I'm a bike rider of the 70s. That Puch, in black and gold, John player special, cigarette colours was so fast, nudging 70mph, which on something so light was amazing, and a front disc brake.😊 Then there was the Kawasaki AR80.
I still admire the Puch JPS. I saved and skipped mopeds, buying a new blue KH 250 B2 in October 1977 , from lowfield heath Kawasaki near Gatwick airport. Even after passing my test, I wasn't bothered about buying a bigger bike, it was such a great bike.
Same here .....I skipped out buying a moped and got a 5 year old Suzuki TS100 a few weeks before my 17th birthday. Then 6 months later I traded it for a brand new X7 which in 1978 cost me £780. Great memories.
Nostalgia lane. I went from DT50 to TS100, YCS5E to RD250 to KH250, to KH400. I bought an X7 50 quid that had been in a crash, but just had a bent drop out on the swing arm. This was my winter bike. That was my last 2 stroke. After which I went 4 cylinders. I miss that 2 stroke sound and the powerband kicking in. If I had kept all my bikes and cars from my youth, I could sell them and buy a house.
My first machine was a Puch M50 sport back in 1975. My mate had one too, I treated mine with kid gloves, it was always cleaned and serviced regularly but my mate treated his like dirt and his was always 5 - 10 mph faster than mine.
Maybe your exhaust port became coked, whereas his (assuming he thrashed it) may have run a little hotter, with less coke build-up. At 16 I had a second-hand FS1-E, and it was pitifully slow until I decoked the exhaust port, which was _two-thirds_ blocked!
Also got my Puch M50 sport in 75 when I started college Often found it running in bike park My so called mates found it funny to start using the pedals (no ignition key) The silencer coked up fast too Two shots of oil in the tank if I remember Also had chain snap which jammed in the alternator casing It had to go Hello Honda 250 super dream
@@stephenhughes9548 I had a CD175 and lusted after a 250 Superdream, but could never afford one on YOPS and then YTS money! By the time I was earning more, I bought cars and stopped riding bikes.
I was the mechanic in a South London bike shop in the 70s and we were Fantic agents, which I am not surprised you didn't include in the best. They were expensive but fast and powerful, 60mph easily on the later ones and over 70mph with a bit of tweaking but were woefully unreliable, the later engines were around 10.5bhp which is not far off the rating for a current learner 125. We sold the Caballero trail bike and the GT mainly and in the late 70s we kept rebuilt cranks and rebored barrels on the shelf as they could get through a piston and bore in 6 months and a crank every year. The warranty when new was originally 6 months but later reduced to 3 months, which said it all. They were killed of by the restrictions as no-one would pay a high price for a 30mph moped and everyone bought used mopeds for the next few years, we never had any KTMs or Hercules in but plenty of Puchs, FS1Es, SS50s and AP50s, the Japanese ones were generally the most reliable even if the performance was down on the European ones. We did sell 1 restricted Fantic Chopper and on first riding it I got it up to 45mph on the clock, I told the boss who said to phone the improrter and see what they said. The response was "tell them its speedo error", the lucky kid never did complain about the speed.
Cool bikes and very collectable, but they sound like utter shit lol, usually it would be 5k on a set of rings but a barrel every 6 months? Junk cool junk
Great ped review, at 16 I had Malaguti Olimpique 50, I get my small 2stroke oil kicks today with Suzuki Stinger and a Hercules but the W2000 Wankle, a lot of fun especially the rotary.
@@bikerdood1100 signed up to your channel on that view. Its a feel good feeling when you see those old peds again. Worked for 2 years on odd jobs weekends and after school on farms, petrol pumps, cleaning cars, buying and selling Honda 50s to afford that bike. Such a good feeling first day on the road and the Malagutis were dead reliable, that Morini engine unburstable, happy days. In reality the 50s are too slow for todays traffic and the Stinger 125 just has enough get up and go to stay out the waybut when drivers see that tin rear tyre and a pff of blue smoke they automatically sit on your ars* assuming they will overtake, not a nice feeling. The W2000 stil gets a bit of that (3.50" rear tyre) but the speed and twin exhausts give out a different message, this thing can shift!
I've seen Puch mopeds in the states in the 80s and 90s . The only KTMs I've ever seen was in the Mojave desert . Dirt bikes only . It's awesome you shared their proper name even though I can't repeat it . I've never heard of the other 3 bikes . Fascinating history lesson that I wish they taught in school.
Excellent video, the one stand out European 50cc I remembered was the Fantic Caballero. My mates old man bought him a automatic 50cc Italjet, brand new self build, learnt to ride that at about 9 or 10 happy days
Just noticed a small error in the commentary; in fact the Puch Grand Prix did not have autolube..... It was run on the seemingly dangerous petrol:oil mix ratio of 50:1 !!! Back in 1977, luckily for me there was still one garage local to my home which had a 'Petroil pump' which would dispense ready mixed fuel.
My cousin had a bike with the same motor and it was definitely an auto lube so it may have varied during its production life. Auto lube was not universal at all Back then
Great video, I had a Puch Grand Prix 50 from new when I was 16. Mine was the Red/orange one , nice to see it here, (4m50s) I recall spending £1 for a tank of fuel, 70p for petrol and 30p for the 2 stroke oil and a bit of a shake before leaving the forecourt to mix it It was good for 49mph and fine 2 up. Thanks.
