Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125473
.... TRACK TEST #1 of t~ oj the 175cc ~ "" ~ ell ~ se se .... '" r-: .... ... OSSA TURKE Y TURKEY II> .Q S ... II> Lett, John R. found the Turk ey a Left, found th. Turk.y good r.ar·wheel. on one of lb. the eood rear· wheeler on. SGV Race T rack TT Jumps. SGV Track jumps. Q :c: s "" Col :c: Col ,.J o >. u Big- time Big-tilDe Action In A Small-Bore Pig. SlDall-Bore Itg. (Editors Note-This is the first of a series of dirt track riding impresof TT sions of new scrambles and 'fT motorcycles that are currently being offered otlered for sale in the Cycle News area. Upcoming weeks' issues will report on the 1967 DOT 250cc and on the 1967 Montesa 250cc .) 250cc.) Thanksgl""ng ti me seemed adeQuateThanks gl ~ng time adequateiy appropriate fo r our introduction to the ly for i nt roduction th e new OSSA Turkey. This delightful little OSSA 175cc dirt burner is so named because when you buy i t , tank seat and tires are it, in cluded i n purchas e price not included in the pwchase pri ce (Ossa's distributo r figures you would (Ossa' s distributor figu res them anywa y) probably change them anyway) so the yo u rese mbles machine you get resembles ever so slightly a dressed Thanksgiving bird. Thanks giving Walt Olson of A naheim M/C Sal es had Anaheim M/c sales thoughtfully provided Our test bike with thou ghtfully pro vid ed our tes t class C pattern tlres and fiberglass tank tires fiber gla ss and seat so we were spared tli e decision the decisi on ot choosing them for ourselt. And a more of them oursel f . A nd fitting selection they couldn't have sel ection th ey coul dn' t Ju st made. Just look at the pictures if you pict ure s it yo u l ooking want to see a really good looking motorcycle. . Maquinari a Cinematographica S.A. MaQuinaria Cin ematcgraphica littl e i n fairly makes its little bears in tairly small Quantlty when they can spare time from Quantity tim e bui l di ng Spain ' s building Spain's best movi e projection movie proj ection eQuipment. It yo u' re acqua inted with tbe equipment . If you're aCQuainted t he Ossa st reet machine, wbich forms th e street maChine, whi ch tbe basis for t he Turkey , you'll know it the Turkey, you 'll packs a wbopping belt ot aCCeleration pack s whopping of acc eleration for tor a lightweight and the kind ot handlightwei ght of ling that makes yo u unafraid to us e UP tbat you use UP the gear s. Th e Turkey owes its rather gears. Tbe rath er soft suspension to the road model and su spension t o Own rs will possibly want to beef up owne ers want beet fo rk befor e seri the fork damping before trying any serious TTing. During t he controlled exhu'ITing. the c ont rolled beran ce of track san Gabri el berance ot our tra ck test on San Gabriel Valley Raceway 'IT course, the softly Rac eway TT sprung setup was no problem, but while proble m, out in the desert, one ot our tester s endesert . of testers encountered a very rough washboard-typ e washboard-type ri ding road and suddenly found himself riding a rocking-h orse•• Seven-and-a-half inches rocking-borse •• Seven-and-aiJalf i nc hes fork t ravel of tork travel is fine, ' he said , ·But fine,· said, ' But these torks st iffeni ng. " Tbe tbese f ork s need stiffening.