

The pointless electronic ignition was new back in those days and the 12.5 compression and second spark plug hole to add opshenol second plug or the compression release brake that let me go deeper into corners at higher speed before using brakes beating any rider in left or righthand sweepers in flat track or motocross on my 21 HP OSSA PIONEER (which was voted motorcycle of the year by all motorcycle publications for TWO YEARS IN A ROW in 19). What ever happened to the ground breaking ingenious IRZ carburetors that sported a double needle design that eliminated flat spots in power loads high and low.

With handsome blue and orange body work on the chrome-moly frame, early models had an aluminum swing-arm.

John De Soto, Barry Higgins and Dick Mann were among the factory Ossa riders from 1971-1974. It weighed at least 15 pounds less than the Honda Elsinore that was selling like gangbusters. The OSSA Phantom was the first sub-200 pound production 250 motocrosser. In mid-1973 motorcycle magazines previewed a radical, lightweight OSSA motocross racer the powerful and durable Stiletto engine in an ultra-light chassis.
