos you onto your rump, leaving you to figure out what it was you hit.
Part of the problem is the Pirelli tires. The front one won’t stick well on hard, dry surfaces. And the rear one won’t stick at all. Boogie along through a fast sweeper where the ground is moist, hit a small dry spot, and you’re guaranteed to go down. For California racers, a change of knobbies is almost mandatory. Others will have to decide for themselves based on local track conditions.
The Phantom steers perfectly when the track is right, though. It can do it all. Inside line under everyone else, over the top and square it off, or just come in where there’s room, and leave the same way, regardless of line. This ability to outsteer much of the competition makes the Ossa the bike to have on a tight, twisty circuit.
Braking is good, particularly in the rear, which really helps in setting the bike up for a corner. Stuff it in, screw it on and lean forward. You don’t have to lean forward for steering purposes like you do on an Elsinore, but rather to keep the front end down. The short wheelbase and the 4.50 rear tire make body positioning very important when accelerating in the first four gears. You can even get the front wheel up in fifth, but that takes extra effort on the part of the rider. Up through fourth, the bike does it all by itself.
Flywheel effect is the cause of all this monowheeling tendency. It dampens the power impulses and delivers the horses to the ground. This is what makes the Phantom move.
It gets its power to the ground.
This is also what makes the Ossa such a joy to play on. The porting inside the 72mm x 60mm cylinder is mild enough to allow the engine to pull at low rpm. Couple this to the flywheel, and you can imagine why this bike can be plonked around at speeds reminiscent of those of the old Pioneer enduro bike. Ossa has realized that this will make the bike appealing to the woods set, so they have attempted to protect the low-slung exhaust pipe by welding a steel rod all along the underside. A nice touch.
We didn’t believe the weight specs on the Phantom when we first got our press release kits on the new Ossa line. No one could build a production motorcycle that weighed 197 lb. and then sell it for under $1400. But they did just that. Our test bike weighed in at exactly 197 lb., dry. Frightening.
A few more details on the bike. Some nice, others not so nice. The ridgeless Akront rims are great. The brake pedal and the shift lever are aluminum and tuck right in. The footpegs should be spring-loaded. The grips would make good BB gun targets, as would the 72-degree Amal plastic quick throttle.
Levers are aluminum and sport leather grit covers to keep junk out of the cables. Rather than being side panels to an air box, the number plates are actually part of the airbox and, therefore, run inside the frame tubes where they can’t be rubbed raw by your boots. The muffler looks like a WW II German shrapnel grenade, but it works.
One change that we’d like to see implemented right away is a different kickstarter. The one on the Phantom will hook right into the top of your boot when you put your foot down to corner left. Now, if it's hooked in there and you go down, you'll have a gash in your leg that'll have to be stitched up in lay~.
Wo, the detent spring at the kickstarter pivot is not strong enough, considering the length of the lever and the leverage it as at its disposal as you bounce around the track. The lever will swing out at the most inopportune times, like on the last
lap of a moto, when you've just stuffed it inside of the leader and are about to take all his hard work away from him. You can't get your foot back on the peg to shift because that %*@t!S+* kickstarter is in your way. Kiss victory adios.
The Ossa Phantom is much like the rest. It's light (incredibly so), it handles well, albeit quickly; it has all the goodies and a few bummers. It doesn't come close to being the racing machine that the Yamaha YZM is, but we kinda wish we had a YZM with a Phantom engine. Sounds like a great combination.
But when is all of this going to stop? When will all of these manufacturers quit making these lightweight lightning streaks, like the Ossa Phantom, that make it so difficult to choose a motocrosser in the under-$ 1500 bracket? Never, we hope.
DYNAMOMETER TEST HORSEPOWER AND TORQUE
PARTS PRICING
OSSA PHANTOM 250
$1375