Loved this video. Saw a Zündapp Florett the other day beautifully restored, magnifiek. Still a lot of moped clubs in the Netherlands. When i encounter them on their group rides i always turn my engine off and enjoy the show.
Thought there might have been a mention of Garelli, Gilera or even Kreidler mopeds - these were all over Cheshire in the early '70's. Great video all the same.
My first bike, and the only new bike I ever owned although without pedals was a Garelli Record 50cc, I've been riding a 1400 Intruder for the last 16 years but would love a spin on the old Garelli.
I had a few sports mopeds but the Puch Grand Prix Special was my favourite. It seemed to have more torque to me and it handled really well. Swapped it for a Fantic Chopper but regretted it. Especially as the Fantic shook itself apart on the way back from Great Yarmouth. Hi Dave if you get to read this. Happy days.
Re the Puch Grand Prix "JPS" - Just to set the record straight, although the scheme was obviously cribbed from the JPS McLaren F1 car of the time, Puch never called it a 'John Player Special' or 'JPS Replica' nor did they ever mention JPS in any advertising. As far as I know, there was no link nor permissions from McLaren nor Imperial Tobacco to use the scheme. The monogram on the side panel is a stylised 'SDP' for Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and they cleverly accentuated the implied link by referring to the bike as a Grand Prix Supreme (GPS instead of JPS). I'm sure that nowadays they would be hauled straight into court! I bought a Puch Monza 4C brand new in 1977 (SKR53R, where are you now?) which was basically a red white and blue (std) Grand Prix and my main memories of it were that it had a horrendously clunky gearbox, an excellent power band and was a far better handling bike than either the Fizzy or the AP50. I did 15 000 miles on it in the year between my 16th and 17th birthday when I graduated to a GT250. Oh, and as I am sure you know - the blue bike shown in the 'Grand Prix' section of the video is an M50 Sport, which was actually a 125 with a 50cc engine. It appeared several years before the Grand Prix and was a very different bike - physically larger, heavier, with a duplex frame and the engine was actually not the same as in the Grand Prix series. Another great video - keep up the good work, I'm really enjoying your channel!
I’m aware that they never did JPS Lotus by the way McLaren we’re Marlborough sponsored during. The 70s and by Yardley before that. Used to be into F1 in the 70s and early 80s. It’s crap now I think
Thanks for sharing your story ,I enjoyed that 🤘🏼 I was on a Honda ss50 five speed in 1978, I used to rock up at college l as a 16 year old another student had a so called Black Puch JPS , we used to marvel at in the bike shed right up until the time he threw it up the road on a bend which he claimed a manhole was the cause , in truth he ran out of talent and hit the kurb on the other side of the road narrowly missing an on coming car ..oh to be 16.....😂
Yeah, you're right. The logo was similar but it said SDP (Steyr Daimler Puch). A great look nonetheless. And a great little bike. That motor was special.
Another interesting video! As for suggestions; maybe you could do a focus on the evolution of certain key models, from their origins to their present-day version (just one model per video, so you could have a series). Some you could consider may include: Honda XL 500, Yam XT500, Honda SS50 (my first bike!), etc. Or, it might not be a singular model, but a genre/range from a given manufacture; say, the Yam DT range, from the DT 50 upwards, or the evolution of the Kawasaki 900s, through the Gpz900r to whatever the current descendant is. A popular one would be the evolution of the early Suzuki GS range (again, the singles, twins and fours, not just a single model), through the first 16v GSX versions, and right through the GSXRs. What do you think? Worth a stab, I'd say! 😀👍
That black jps much was mine in the 70s what a bike, coolest village lad lol. It was my brothers first, but had little interest. Then he got a black rs 200 Ford escort, what on earth was he thinking 😅😅
Fascinating trip down memory lane. A friend had a Puch Grand Prix JPS & nothing the same size could catch it! Can we have a special, dedicated to Gilera, Fantic, Garelli & Malaguti sports mopeds from the '70s, please? My mis-spent yoof!😂
Same thought. Had mine in the long summer of 76 and did a lot of miles. It was quicker than an FS1E away from the lights but top end was similar I think. I've had a good few bikes since including a Bandit 1200, but the little black Puch is still one of my favourites. God I wish I had it now. And my hair.
