Orange Ossa
When somebody says to a fellow motorcyclist, ‘my mate’s dad has got one of those trials machines in his barn; it’s covered in dust and been there for years’, the mind starts to race, and you imagine all sorts of things! This is what happened to Mike Jarrett when he was selling a pair of boots, and a young lad happened to see his trials machine. The conversation went along the lines of ‘what bike is it?’ The reply was ’a trials machine; I think it’s a Fantic. Get your mate to give me a ring’. Many have been there; well, it wasn’t a Fantic, but this was the start of Mike’s journey to rebuild a very unusual trials machine which he found had an interesting pedigree.
01: AN OSSA NOT A FANTIC
The story didn’t really begin for over a year after the original conversation as the owner was a farmer and didn’t have time to deal with old motorcycles, hence the reason this one was in the barn. When Mike finally got to see the ‘Fantic’, it was actually an Ossa. It seemingly had been ‘beat up’ around the farm until it had stopped. It was literally still in the barn, with a thick layer of dust all over. He decided to buy the Ossa even though it was in a bad state. It had been abused and given a hard time; even the brake and clutch levers were on the wrong sides of the handlebars.
02: OSSA GRIPPERS
A slightly closer inspection revealed the original orange colour of the frame. With some research, this model was found to be one of the distinctive ‘Orange Horrors’ the orange Ossa TR 80 250cc Gripper ‘Naranja’ produced for two years from 1981 to 1983. It was given the name ‘Orange Horror’ to distinguish it from the ‘Yellow Gripper’, which was the bright yellow Ossa TR 80 350cc Gripper produced from a year earlier 1980 through to 1983. Looking at this particular machine, Mike agreed it was a horror, but he decided to take on the rebuild anyway!
03: CYLINDER HEAD
One of the most significant faults found when the cylinder barrel was removed was a crack across the cylinder head. Like many Ossa updates, the company utilised parts from other models rather than producing all-new castings.
With the TR 80 models, Ossa adapted the radial-finned head from the 360cc scrambler. This one had cracked from the side of the combustion chamber and had been repaired by being welded. Holes were then drilled at the ends of the crack and pins inserted for strengthening. The repair was very effective, but now it had cracked on the other side, so Mike had to cut off two of the fins. He ground them down and got the crack re-welded, but this time without pins being inserted. Mike found the heads pretty impossible to obtain, so retaining the repaired original was the best option.
04: THE ENGINE
A full nut-and-bolt strip-down revealed that everything on the engine was either broken or worn out; this is always a risk of taking on any barn find. The crankcases on this model were also adapted from the 360cc scrambler, but a new crankshaft assembly was used, this effectively reversed the bore and stroke measurements with the ‘Naranja’ changing from the longer 72mm x 60mm stroke to a 60mm x 70mm short stroke, giving a capacity of 230.9cc.
Another foible of Ossa was the 250cc was 230cc, and the 350cc had a capacity of 302cc!
Mike: “The piston rings were worn down to almost nothing, and a significant engine rebuild was needed, and so new big ends and main bearings were installed. It had a rebore and a new piston. The old piston had an unusual modification with a window cut into the sleeve of the piston, so these were replicated on the new one.
“All the gearbox bearings were replaced, but the clutch plates were serviceable, and new, softer springs were used to try to soften the clutch further. Steve Sell, who is an Ossa fanatic, riding, owning and working on all things Ossa, provided and modified the new piston and rebuilt the gearbox.”
05: CLUTCH
Steve also fabricated a clutch arm based on a modification he does for his Mick Andrews Replica (MAR) Ossa. It gave a better angle for the cable run, including taking it through the casing.
06: EXHAUST
The exhaust was damaged on one side near the head and needed to be cut and welded after de-coking a mess collar inside.
07: CARBURETION AND IGNITION
The engine is fed from the original Amal Mk II carburettor, which was ultrasonically cleaned and re-jetted. It’s currently running with a three-cutaway throttle slide after originally running on a one, but this is going to be replaced with a two as Mike gets the machine running perfectly. The original standard Motoplat ignition system was checked over and found to be working well, as was the coil, so this was salvaged from the original machine.
8: THE FRAME
The frame was shot-blasted, and it was found that the rear part of the frame had been modified with the rear loop cut, lowered and braised. It created an increased gap between the mudguard and the seat but has been retained.
