DPNM Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) I grew up in a small town in SW Pa. named Finleyville. With a job I had previously there were security guard checkpoints that I had to pass through to gain access to where I needed to go. I had been doing it often enough that I knew most of the guards fairly well. A couple years ago one female guard, who lives near Barnesville Ohio, invited me to a garage sale she was having. It is something that I normally would not do. I stopped anyway. She had a barn full of clothes that would not fit me. Since I was there she said she had an old dirt bike she wanted me to look at to see if I could give her an idea of it's worth. I said OK. We went up the yard to an old, falling down, shed. Just inside was the bike. I looked at it and knew right away exactly what it was. I told her "it's an Ossa Six Days Replica. I used to have one back in the early 1980s". I had to buy it so I told her $400 without checking it over. She agreed. She said she thought she had the title. We went back down to the barn to look for said title. When we got there she had a phone call and asked me to sift through the stack of titles she had while she talked on the phone. I found the Ossa title. It had the name of the person that I had sold it to, who lived in Columbus Ohio at the time, as the buyer and MY name as the seller/previous owner. I found the bike I had sold about 35 years ago. It turns out that the son of the person I sold it to and the security guards son were friends in the military. The security guards son bought the bike but they never completed the title transfer, that is why my name still showed on it. Once I started tearing into it I've found that it doesn't have spark. That has been a big disappointment. My plan is to restore it, at least, to the point of being reliable to ride. I do plan to ride it. Since then I found an old Ossa Pioneer for parts. The coil works so I will have spark. The SDR is disassembled as I try to get the funds together to have the frame and swing-arm sandblasted and powder coated. Seems every time I may have the cash something comes up. I’m hoping to start on it early this spring and enjoy some riding time this year,again. This is why it is in my signature line. Pics are from when I first took it out of the shed. Edited January 29, 2019 by DPNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeBee Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Brings back happy memories, they were very popular when I was growing up in southern Spain, along with Bultaco and Puch, I was lucky to have a Derbi Cross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Great story and amazing find. It was meant to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 What a great find, and then to find out it's your old bike. That is just priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miatatom Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 That's the coolest story! Maybe I missed it but what year is the bike? In the 60s and 70s I rode Honda 305 Scrambler, Yamaha DT125, Honda TL125, 2 Honda 125 Elsinores, Husqvarna 125, Suzuki PE400 (beast) and my last one was a Yamaha IT200. Best Bike I ever had. My aching bones are testament to the many times I overestimated my abilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixties Sam Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 15 hours ago, espo said: What a great find, and then to find out it's your old bike. That is just priceless. I agree! I think we all wish we could find the bikes we sold years ago. Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPNM Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Miatatom said: That's the coolest story! Maybe I missed it but what year is the bike? The bike is a 1973, the only year that they were produced. It was a cross between the Pioneer and the Stiletto based on Ossa's entry in the International Six Day Trial (ISDT). I've owned 24 motorcycles in my life-time, dirt, dual purpose and street. The Ossa is the only bike I currently have... for now. 2 hours ago, Sixties Sam said: I agree! I think we all wish we could find the bikes we sold years ago. If I only still had half of the vehicles I had as a youth... Edited January 29, 2019 by DPNM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatW Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 (edited) We had a Bultaco of the same vintage (1970's) in the early 1980's, I bought it for my eldest son who joined the local trails club. Great bike for it's day, similar to the Ossa. Edited January 29, 2019 by PatW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordairgtar Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I love trials bikes. I had a Montessa 250 Cota that was kind of a mutt. Montessa frame and engine, Yamaha plastic fuel tank, Bultaco seat, Aermacchi (Harley) forks and Kawasaki gas shocks and a Amil carb, CZ handle bars. It ran well, never died, and was used to pull start friend's newer modern bikes on the trails. \' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 That's about as cool a motorcycle story as anything I've heard/seen on American Pickers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stavanzer Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 A neat story. Thanks for sharing. I've heard of Bultaco, but never an Ossa. I grew up in Central California, and the Bultaco's were always the Legendary "Best Bike Evah"! Was the Ossa an East Coast thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger U Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 That is a neat story. I bought a new Ossa Stilleto from a dealer here in southern California in 1969. A group of us would go riding in the desert with 3 Ossa's, 2 Bultaco's, a Greeves Challenger, and a Triumph TR6 "desert sled., An odd combination for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPNM Posted February 3, 2019 Author Share Posted February 3, 2019 On 2/1/2019 at 11:53 AM, alexis said: Was the Ossa an East Coast thing? Ossa's were mostly known for their enduro bikes, at least here in the East. The Pioneer was a big seller. They are also well known for their trials bikes, the Explorer and the "Mick Andrews" replica. They came out with the Phantom MX bike that was popular and fast. I had a subscription to "Dirt Bike Magazine" back then (loved Super Hunky) and they did a test on the SDR. I fell in . I found this SDR used and bought it. That would have been in the late '70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordairgtar Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, DPNM said: I had a subscription to "Dirt Bike Magazine" back then (loved Super Hunky) and they did a test on the SDR. I fell in . I found this SDR used and bought it. That would have been in the late '70s. I did an article for Dirt Bike Magazine once. It was about the green stickies the state required you to place on your off road vehicle. The funds were to provide off road p-arks in areas where there wasn't adequate off road oportunities. We had found the land and everything was a go until Fess Parker complained about his "Mobile Home Community" would be impacted by the noise (we designed in sound prevention berms) and would spoil his people's view (view was highway 101 through an industrial park). Ol' Dan'l Boone got his way. I remember one of the persons from the mobile homes got quite upset when I referred to them as a Trailer park. LOL. Long story short, a sympathetic land owner in Carpenteria let us use his land for off road fun as that city wasn't going to let him build a condo resort there. Zoot Capri to all of you. Edited February 3, 2019 by lordairgtar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miatatom Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 14 hours ago, DPNM said: I had a subscription to "Dirt Bike Magazine" back then (loved Super Hunky) and they did a test on the SDR. Couldn't wait for each issue to arrive. Dirt Bike ruled back then. The editors never did tell us what WFO stood for but I think I rode that way. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stitchdup Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Love the op's post, stories like this have that little special extra when they are connected to the items already. Where I live in scotland we call them scramblers instead of dir bikes but they are really popular. A couple of local farmers and one of the building companies have built tracks that are completely free to use (at your own risk due to insurance) and there is an annual beach race that attracts some of the top british and european riders. The dirt bike brands you guys get in the usa are mostly different to those we use although my sister has restored a triumph cub that had been modified for dirt, back to original road spec but I think I would have left it in dirt as it told a story. I think there was a racer from here too in the late 80s/early 90s called roy twatt (an unfortunate name in the uk( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPNM Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 The thing I liked best about Dirt Bike Mag was they told it like it was. If the bike was bad, they let you know. They didn't sugar-coat their tests to please the MFGs (for the sake of advertising dollars) as I believe Cycle, Cycle World, et al did. I'm fairly certain that I've been able to track down every bike magazine that did a test on the SDR though, just to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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