Dood,it is pronounced Pook, like book. In your defense, I used to butcher the pronunciation too. I do like your moped videos, keep them coming. Any interesting Batavus bikes? cheers from Canada 🇨🇦
Sachs g3 is my favorite. I have a Tomos streetmate I have to fix some things on can’t wait to get out riding again nothing like the feel of a good two stroke
I had one of the Puch Maxi Grand Prix. Not the JPS version but omg did that thing fly. None of my friends on their Ap or even Fs1e could catch it until they started putting add ons on their bikes. I never got pulled over on it where my friends were constantly being tugged lol 😂. I went on to owning a RD 80 MX which I bought at the fraction of the price compared to the RD 80 LC because nobody was buying the 80 MX so Jenkins of Cambridge sold it for the grand sum of £700 ( quite a lot of money but nothing to that price of a RD125LC ). For a 80cc it flew,especially in the corners and as a lot of my friends had gone over to Er’s and Dt’s rides out were sort of equal,if it was wet though they would really have to slow down!. I passed my Motorcycle test on it with ease and my first Pillion passenger was a friend of quite a Size and bless it,that 80 still managed a half decent speed. It got vandalised but myself and my Dad fixed up the dented tank and gave it a new colour scheme wheels ( White Hammerite which we somehow got smooth ? ) and a black Leather tank cover ( we did respray the tank but it wasn’t the best ) and she was sold to another Happy owner. Still remember the reg : B429 AAV for the RD. Then I went onto a Yamaha AS125 Twin before buying a Suzuki X7 and that thing was constantly blowing out piston’s thanks to a bad auto lube system. I think it keeping blowing up and me having to push the bloody thing miles home encouraged me to pass my car test quicker Lol 😂
Nothing could be so bad as to switch to a car, I’d sooner have my bits waxed 😂 I was in my late 30s before I even learned to drive a car, which I rarely do Horrible tin boxes
Nice to see European engineering. We often forget that most of the original innovations were invented by the the UK and Europe long before the Japanese had even thought of producing a motorcycle, however they were better at manufacturing and developing them down to a cost. Great video and some interesting machines.
The closest to something I had here in the states was a 1982 Honda MB-5. 50cc oil injected two stroke. I purchased it new for 680.00 dollars. Took my test on it and used it to commute to work. It did 50mph from new wish I owned it today even at my now 70 years old.
Those are really cool bikes! I have a 1979 Garelli gransport. It looks more like a traditional moped. It goes to about 37mph which actually feels too fast.
@@bikerdood1100 Mine was bought new by my Italian cousin and he shipped it back after his visit to Italy. By the time I got it needed top end. Did that almost 25 years ago. Still runs great. As a motorcyclist I find the lack of gyroscopic sensations on that one makes it spooky at speed. Needs no restoration. Probably one of the few that made it to the colonies.
Styling was an acquired taste for many machines of the period I always wonder if better quality oils would have helped reliability back then, had they been available of course
@@bikerdood1100 - Agreed on the oils, and also that fact that you could fill up with a gallon of petrol and and put in two squirts from the oil dispenser, which never really mixed that well by adding it in that fashion
@@bikerdood1100 I also think young lads had a habit of adding a bit more oil ( I know I did with my Bantam at age 12 until my dad educated me, read bo*8ocked !) thinking it would help with lubing the engine, but of course all’s it did was to weaken the mixture and for it to run lean and seize if you overdid it.
I offer an addition to your list, excellent as it is: A machine I never saw on the UK but used to see in continental Europe. The name is Malaguti. I never rode one, but they were pretty common on France and Italy. And... A Malaguti played a key role on one of the best French films of the early 80s. Not the sort of bike you lent to a pal without making sure he was going to look after it...
I was tinkering with my Casal K190 this weekend. It's an absolute shed atm, and differs a little from the K190 in this video. It is a 4-speed with 'pedals', and looking through old Observers books it seems they made a lot of different 50cc models. Mine is a 1975 so has 'full power', with nice touches like aluminium/alloy wheel rims, and although it is a road bike, it has a high swept exhaust like a scrambler, perhaps this helped with the lean angle...lol.
@@bikerdood1100 It was maybe to help clear the 'pedals' as well. The are just like footpegs really with very short arms so probably hang in the spot where a downswept pipe would be. I think mine is the SS4 similar to this one, although it doesn't say SS4 on its i.d.plates anywhere - i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/cc/d5/4eccd56f9be31b7030db7328415ae1cc.jpg
Had a Puch Grand prix Special - bought it brand new, August 1976 from Dennis Bowley in Tutbury. PBF63R Cost me £305. Thought I was the coolest kid around....lol
Clocked a mates Casal phantom 5 at 60mph on my Suzi GT185, they were exotic , flaky, and rare , but one running spot on was more than a match for fizzy's and AP50s.
I had a Casal, thought it was a k190 but it was different to the one in the video. Had chrome tank sides and mudguards and I loved it. It was by far the fastest moped in the area and never had a problem with it, it had a very distinctive exhaust note and there was only one other in the area and strangely enough having not seen the guy who owned it for 45 years I bumped into him in a bike shop a couple of weeks ago.
@@nigelheath7048 know what you mean about the sound. With all that chrome your's may well have been a phantom five, assuming you had the requisite 5 speed box.
The Puch tank in frame is the most classic and Peugeot 103 had the half variator.was also What you didnt mention that they had gas station in europe , I think in Austria where the hills are alive, sold with pre mix in a pump fuel and 1977 was the highest sales year for all mopeds.
how about a little popular classic the CD CB 175 Hondas from thespian frame sloper type to last of the CBs CdS , be careful though as USA model are around , being a bike of the the commuter and budget rider and a popular classic today
Who knows Not the owners that’s for sure. They all say their bikes It’s a bit like which is the fastest tortoise 😂 I don’t think it really matters, it’s how it makes the owners feel that really matters
It's a shame you didn't give any attention to the Dutch brand Jamathi. There were a little over a 1000 (hand)made between 1965 and 1974 and I've had 3 of them. Based on a 50cc grand prix racer developed by Jan Thiel and Martin Mijwaart. Jan Thiel was the man behind the later successes of Aprilia racing. Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi and Jorge Lorenzo owe their Successes partly to the technical skills of Jan Thiel.
