ossa 150 1958 ossa is a spanish motorcycle manufacturer which was active from 1924 to 1982 and reborn in 2010 . founded by manuel gir an industrialist from barcelona ossa was best known for lightweight two stroke engined bikes used in observed trials motocross and enduro . 1 the company was known originally as orpheo sincronic sociedad an nima o.s.s.a. and was later renamed maquinaria cinematogr fica s.a. . in 2010 the ossa brand was reborn when the trademark was purchased and a new company began producing motorcycles . 2 contents 1 history 2 rebirth 3 ossa based bikes 4 models 4.1 street 4.2 off road 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit the original ossa company got its start in 1924 making movie projectors for its home market in spain . 3 after world war ii ossa like several other manufacturers from bsa to harley davidson to yamaha began producing two stroke engined motorcycles with their first mass produced model being introduced in 1949 . 1 ossa reached its highest production levels in the motorcycle boom of the 1960s exporting large numbers of exports to other european countries but also significantly to north american markets . in the united states and canada off road motorcycling and particularly the newly imported sport of motocross to which the light weight and powerful ossa was well suited enjoyed a surging popularity . 1968 ossa 250 cc grand prix racer the ossa firm was a strong supporter of all forms of motorcycle sport including road racing motocross enduro and observed trials . their first success came at the 1967 24 hours of montjuich on the streets of barcelona . against all the major spanish factories ossa motorcycles finished a surprising first and second . 4 inspired by this success the factory decided to compete abroad in order to make inroads into the international market . they achieved some success in the ama grand national championship with rider dick mann helping them develop a 250cc dirt track bike on which he won the 1969 santa fe grand national short track event held on a quarter mile dirt track oval . 5 6 they also achieved early success in grand prix road racing competing with an innovative monocoque framed bike designed by gir s son eduardo and ridden by santiago herrero . 4 herrero won four 250 cc grands prix with ossa before he died while competing at the 1970 isle of man tt . 1 the loss of their star rider affected the ossa team so much that they withdrew from road racing altogether . 7 1972 ossa mick andrews replica however ossa redirected their competitive efforts into the sport of observed trials in europe and the united states alongside such other famous spanish makes as bultaco and montesa . ossa hired british rider mick andrews to help design and ride their trials bike and they went on to capture the 1971 and 1972 european trials championship the forerunner to the fim world championship . 8 andrews won the grueling scottish six days trial three consecutive years between 1970 and 1972 for the ossa factory . in addition to their suitability for racing in terms of power to weight ossa motorcycles soon gained a reputation for reliability on and off the track . 3 despite this growing enthusiasm for the beautifully crafted and rugged bikes themselves the firm suffered from a disorganized and sparse dealer network in the important american market . ironically the motorcycle boom that created a new market and allowed the european makers to reap great financial rewards was also the seed of their own demise and that of the numerous smaller firms such as ossa . with so many choices for both buyers and dealers sales and service networks were not sustainable and attempts to improve manufacturing by investing in new factories back home put ossa like virtually every other european firm deep into the red . in the declining years of the franco era in 1975 the spanish government steadily converted spain s economic structure into one more closely resembling a free market economy . the arrival of cheaper japanese motorcycles into the local economy as well as a crippling employee strike in 1977 spurred the downfall of the ossa company . 1 4 in 1979 the company merged with bultaco but this wasn t enough to stave off financial problems . by 1982 the ossa factory was closed . nonetheless as a vintage make the ossa still enjoys a significant following among home hobbyists and amateur racers . rebirth edit in 2010 a group of spanish businessmen purchased the rights to the ossa trademark and began producing ossa branded motorcycles once again . 2 the new firm produces trials and enduro models . the factory team competed in the 2011 fim trials world championship with factory sponsored rider jeroni fajardo finishing the season in fifth place . 9 ossa based bikes edit a 1972 yankee 500 z with a 500 cc ossa engine ossa spq ossa seurat piron queyrel . produced in france in the 1970s the spq was an air cooled 250 cc road racing motorcycle with a light frame and an ossa engine . the spq excelled in french hillclimbing and criterium races in the decade but was no match for the yamaha td2 in circuit competition . 10 yankee 500 a large off road motorcycle produced in schenectady new york by the yankee motor company . the yankee also known as ossa yankee had a 500 cc air cooled ossa twin cylinder two stroke engine designed by eduard gir . ossa byra 1000 a 977 cc four cylinder two stroke air cooled road racing motorcycle built in barcelona by engineer fernando batll . the motor was based on two yankee engines . this bike took part in the 24 hours of montjuich races in 1972 and 1973 . only one was built as a road racing prototype and another as a street bike . this bike survives at the bassella motorcycle museum alt urgell . 11 models edit street edit ossita 50 12 125 c2 150 comercial 160 t 175 sport 230 wildfire sport 250 250 t 250 te copa 250 79 250 f3 yankee 500 street with a 500 yankee motor off road edit dick mann replica dmr flat track st1 flat track desert motocross trail explorer trials gripper trials mick andrews replica trials 250 enduro enduro mountaineer enduro phantom motocross pioneer enduro plonker trials super pioneer enduro six day replica enduro stiletto mx motocross 500 yankee z see also edit yankee motorcycle references edit a b c d ossa history . ossaengineering.com . retrieved 17 december 2011 . a b ossa official web site . ossamotor.es . retrieved 16 december 2011 . a b wood geoffrey october 1969 . ossa ; an innovative young company gives the big boys a lesson . cycle world . retrieved 17 december 2011 . a b c walker mick 1986 spanish post war road and racing motorcycles bultaco derbi montesa ossa sanglas and other roadster and road racing motorcycles 1945 to 1985 osprey pp. 136 137 143 148 isbn 978 0 85045 705 6 1977 ossa phantom gp iii . motorcyclemuseum.org . retrieved 17 december 2011 . 1969 grand national championship results . american motorcyclist . march 1970 . retrieved 17 december 2011 . robinson james september october 2001 . santiago herrero spanish flyer . classic racer 91 35 40 . issn 1470 4463 . check date values in access date date help ; access date requires url help ossa mick andrews replica . cycle world . may 1972 . retrieved 17 december 2011 . fim trial world championship classifications . fim live.com . retrieved 16 december 2011 . ossa spq the 1000cc ossa byra modelos ossa asfalto spanish external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to ossa motorcycles . official website 1977 ossa phantom gp iii at the ama motorcycle hall of fame retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title ossa motorcycle & oldid 740934389 categories motorcycle manufacturers of spainmotorcycle trialsgironavehicle manufacturing companies established in 1924spanish brandshidden categories cs1 errors datespages using citations with accessdate and no urlarticles with spanish language external linkscommons category with local link different than on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not 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