Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

.,., ; T DII III: ~ ORI OSSA 250 .SUPER PIONEER E lC) r- Ol .....; lC) .- >- ::l ""J By Dick Wright Specifications Test bike Base price as tested $1595 Engine Typ e Tw o -st ro ke single, p ist o n/ po rt Disp lace me nt . . . •. . • . . •• ..... .. 2 44.3cc Bore x stroke 72mmx60 mm Claimed hp @ rpm Claimed torq ue@ rpm Comp ression ratio Lubricat ion syste m Carbu ret ion Air filter Ign it ion sys te m Starti ng 21 h p @ 6500 rp m N.A. 12 .3 :1 Oil m ist 32mm Amal concentric Oi l-wetted foa m Motop lat COl Fo ld ing k ick Drivetrain Primary /ratio Gear ratios -«, 36 Duple x chain/ 2 .26 :1 lst3 .52 : 2 nd 2 .39 : 3 rd 1.78 : 4 th 1.133 : 5th 1 :1 Becau se o f th e versat ility o f t he Su per Pioneer, we had the bike filled ' with a d ealer pl a te wh en we pi cked it up fr om Mid -Valley Cycles . From that point the bike was ridden all o ve r town , just to see if the Ossa re all y was a n all purp os e m ach ine. T he Pioneer passed with flying co lors. It cru ises ea sily , handles well and has m or e th an enough power to handle an y situation y ou might run into. Another p oint in its fav or is that it can be ridden out to y ou r favorite play riding a re a. Jeff Wright used it quite a few times fo r trail riding. IIe would j ump on the Oss a and ride off up Angeles Crest Highway, find a likely looking fireroad and flo g it arou nd for the afternoon . The power pl ant in the Super Pioneer foll ows the example set by Bult aco and Montesa , take you r l\IX motor, de tune it an d put it in an enduro frame. What you have in this ca se is a street legal m ot ocrosser th at supplies ample horsepower but with the smoo th ne ss o f larger d isp lace me n t m ac hinery . As th e Pioneer sit s now it will pull a top speed o f abo u t i 5 mph, a nd it still retains very good hill climbing ability . At a tr im 20i pounds the Ossa is a real lightweight, our lady test rider, Lisa Wright, found the bike easy to handle, an d had enough powe r to keep he r happy. She also felt th at the go ld metalli c paint job m ade the Ossa a re al eye ca tc he r. After dazzlin g all the lo cals, we decided to put it to the re al test and run a fun enduro with it . The quiet motor really fools y o u. It has a lo t of power. It has m ore th an en ough power for rocky, silty hills, but is still able to p lonk along through the tight sections without lo ading up . The main reason I like the mach in e is the power range is great. The engine is the same as the Desert Phantom except a 32mm Am al carb (instead of the 36 Bing), and of co urse the baffled p ipe. Also it is geared higher, with a 43 tooth on the re ar and a 13 tooth on the front. The flywheel is the same except fo r the lighting coils. Suspension on the Super Pio neer is handled b y Betor on both e nds. Up fron t the fo rks do a n excellen t job of keeping th e terrain fro m beating you to deat h . At the rear end the Betor shocks just barely get the job do ne. Some ti m es t he only thing that saves you are y ou r ow n reflexes and the fine th ro t tl e response. Ch anging t he shock oil an d putting in some Bel-Ray sh o ck o il would help da mpe ning quite a bi t. For most enduro runs the three gallon gas tank is more than adequate. Even though the tank holds that much pre-mix -it still re tains that slender fe el that m akes it more comfortable to grab the tank with your kn ees or slide up on. Pirelli tires a t both ends, where the rubber meets the road. Although when it comes to replacing them Cheng Shin ISDT tires will do a very good job for a more: reasonable price. Some of the trick little th ings that Ossa has added on afte r quite a bi t o f testing at ISDT Qualifiers and National Clutch . . . . . . . . . • • . . • . . . . Wet, multi-

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