The Japanese mopeds had the best build quality and reliability,the Italian mopeds were the fastest but poor quality,Puch were too expensive and not that common.
Yes moped i had a puch maxi and a Nsu quickly and as soon as i was 17 cb175k7 last of the line met my first wife on one of them i had a girl friend but she put a end to that and my worst decision ever
See that would have been goodbye girlfriend. No one gets between me and the bikes. I found the best thing was to teach the wife asap She’s been riding for more than 25 years and has ridden all over Europe and a trip to India too, When I go out for a ride she never says a word, well other than wait for me
Never heard anyone call it that before the vid, and them only from US viewers, I expect it’s correct but I’ve never heard an English person call it that. Although we do pronounce aluminium correctly 😂
@@bikerdood1100 Solder too I bet. I'm Irish by birth so I tend to pronounce solder and aluminium properly too.. I used to work at a bike shop that was run by a German guy and we sold Puch mopeds amongst others bikes. His last name was Koch. You can guess how that was pronounced.
I bought this moped in 1977 from Rumbelows in Hartlepool it cost £296 brand new reg SVN 936R I put a nose fairing on it tt100 tyres 😂 it was the fastest moped round where I lived even 2 up it beat them all ,great times I sold it 2 years later to a bike shop in Blackhall for £325 it was mint ,I sourced a a1 in Leeds the wanted £6500 for it I was half tempted the Puch Jps
![Eminem - The Death of Slim Shady [Graveyard Album Trailer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vOJD-6vQpXU/mqdefault.jpg)
I could watch videos about Puchs all night.
Good work.
That would b3 a lot of Puch
I'm a bike rider of the 70s. That Puch, in black and gold, John player special, cigarette colours was so fast, nudging 70mph, which on something so light was amazing, and a front disc brake.😊
Then there was the Kawasaki AR80.
Saw an Ar80 on a motorcycle toy run, it was flying along
70mph???? Then your Mum came in to wake you up!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@WoBlink1961 that's what I was thinking
Km/hr
😂the one i longed for the jps but too expensive for me real quality
I still admire the Puch JPS. I saved and skipped mopeds, buying a new blue KH 250 B2 in October 1977 , from lowfield heath Kawasaki near Gatwick airport. Even after passing my test, I wasn't bothered about buying a bigger bike, it was such a great bike.
Unlike today not everyone graved the biggest possible bike
Wasn't TBH261R was it - that was my blue KH250B2 which I bought second hand from Paddock Wood Kawasaki..... 🤣
@@WoBlink1961 no, mine was S reg
Same here .....I skipped out buying a moped and got a 5 year old Suzuki TS100 a few weeks before my 17th birthday.
Then 6 months later I traded it for a brand new X7 which in 1978 cost me £780.
Great memories.
Nostalgia lane. I went from DT50 to TS100, YCS5E to RD250 to KH250, to KH400. I bought an X7 50 quid that had been in a crash, but just had a bent drop out on the swing arm. This was my winter bike. That was my last 2 stroke. After which I went 4 cylinders. I miss that 2 stroke sound and the powerband kicking in. If I had kept all my bikes and cars from my youth, I could sell them and buy a house.
I had a puch m50 sport in 1976 wish i still had it memories
Bikes do make memories I believe
@@bikerdood1100 sold it then bought a honda cb 125 s lovely memories
The Puch Grand Prix brought back a few memories for me ,bought one at 14 years old as a field bike 👍
So many nice models died on fields
My AP 50 for example
My first machine was a Puch M50 sport back in 1975. My mate had one too, I treated mine with kid gloves, it was always cleaned and serviced regularly but my mate treated his like dirt and his was always 5 - 10 mph faster than mine.
Typical
Maybe your exhaust port became coked, whereas his (assuming he thrashed it) may have run a little hotter, with less coke build-up. At 16 I had a second-hand FS1-E, and it was pitifully slow until I decoked the exhaust port, which was _two-thirds_ blocked!
Also got my Puch M50 sport in 75 when I started college Often found it running in bike park My so called mates found it funny to start using the pedals (no ignition key) The silencer coked up fast too Two shots of oil in the tank if I remember Also had chain snap which jammed in the alternator casing It had to go Hello Honda 250 super dream
@@stephenhughes9548 I had a CD175 and lusted after a 250 Superdream, but could never afford one on YOPS and then YTS money! By the time I was earning more, I bought cars and stopped riding bikes.
Magic.....
Shazam
Lubbly Jubbly, thanks for bringing back great memories.
Glad you enjoyed it
I was the mechanic in a South London bike shop in the 70s and we were Fantic agents, which I am not surprised you didn't include in the best. They were expensive but fast and powerful, 60mph easily on the later ones and over 70mph with a bit of tweaking but were woefully unreliable, the later engines were around 10.5bhp which is not far off the rating for a current learner 125. We sold the Caballero trail bike and the GT mainly and in the late 70s we kept rebuilt cranks and rebored barrels on the shelf as they could get through a piston and bore in 6 months and a crank every year. The warranty when new was originally 6 months but later reduced to 3 months, which said it all. They were killed of by the restrictions as no-one would pay a high price for a 30mph moped and everyone bought used mopeds for the next few years, we never had any KTMs or Hercules in but plenty of Puchs, FS1Es, SS50s and AP50s, the Japanese ones were generally the most reliable even if the performance was down on the European ones. We did sell 1 restricted Fantic Chopper and on first riding it I got it up to 45mph on the clock, I told the boss who said to phone the improrter and see what they said. The response was "tell them its speedo error", the lucky kid never did complain about the speed.
