OSSA/YANKEE 1000cc 2-stroke monster.....

I love obscure (to me) bikes, anything weird or odd or unusual. Or just plain monstrous.....with that I'd like to show you one I just learned of myself....

There was a long familial connection between Ossa and the American upstart Yankee Motorcycles. The Yankee twin cylinder 2-stokes were based on a pair of Ossa singles crammed together rudely.

"Here is a  picture  of  the  OSSA  BYRA 1000  built  in  Barcelona  by  the engineer Fernando  Batlló  (who  also  built a  three  cylinder 525 cc before that).  The  bike  raced  in  the  24hrs of  Montjuich  in  1972  but  crashed. The engine  gives  115  HP  and  the top  speed  is  240  km/h  (not  bad for 1972???!!!). The  bike  can  be  seen nowadays  in  the  motorcycle  museumof Bassella,  on  the  road  to  Andorra from  Ponts,  Lleida,  Spain."

This is at first glance a fairly typical for the time race bike. It's all purpose and anger. Oh....and 1000ccs worth of 4-cylinder 2-stroke psychosis. Gimme......

That's a lot of 2-stroke fury staring back'atcha.....

"Umm.....Fernando....perhaps some brake development is in order......" All joking aside, this pic was taken moments after the rider one Mr.Cufi died from a high-speed collision with a tree.

Nifty tip-up body work...