Founded in the late 1940s by Spanish industrialist, Manuel Giró, OSSA first achieved worldwide recognition when works rider Santiago Herrero came close to winning the 250cc World Championship in 1969. However, the off-road market was by far the more important for OSSA, as it was for rivals Bultaco and Montesa, and the company concentrated exclusively on 'dirt' bikes from the late 1960s onwards. Some early models had used four-stroke engines, but by the 1960s all OSSAs were two-strokes, and it was with a 'stroker' that OSSA chose to return to the road bike market in 1975 with the launch of the 250 Turismo. Prior to the Turismo's arrival, OSSA had displayed a prototype 500cc 'Yankee' twin at various motorcycle shows and the decision was taken to put it into production in 1976. The project had been instigated by OSSA's United States importer, Yankee (Motors) of Schenectady, which wanted a powerful twin-cylinder dirt bike. Using American-made cycle parts, approximately 760 had been built by Yankee when the company collapsed, leaving OSSA to find a new use for its recently developed engine. Designed by Manuel Giró's son, Eduardo, the Yankee's roadster's 488cc air-cooled motor was built in unit with a six-speed gearbox and produced 58bhp at 7,500rpm. This smart, black-finished power unit was installed in a duplex loop frame, while its cast alloy wheels and front/rear Brembo disc brakes gave the handsome Yankee a class-leading specification. A top speed of 115mph was claimed.

This rare OSSA Yankee was restored one year ago by Vitoria Facundo and displays a total of only 1,289 kilometres on the odometer. The machine is offered with Spanish registration papers.