Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125695
M 12& IVIOTOOROSS ... N of it. Both the brake lever and the gear shift lever are nicely positioned and easy to reach. The frame is the popular double down tube variety. It doesn't seem to flex at all. Some additional [ods have been welded to the bottom to serve a skidplate. Th.ey should do the job, but I would feel more secure with a regular plate. The engine's peripheral equipment is of the h.ighest caliber. The carburetor is a 24 mm Bing center float, which is very reliable. The air cleaner is a Filtron unit which is stuck in a box under the seat. The box is covered by a second, interior shroud which really works. The air cleaner stays very clean and should go many races between washingS.l note that the top and bottom of the t'i1tron unit have been greased to prevent leakage at that source. New owners would do well to observe and do likewise. Sharing the box with the air cleaner are the ignition components, a coil, a capacitor and a little black box presumably containing transistors. The ignition is the new pointless, capacitor discharge, transistorized type, which requires no adjustment and has nothing to wear out. Energy is supplied by a Borsch flywheel magneto. The design of the bike is such that it should be a dream' to work on. Screws and bolts are of common sizes and easH y reached and everything is designed to come apart easily. Take off two screws and the seat comes off (the· nuts are welded in place). You then have access to the air cleaner and ignition components. The countershaft sprocket is completely exposed and can be changed by removing one nut. The rear axle screws out and the rear wheel comes off with no trouble, leaving the rear sprocket and chain in place. The gas tank is held in place by a leather strap (shades of MG TC days!). Access to the magneto is gained by removing three slot-head screws and a big nut. It seems as though almost an y repaK short of a l0.l"er end job, could be made between the heats of a race. This is a very attractive feature to a racer. The bike is priced at $776.00 which is fairly high. But for the money the customer gets 'a real tho~oughbre~ racing machine. The factory expects the demand to exceed the supply for quite' some time and I expect they're right. as Deep head finishing, high ground clearance are predominant features of Puch. Saddleback f'ill'k provides a nice atmosphere for testing. is dirtier than surrounding engine. PUCH 125 MOTOCROSS SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE . . . . 2 cycle, .ingle cylinder BORE. . . . . . . . .• . .. 55 mm . .. 52 mm STROKE . . . . . . .. .• 123.5cc DISPLACEMENT . . •. RATED HORSEPOWER .17 at 8,500 • . . . 13:1 COMPRESSION RATIO LUBRICATION Gas/Oil Mix PRIMARY DRIVE Helical gear drive FINAL DRIVE . . . . • . chain .1st 34.39:1 GEAR RATIOS. . 2nd 22.71:1 3rd 16.72:1 4th13.11 :1 5th 10.54:1 6th 9.22:1 TIRES . Metzler 3:00x21 3.50x18 Interior shroud protects Filtron air cleaner, electrical elements from dust and water. CARBU RETOR . 26 mm Bing IGNITION . . . Borsch Flywheel Magneto, Tran.itorized FRONT SUSPENSION . Ceriani REAR SUSPENSION . . . Girling WH EELBASE . . • . . . . . 54i';. 206 lb•• WEIGHT . . . • . . . . SEAT HEIGHT • . . . . . .31 In. ..11 in. GROUND CLEARANCE FUELCAPACITY .2.8 gal. Despite delight of turned-on first-timer the Puch is not for beginners. ti o ~ w Z W ...J ~ ()