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/125978
By Dick Wright I had heard how fastthe 250 Ossa Phantom was but I had never ridden one, so I really jumped at the opportunity to test the desert version. The best way to test a race machine is to race it , so we picked up a new box st ock 250 Desert Phantom, from Mid-Valley 8 Cycle an d got Jeff Wright to break it in for us a t Indian Dunes. He pu t an h our on it before he opened it up , by then he was used to th e quick handling. Th ere were a couple of Exp ert Open class riders on th e course so he got in and mixed it up with them, putting on quite a sh ow. At the end of th e day we asked wha t he thought o f the bike. " Ir 's neat and it' s very respon sive. It too k a couple laps to get used to the quick handling, but on ce I found out just wha t i t would do , I ju st threw it in the turns and powered aro und in a controlled slide, so ligh t y ou ca n do any thing with it an d not lo se it. It 's a good compromise between a slider an d a squarer, comes out of the corners fast , and has good brakes . I reall y would like to race it . I think it 's ready as it is." We took the bike home and ch ec ked it over, then took it next Sunday to Valley Cycle Park. I rode three pract ice laps, the front end carne up on me going up the choppy bad hill , and I got into a few slides in the turns. It had more power than I expected so I adj ust ed , moved up forward on the seat, started rolling the throttle a little slo wer and using a higher gear. I didn ' t lose any ' speed, but I was getting less " R's " and more traction, feeling that I h ad everything under control. I rode three 15·minute motos with ou t any trouble or blisters, and 1 didn't get tired. The reason is, it's so easy to ride. you don't fight it , just relax. It ma kes an average rid er look good. Why is it so easy to rid e? To start with , its weight, a svelte 207 pounds, good wide power range, and super handling. Everything has ch ange d fro m the old model Ossas, everything b ut the gas cap, an d all for the be tter. The Desert Phantom differs fro m the Motocr oss by a on e inch longer swinging arm, a .04 0 inch gasket un der the head for lower compression, no cut on the pist on on th e intake side , two p ounds heavi er fly wheel, (wh ich gives you m ore h ill climbing traction) an d wider gear ra tios. First gear is very low and it will pu ll right ou t from a quick walk in second gear to as fast as y ou wan t to go. The point is y ou don't h ave to shift very much because it has a wide power band, plenty low end mu scle and lots of R 's, A Desert machine should be checke d out in the desert so J eff and I took our red racer to Hi Vista, California (on e of our favorite spots). We made a cou ple o f 20 mile loops and found that th e bike is very stable on th e whoop-de-d ocs, and in the san dwash es. In other words, the rear end didn 't pit ch fro m side to side and the front end went wher e y ou aime d it, instead of following all th e Alloy everywhere - swingarm, chain guide, brake pedal. Rear see med a tad stiff whe n new. ru ts . The rear sh ocks seemed a little stiff. I think I would pu t lighter oil in for a better ride. The gearing it carne with ( 13 /50 ) seemed to be OK on the roc ky h ills as well as th e open boonies, We took the stock silencer off and put on a one and one-eighth J&R silencer. Jeff rode it ac ross th e open desert and I clock ed him at 70 mph. (I was on a fire ro ad parallel to him.] "I figur e that's fast enou gh acro ss the boondoc ks in an d out of the pu cker bushes," Jeff said, "it would do the job in the desert , it 's race ready ." The Ossa was a very dependable bike, with very good workmanship and good_ h ardware on it. As Jeff Wright p uts it, " Th e Betor forks have eight inches of superior absorption. They absorb the I shock and pounding instead of the rider." Betors shock the rear. The three I and one-half gallon fiberglass gas tank' do esn't feel large . It pulls a 4 50x l 8 rear tire like y ou can 't believe. Th e five speed gear box shifts very smoothly. With a Motoplat solid-state ignition, it's easy to start, and jetting the 3 6m m Bing was easy. Just