· The remedy would be to repla ce t he fork s' replace tbe forks' hydraulic oil w with a slightly beavier ith heavier grade - 30 or 40 wt, wt. W were tortunate to be accompanied We e f ortunat e acc ompani ed SOV t han to SGV Raceway by none other than the - John of great John R. -John Rice ot scrambles John R' s benevol ent empl oyers fame. JOhn R's benevolent employers at Long Beacb Honda's Atlanti c Bl vd. B each Atlantic Blvd. store gav e store gave him the mornin g oft fr om morning off from wrench-b endin g chores so that Our readour wrench-bending ers coul d have the benefit of his imcould hi s i mpres sions se veral took pressions on several bikes we too k along to test. John R. found the Ossa 175 • really neat· in the power slides he specializes neat ' in speci alizes i n. Th e feels in. The little Turkey teels small aft er after i s accustomed one is accust omed to riding a bi g bike, big but it fitted right into the hard, narrow ri ght hard , groove around SGV Raceway and it beRac eway perfectly haved pertectly over the j umps , with no th e jumps, tendency to come all the way over I n tend ency come in response to a gentle upward tug at the th e bars. Brak es were too good in t he front i n the Brakes and a little too weak I n the rear. for in rear, anything but a road bike. bu t Shitt and starter are on the left. As Shift sta rte r t he le ft . A s regards starting, Ossa has licke d one of regard s licked the great bugaboos of two-st roke riders, buga boos two-stroke rid ers, Ignition fouling. A small, sealed plastic ignition small , transist or transistor fastened to' the center downto· c enter tube steps up the spark trom the f!,ystep s from th e f lywheel alternator and sends down th e h.t. wbeel down the n.t. l ead t o burn th rough lead enough fire to bwn through anY amount ot carbon that may congeal of tha t plug. words, i t sta rts around the plug, In other words , it starts On the first prod and never misses a unt1l the beat until you punch th e kill button. Othe r brands would do well to copy Other c opy Ossa's Femsa ignition. i gni tion. We said the Turkey was all set up tbe Twkey se t for California c ompetition, it is, exce pt competition, is. except for one thing: the foot pegs are ri gid . on.e rigid. As a compensation tor their inflexibl e compensa ti on for the ir inflexible design (perhaps as a safety measure?) itbe pegs break off rather easily when he bi k e l eaned t he of the bike is leaned past the point ot no return. Most local racers will soon inrac ers i ns tall Bates or Webeo folding pegs. stall Ba tes Webco shear in g pegs, Other than sbearing off the pees, the re no tbe there is almost 110 limit to how far the T urkey ca n be laid down in a t um". Turkey can in tum·. Comments overheard: ·PreU3'.. ~" ·Sure ·Pret ty •• ~· ' Sur e comes out of the hole goodY· ·Still a of t he bole good! " ' Still ring-ding.· ·You don't ride tbe desert ring-ding. " ' You don' t t he deser t with that seat, do you wi th sea t, And seven variations of ·Can I try it? " it?· ' Can t ry CONCLUSIONS: It will be, with with proper accessories, a good road racproper bike. i ng, ing, short track or TT bike, It is not the best for desert ri di ng as presentbest riding ly set up. but it could do the jo b up, job ly it with modifications. with Price $450. Weight approx. 180 approx, Pri ce lbs, as equipped, 140 lbs. as deequipped. l bs. livered. Get Your TURKEY For THANKSGIVINGI THANKSGIVING! 175cc - 21 H,P. USee 21 OS SA .. . SM '. AB_r o $450 AS AS SHOWN . ApprtL 140 Ills. Approx. Ibs. STANDARD EQUIPMENT: EQUIPMENT : H¥y. Duly T.le.co Forks & Shocks - 27mlll <:arb 27mm Carb Hvy. Du17 Telesco Femsa Trans ls lor Ignition Akront Alloy RIms Femu TransIstor Ignltlon - Akr onl A lloy Rims Throttle Levers Bars - L....rs - Throttl. - Pegs "'e. OSSA WITHOUT DRESSING. WITHOUT DRESSING- o $650 -700 0 •• " . .. SA.'.ABNr AP PROX. APPROX. WITH DRESSING WITH u.s. u.s. Dis'ribu'or Wes' of 'he Mississippi '''e ANAHEIM ANAHEIM MOT ORCY CLE MOTORCYCLE CENTER 127 S. M.ldes'er Manches'er (114) 772-6330 (71 4) 772·6330 ·No TIres-Tank-FeDders or Sut TIres- Tank - Fenders Seat