I put then in part two I think, dealing with Italian machines
Cool bikes and very collectable, but they sound like utter shit lol, usually it would be 5k on a set of rings but a barrel every 6 months? Junk cool junk
Great ped review, at 16 I had Malaguti Olimpique 50, I get my small 2stroke oil kicks today with Suzuki Stinger and a Hercules but the W2000 Wankle, a lot of fun especially the rotary.
Ah the Olimpique, that bike was featured in part 2 of the series
Very pretty
@@bikerdood1100 signed up to your channel on that view. Its a feel good feeling when you see those old peds again. Worked for 2 years on odd jobs weekends and after school on farms, petrol pumps, cleaning cars, buying and selling Honda 50s to afford that bike. Such a good feeling first day on the road and the Malagutis were dead reliable, that Morini engine unburstable, happy days. In reality the 50s are too slow for todays traffic and the Stinger 125 just has enough get up and go to stay out the waybut when drivers see that tin rear tyre and a pff of blue smoke they automatically sit on your ars* assuming they will overtake, not a nice feeling. The W2000 stil gets a bit of that (3.50" rear tyre) but the speed and twin exhausts give out a different message, this thing can shift!
Thanks for another great video evoking memories of my youth.
Please keep up the good work.
Thanks for the feedback
I've seen Puch mopeds in the states in the 80s and 90s . The only KTMs I've ever seen was in the Mojave desert . Dirt bikes only . It's awesome you shared their proper name even though I can't repeat it .
I've never heard of the other 3 bikes .
Fascinating history lesson that I wish they taught in school.
Well I’m not saying it again 🤦
Always interesting; thank you.
Thanks for the feedback
Another interesting moped video .
Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
That Puch was a cracking little moped.. I had a ride on one in 76/ 77 at the age of 15/ 16 and I was most impressed!
I get a lot of love for the Puch in the comments
Excellent video, the one stand out European 50cc I remembered was the Fantic Caballero. My mates old man bought him a automatic 50cc Italjet, brand new self build, learnt to ride that at about 9 or 10 happy days
The Fantic features in our video on Italian mopeds
Just noticed a small error in the commentary; in fact the Puch Grand Prix did not have autolube..... It was run on the seemingly dangerous petrol:oil mix ratio of 50:1 !!! Back in 1977, luckily for me there was still one garage local to my home which had a 'Petroil pump' which would dispense ready mixed fuel.
My cousin had a bike with the same motor and it was definitely an auto lube so it may have varied during its production life. Auto lube was not universal at all Back then
Great video, I had a Puch Grand Prix 50 from new when I was 16. Mine was the Red/orange one , nice to see it here, (4m50s) I recall spending £1 for a tank of fuel, 70p for petrol and 30p for the 2 stroke oil and a bit of a shake before leaving the forecourt to mix it It was good for 49mph and fine 2 up. Thanks.
Everything is a lot more expensive now
Especially the Puch
Loved this video. Saw a Zündapp Florett the other day beautifully restored, magnifiek. Still a lot of moped clubs in the Netherlands. When i encounter them on their group rides i always turn my engine off and enjoy the show.
That is a rare spot
Thought there might have been a mention of Garelli, Gilera or even Kreidler mopeds - these were all over Cheshire in the early '70's. Great video all the same.
That particular video is the third in the series, Italian mopeds featuring in part 2
My first bike, and the only new bike I ever owned although without pedals was a Garelli Record 50cc, I've been riding a 1400 Intruder for the last 16 years but would love a spin on the old Garelli.
@@bikerdood1100 Oh right - sorry.
I really like the Puch and KTM machines. Take care all. Cheers
Nice
Shame a Puch didn’t make it
I had a few sports mopeds but the Puch Grand Prix Special was my favourite. It seemed to have more torque to me and it handled really well. Swapped it for a Fantic Chopper but regretted it. Especially as the Fantic shook itself apart on the way back from Great Yarmouth. Hi Dave if you get to read this. Happy days.
Oh I try and read all the messages
Re the Puch Grand Prix "JPS" - Just to set the record straight, although the scheme was obviously cribbed from the JPS McLaren F1 car of the time, Puch never called it a 'John Player Special' or 'JPS Replica' nor did they ever mention JPS in any advertising. As far as I know, there was no link nor permissions from McLaren nor Imperial Tobacco to use the scheme. The monogram on the side panel is a stylised 'SDP' for Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and they cleverly accentuated the implied link by referring to the bike as a Grand Prix Supreme (GPS instead of JPS). I'm sure that nowadays they would be hauled straight into court!
I bought a Puch Monza 4C brand new in 1977 (SKR53R, where are you now?) which was basically a red white and blue (std) Grand Prix and my main memories of it were that it had a horrendously clunky gearbox, an excellent power band and was a far better handling bike than either the Fizzy or the AP50. I did 15 000 miles on it in the year between my 16th and 17th birthday when I graduated to a GT250. Oh, and as I am sure you know - the blue bike shown in the 'Grand Prix' section of the video is an M50 Sport, which was actually a 125 with a 50cc engine. It appeared several years before the Grand Prix and was a very different bike - physically larger, heavier, with a duplex frame and the engine was actually not the same as in the Grand Prix series.