The rear shock lugs had to be straightened before painting. The orange-pink paint was hard to match, but the frame was powder coated using ‘Raul 2008’ paint which Rainbow Paints of Ferndown in Dorset analysed. However, the repainting didn’t go smoothly as the Raul 2008 paint turned out to be different in powder coating and cellulose forms, so the first finish on the tank and side panels did not match the frame. Bernie’s Custom Studio of Sturminster Newton persevered though and completed a good job.
09: THE WHEELS, HUBS AND BRAKES
The rear wheel is an original TR80 wheel, both hub and rim, but the spokes couldn’t be removed, so they had to be ground off and the wheel rebuilt with new spokes. Whilst the front hub is original, the rim is a Mick Andrews Replica (MAR), but the spokes were able to be re-used.
The hubs were re-powder coated, and Steve Sell made new lighter spindles for the front and rear. A local Dorset company, Pigsty Engineering, polished the rims, and they were sound. Ferndown Finishings in New Milton re-anodised them in the original gold. The brakes are original, but new Newfren brake shoes were sourced from InMotion.
10: FORKS AND SHOCKS
There was a mystery with the front forks, which were Telesco as expected on an early orange gripper as opposed to the Betor used on later models and the yellow grippers.
What was unexpected at the bottom of the front forks was a piece of tubing braised inside the downtube, which had an uncertain purpose. Steve Sell took out the braised piece and rebuilt the forks to standard using his gripper fork internals as a pattern for fabricating new components. The stanchions were pitted and needed to be replaced or rechromed, so they were sent to AC Philpotts in Luton, who straightened and hard-chromed them to a good standard. The rear shocks are Rockshocks with the expected orange springs.
11: OTHER PARTS
The chain and sump guard were missing, so these were sourced from Martin Rickman’s OssaYard in Leicestershire. InMotion provided a new seat, airbox exhaust and mudguards – yes, they do stock orange ones!
12: INTERESTING PEDIGREE
Roger Holden, the son of the long-time Ossa importer Cliff Holden, was contacted to discover the machine’s early history using the engine number for identification. To Mike’s surprise, Roger found in his records that this machine was the one given to Yorkshireman Mike Skinner in 1981.
Skinner was a top British championship rider who signed for the Ossa Importers UK in 1981, initially to ride the yellow Gripper, which he rode to 17th in the 1981 Scottish Six Days Trial.
With the introduction of the Orange Gripper in Autumn 1981, he rode this particular machine at the 1981 British Experts Trial at Hawkstone Park, finishing sixth. However, his association with this machine didn’t last long as he then signed for Moto Gori at the Dirt Bike Show, which was another short relationship as he returned to Ossa on another Orange Gripper to finish 14th in the 1982 SSDT.
Tracing Mike Skinner to learn more about the bike’s history drew a blank as he allegedly went into acting in the 1980s, finishing his trials career. One interesting loose end from the story is the ending to Skinner’s Moto Gori career as he modified his machine without the permission of Moto Gori Importer Jim Jones, who was not best pleased with the returned machine!
13: ROGER PAINTER
However, the modifications on the Ossa were not down to Mike Skinner as Roger Holden confirmed that the Gripper was sold to Roger Painter in the West Country as a standard machine. An Ossa dealer at the time, Roger Painter sponsored a young rider, Ben Dawes, from Somerset who used it at expert level in the West Country.
14: REBIRTH OF A WORKS OSSA RIDE
The Orange Gripper started life as a works machine in the hands of Mike Skinner but over the first eight to nine years of its life became a non-runner, stored away and gathering dust.
After Mike Jarrett’s rescue mission and subsequent rebuild, the machine was back in the hands of another works supported Ossa rider, Geoff Guy, a contemporary of Mike Skinner. Geoff was an Ossa works rider in the early ’70s and regularly still campaigns a 1973 Ossa at club level. He took the first competitive ride on the rebuilt orange Gripper, giving it a knowledgeable shakedown on an Ossa model he had never ridden before.
Geoff Guy: “I was surprised how well the machine handled as it’s so much lighter than my current Ossa’. He gave the Gripper the thumbs up. It was also a winning return to competition at the XHG Tigers Club Trial.
15: MIKE JARRETT
With the Ossa now rebuilt, it remains in the safe hands of its restorer and owner.