racer in the October 24th issue.
The sport was still relatively new
in the USA, and staffer Art Fried-
man epitomizes serious moto-
geekdom, sporting a full-face
street helmet and a T-shirt, which
at least is adorned with the
classic Puch logo. The testers
also throw down their lack of MX
know-how, lamenting the bike's
reluctance to "slide," while prais
-
ing the saddle. As today's MX
racers know, sliding is unneces-
sary and good motocross bikes
of today are measured by their
truly uncomfortable seats, which
are about as plush as the hood
of an AMC Gremlin (a top-selling
automobile back in 1972).
The quality seat wasn't the only
feature that helped set the Puch
apart from its competitors. Inside
the fuel tank was a plastic liner,
though the staff offered no expla
-
nation as to why that was need-
ed. The frame was made more
rigid with bolt-on gussets, and the
airbox featured a shroud of some
sort, which worked well, because
the staff reported that at the
end of the day "the filter isn't too
dirty." Nothing came loose, and
while the steel fenders were not
in touch with the movement to
-
ward less unsprung weight, they
were at least undercoated. Heavy,
yes. Easily damaged in a crash,
10-4, but no way are they going to
rust. An expansion chamber that
was neither a downpipe nor of
an upswept fashion, but instead
lived in the midsection of the bike,
did a fine job of keeping decibels
well below the accepted (and
expected) norm.
Strong frames, shiny fenders
and a shushed exhaust note are
worth nothing if the machine
can't perform its intended job on
the track, and the Puch quickly
showed the crew that it belonged
on the racecourse—and that the
pilot needs to know how to twist
that grip.
"You have to really wick the
engine," CN wrote. "At a point
when it seems most are about
out of revs, the Puch comes on
for a whole bunch more. Keep
the throttle on, keep it in the right
gear (which was usually third or
fourth) and hooboy! It is some
rapid motorcycle."
In motocross, good brak
-
ing is almost as important as
good power, and like many of its
European counterparts, the Puch
didn't have a good pair of stop
-
pers. The rear brake was "weak
and insensitive," and the front
unit was even less manly. Getting
shut down for the corners was an
issue for many drum-braked ma
-
chines, and the Puch was in need
of some work in this area.
Handling-wise, the staff was
pleased with the motorcycle.
"What it really does best is go very
fast over relatively open terrain,
like a desert. It's no slouch at mo
-
tocross, either, but it is more ori-
ented to the works racer than the
garden-variety novice. The Puch
makes a surprisingly tractable trail
bike…it climbs over and around
obstacles with ease, attributable
to the really excellent suspension
and weight distribution."
The Puch company is still in
existence but has no connection
to motorcycling. Though Harry
Everts even won a Trans-AMA
race in 1974, the company pulled
out of motocross just one year
after his world championship
season. Mopeds and bicycles
with the Puch name followed, but
the motorcycle brand has since
been retired. Lost in time, like
tears in rain.
CN
VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P153
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A few Puchs
showed up at the
recent Vintage ISDE
in Poland.