Another great video - keep up the good work, I'm really enjoying your channel!
I’m aware that they never did
JPS Lotus by the way McLaren we’re Marlborough sponsored during. The 70s and by Yardley before that.
Used to be into F1 in the 70s and early 80s. It’s crap now I think
According to the DVLC SKR 53R still exists but tax ran out 8 July 1983 😒
@@bikerdood1100 Of course you are absolutely correct! I've never really followed F1.....
Thanks for sharing your story ,I enjoyed that 🤘🏼
I was on a Honda ss50 five speed in 1978, I used to rock up at college l as a 16 year old another student had a so called Black Puch JPS , we used to marvel at in the bike shed right up until the time he threw it up the road on a bend which he claimed a manhole was the cause , in truth he ran out of talent and hit the kurb on the other side of the road narrowly missing an on coming car ..oh to be 16.....😂
Yeah, you're right. The logo was similar but it said SDP (Steyr Daimler Puch). A great look nonetheless. And a great little bike. That motor was special.
Another interesting video! As for suggestions; maybe you could do a focus on the evolution of certain key models, from their origins to their present-day version (just one model per video, so you could have a series). Some you could consider may include: Honda XL 500, Yam XT500, Honda SS50 (my first bike!), etc. Or, it might not be a singular model, but a genre/range from a given manufacture; say, the Yam DT range, from the DT 50 upwards, or the evolution of the Kawasaki 900s, through the Gpz900r to whatever the current descendant is. A popular one would be the evolution of the early Suzuki GS range (again, the singles, twins and fours, not just a single model), through the first 16v GSX versions, and right through the GSXRs. What do you think? Worth a stab, I'd say! 😀👍
Some very good suggestions there
I had a Puch GP in Black and Gold. Proper bike!
Well
Proper Tiny bike
That black jps much was mine in the 70s what a bike, coolest village lad lol. It was my brothers first, but had little interest.
Then he got a black rs 200 Ford escort, what on earth was he thinking 😅😅
Four wheels 🤢
He was thinking car=girls
Fascinating trip down memory lane. A friend had a Puch Grand Prix JPS & nothing the same size could catch it! Can we have a special, dedicated to Gilera, Fantic, Garelli & Malaguti sports mopeds from the '70s, please? My mis-spent yoof!😂
Well this is the 3rd video
You may want to take @ look at part two, I put a link on the video
Same thought. Had mine in the long summer of 76 and did a lot of miles. It was quicker than an FS1E away from the lights but top end was similar I think. I've had a good few bikes since including a Bandit 1200, but the little black Puch is still one of my favourites. God I wish I had it now. And my hair.
Fantic cab was faster…7.2bhp
Was really hoping you would include something out of Sweden like the Crescent E-Type, but then again classic Swedish mopeds deserve their own video.
Not an area of small bikes with which I’m fanatic all
Fascinating 🤔
I had a Kreidler electronic year 1977 … one of the last Big mopeds.
Before things slowed down a fair bit
Another great video. Thanks for making it. Lots of memories. What about Motobecane?
Soon
Dood,it is pronounced Pook, like book. In your defense, I used to butcher the pronunciation too. I do like your moped videos, keep them coming. Any interesting Batavus bikes?
cheers from Canada 🇨🇦
Maybe in Canada, I’ve never heard anyone pronounce it that way, an£ those things were a common site, of course I’m not Austrian
Pooch puck it's pronounced all over the place around here in the states.
@@larrynorsworthy8582 that’s nice
Come on, Canadians can't even pronounce "about"! You can't expect them to get foreign motorcycle manufacturers' names right!😀
@@ParaBellum2024 what is all this abooot Ah ?😂😂
I've almost finished building my time machine .. I'll set it to 1979... I'll be 15 again and ask my dad if I can have that ktm at 7.05.
Well good luck
I would tuck @ few away in a barn somewhere so you can come back and sell them at today’s market value 😂
@@bikerdood1100 Will your flux capacitor fit on a Fiesta? The 70s weren't perfect but I'd love to pop back for a holiday. And a few cheap pints.
@@Geffo555 no you need the stainless steal of the Delorian
Sachs g3 is my favorite. I have a Tomos streetmate I have to fix some things on can’t wait to get out riding again nothing like the feel of a good two stroke
Remember the Tomos on sale in Woolworth back in the 70s
I had one of the Puch Maxi Grand Prix.
Not the JPS version but omg did that thing fly.
None of my friends on their Ap or even Fs1e could catch it until they started putting add ons on their bikes.
I never got pulled over on it where my friends were constantly being tugged lol 😂.
I went on to owning a RD 80 MX which I bought at the fraction of the price compared to the RD 80 LC because nobody was buying the 80 MX so Jenkins of Cambridge sold it for the grand sum of £700 ( quite a lot of money but nothing to that price of a RD125LC ).
For a 80cc it flew,especially in the corners and as a lot of my friends had gone over to Er’s and Dt’s rides out were sort of equal,if it was wet though they would really have to slow down!.
I passed my Motorcycle test on it with ease and my first Pillion passenger was a friend of quite a Size and bless it,that 80 still managed a half decent speed.
