OSSA

250cc / Mick Andrews Replica - 1970

Held back by low technology

At the end of the '1960s, the Spanish Ossa factory signed one of the finest riders of the day, the Englishman Mick Andrews. Out of this collaboration came the Ossa 50 MAR "Mick Andrews Replica," which took the trials world by storm.

Signed by a Champion

During that period, the power of marketing was not nearly as strong as it is today. The label "Replica" has always been a strong selling point, but in the early 1970s, trials bikes relied heavily on their own merits. The Ossa MAR had more to it than just the name of a celebrity. Its great strengths were in its general balance and extraordinarily good handling. The 250 Ossa MAR was portrayed as a fun machine, underlining the differences betwee11 it and its main rivals, the Bultaco Sherpa and the Montesa Cota. They were regarded – perhaps rather too heavily – as sober "tools of the trade."

The Other Side of the Coin

The Ossa MAR possessed great abilities, but this machine achieved its respectable competition record in spite of being handicapped by the low level of Spanish technology and the outdated nature of their products in those days. The Mick Andrews Replica was handicapped by major faults like a responsive – but gutless – engine, virtually non-existent brakes and a rather skimpy finish. But the factory continually worked at improving it until – with the other Spanish marques – Ossa went under in the crisis of the early 1980s.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 231 cc (70x60mm) air-cooled single-cylinder

Power Rating: 20 hp @ 7000 rpm

Valves: two-stroke

Fuel System: Amal 28mm carburetor

Transmission: 5-speed, chain final drive

Suspension: telescopic forks (front); swing arm with twin spring/dampers (rear)

Brakes: 4.8 inch drum (front & rear)

Wheels: 21 inch (front); 18 inch (rear)

Weight: 192 lb

In the hands of its designer/rider, the 250 Ossa Mike Andrews twice won the European Championship and was victorious three times in the Scottish Six Days' Trial.