It got vandalised but myself and my Dad fixed up the dented tank and gave it a new colour scheme wheels ( White Hammerite which we somehow got smooth ? ) and a black Leather tank cover ( we did respray the tank but it wasn’t the best ) and she was sold to another Happy owner.
Still remember the reg : B429 AAV for the RD.
Then I went onto a Yamaha AS125 Twin before buying a Suzuki X7 and that thing was constantly blowing out piston’s thanks to a bad auto lube system.
I think it keeping blowing up and me having to push the bloody thing miles home encouraged me to pass my car test quicker Lol 😂
Nothing could be so bad as to switch to a car, I’d sooner have my bits waxed 😂
I was in my late 30s before I even learned to drive a car, which I rarely do
Horrible tin boxes
Had a fs1e in the 70s used to chase puchs hondas fantic motors garelli wasn't happy until I burnt them off happy days great fun
Young hooligans 😂
Nice to see European engineering. We often forget that most of the original innovations were invented by the the UK and Europe long before the Japanese had even thought of producing a motorcycle, however they were better at manufacturing and developing them down to a cost. Great video and some interesting machines.
There’s a separate video for Italian press too
The closest to something I had here in the states was a 1982 Honda MB-5. 50cc oil injected two stroke. I purchased it new for 680.00 dollars. Took my test on it and used it to commute to work. It did 50mph from new wish I owned it today even at my now 70 years old.
Remember the MB well
Those are really cool bikes! I have a 1979 Garelli gransport. It looks more like a traditional moped. It goes to about 37mph which actually feels too fast.
All depends where you ride and what your on, my 1935 Terrot feels fast at anytime over 20, scary over 40 mph
@@bikerdood1100
Mine was bought new by my Italian cousin and he shipped it back after his visit to Italy. By the time I got it needed top end. Did that almost 25 years ago. Still runs great. As a motorcyclist I find the lack of gyroscopic sensations on that one makes it spooky at speed. Needs no restoration. Probably one of the few that made it to the colonies.
I mentioned on another video, my nephew had a Casal Phantom, like a little rocket, not that pretty and delicate
Styling was an acquired taste for many machines of the period
I always wonder if better quality oils would have helped reliability back then, had they been available of course
@@bikerdood1100 - Agreed on the oils, and also that fact that you could fill up with a gallon of petrol and and put in two squirts from the oil dispenser, which never really mixed that well by adding it in that fashion
@@bikerdood1100 I also think young lads had a habit of adding a bit more oil ( I know I did with my Bantam at age 12 until my dad educated me, read bo*8ocked !) thinking it would help with lubing the engine, but of course all’s it did was to weaken the mixture and for it to run lean and seize if you overdid it.
@@martiniv8924 well it was quite variable
Some over oiled some under and some used completely inappropriate oil
I offer an addition to your list, excellent as it is:
A machine I never saw on the UK but used to see in continental Europe. The name is Malaguti.
I never rode one, but they were pretty common on France and Italy.
And... A Malaguti played a key role on one of the best French films of the early 80s.
Not the sort of bike you lent to a pal without making sure he was going to look after it...
That’s part 3 of a series
In part 2 I concentrated on Italian machines which of course included Malaguti
Malaguti sports mopeds were imported, a mate had one. Very rare though and late to the super moped party era
I was tinkering with my Casal K190 this weekend. It's an absolute shed atm, and differs a little from the K190 in this video. It is a 4-speed with 'pedals', and looking through old Observers books it seems they made a lot of different 50cc models. Mine is a 1975 so has 'full power', with nice touches like aluminium/alloy wheel rims, and although it is a road bike, it has a high swept exhaust like a scrambler, perhaps this helped with the lean angle...lol.
Exhaust may have helped ground clearance but reasons of style seem likely too
@@bikerdood1100 It was maybe to help clear the 'pedals' as well. The are just like footpegs really with very short arms so probably hang in the spot where a downswept pipe would be. I think mine is the SS4 similar to this one, although it doesn't say SS4 on its i.d.plates anywhere - i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/cc/d5/4eccd56f9be31b7030db7328415ae1cc.jpg
Had a Puch Grand prix Special - bought it brand new, August 1976 from Dennis Bowley in Tutbury.
PBF63R
Cost me £305.
Thought I was the coolest kid around....lol
If only they were still that price
@@bikerdood1100
Indeed.
Once tried to buy one - a reminder of times past.
They wanted a fiver change from £9.000
Still missed out the Garelli Tiger Cross.
Italian beast
Definitely in one of my moped videos
ive got a 2003 aprillia rs 50 fully tuned does 85mph
I doubt it’s on a standard bore somehow
By the way im 57 i rde a gsxr 750 the aprillia was for my lad when he was 16 he never rode it so i kept it
Clocked a mates Casal phantom 5 at 60mph on my Suzi GT185, they were exotic , flaky, and rare , but one running spot on was more than a match for fizzy's and AP50s.
They could move, well for a while at least
I had a Casal, thought it was a k190 but it was different to the one in the video. Had chrome tank sides and mudguards and I loved it. It was by far the fastest moped in the area and never had a problem with it, it had a very distinctive exhaust note and there was only one other in the area and strangely enough having not seen the guy who owned it for 45 years I bumped into him in a bike shop a couple of weeks ago.
@@nigelheath7048 know what you mean about the sound. With all that chrome your's may well have been a phantom five, assuming you had the requisite 5 speed box.
You forgot on TOMOS Electronic E 90 produced in Slovenia.Mighty motor bike. One of most beautiful in 70 s
No I just haven’t got them yet
The Puch tank in frame is the most classic and Peugeot 103 had the half variator.was also What you didnt mention that they had gas station in europe , I think in Austria where the hills are alive, sold with pre mix in a pump fuel and 1977 was the highest sales year for all mopeds.
If I’d. Put all that in the video would have half an long 😂
👍
Thanks
Portugal had a big market whit mopeds. Yamaha RZ 50 was included like so many other "powerfull" 50ccs. The RZ 50 achieve 105km/h stock!!!
Not in the UK it didn’t 😂
Puch rhymes with "book".
Well that really depends what park of England your from because the way the word book is said varies quite a bit 😂
Unless you run out of petrol.... Then it is pronounced "push".
All us kids used to say Puch, which rhymed with spook. Many ways to say the same thing. haha
@@BanjoLuke1 brilliant 😂
how about a little popular classic the CD CB 175 Hondas from thespian frame sloper type to last of the CBs CdS , be careful though as USA model are around , being a bike of the the commuter and budget rider and a popular classic today
I plan to work m6 way through the capacities once I’m done with the 50s
Bikerdood, which was the fastest production moped of the 70s?
Who knows
Not the owners that’s for sure. They all say their bikes
It’s a bit like which is the fastest tortoise 😂
I don’t think it really matters, it’s how it makes the owners feel that really matters
Yeah, thanks for corresponding mate keep up the good content.
Mopeds are back in the form of ebikes.
I suppose they are sort of
@@bikerdood1100 Cheers dood!
It's a shame you didn't give any attention to the Dutch brand Jamathi. There were a little over a 1000 (hand)made between 1965 and 1974 and I've had 3 of them. Based on a 50cc grand prix racer developed by Jan Thiel and Martin Mijwaart. Jan Thiel was the man behind the later successes of Aprilia racing. Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi and Jorge Lorenzo owe their Successes partly to the technical skills of Jan Thiel.
There are so many Dutch machines I think it will need a video just for them at some point
Still have my puch vz5o
Good to know
Make a video about tomos mopeds
I have thought about it
The Woolies wonder
@@bikerdood1100 that's a great idea!
In 1973, I used to borrow my mates KTM Comet X to take my girlfriend out, on the back! Had loads of punch, even two up!
Impressive fora tiny motor
My 1980 505 1-D g=3 SACHS tops out at 43 mph
An unusually honest answer to the top speed question
Sachs madass and Roadster models please
Interesting and appropriately named bike
The Japanese mopeds had the best build quality and reliability,the Italian mopeds were the fastest but poor quality,Puch were too expensive and not that common.
I do remember seeing a few Puch mopeds around in my youth. Mostly the maxi though
@@bikerdood1100 I had a maxi as a field bike, never seen a Puch sports moped though,or KTM.
Flandria?
Sounds kinda rude
Dutch perhaps?
Also Jawa super mopeds like the Mustang, 210 and Golden. Derbi, Tomos..
@@borderlands6606 working on it
The Jawa had a massive fuel, really made it look like a bigger bike
@@bikerdood1100 Belgian
Flandria en Superia ware Belgian
Where is the Kreidler Florett or the Zündapp? These are the best German machines. Greetings from Germany, Rainer
Already in an earlier video
It’s one of a series 🙄
@@bikerdood1100
I apologize, I didn't know that, I came across your post by accident.
Yes moped i had a puch maxi and a Nsu quickly and as soon as i was 17 cb175k7 last of the line met my first wife on one of them i had a girl friend but she put a end to that and my worst decision ever
See that would have been goodbye girlfriend.
No one gets between me and the bikes.
I found the best thing was to teach the wife asap
She’s been riding for more than 25 years and has ridden all over Europe and a trip to India too,
When I go out for a ride she never says a word, well other than wait for me
Kreidler Florett was the best, followed by Zündapp KS50 :-)
Of course over opinions are available I’m told
I had a Gilera 50 in 1975, horrid it was. I moved up to a Yamaha YB100, doubling the engine size made me feel like King Dingaling 🫣
Little engines are very hard work
Toms sprint 50?
No
Unfortunately not
Puch is pronounced Puck. Jus' say'n.
Never heard anyone call it that before the vid, and them only from US viewers, I expect it’s correct but I’ve never heard an English person call it that.
Although we do pronounce aluminium correctly 😂
@@bikerdood1100 Solder too I bet. I'm Irish by birth so I tend to pronounce solder and aluminium properly too.. I used to work at a bike shop that was run by a German guy and we sold Puch mopeds amongst others bikes. His last name was Koch. You can guess how that was pronounced.
I bought this moped in 1977 from Rumbelows in Hartlepool it cost £296 brand new reg SVN 936R I put a nose fairing on it tt100 tyres 😂 it was the fastest moped round where I lived even 2 up it beat them all ,great times I sold it 2 years later to a bike shop in Blackhall for £325 it was mint ,I sourced a a1 in Leeds the wanted £6500 for it I was half tempted the Puch Jps
Amazing where you could pick up a moped in the 70s, I remember Tomos on sale in Woolworth alongside the Bond bug of all things