Art Bike: 1981 Puch Magnum LTD Mk2
If you watch any of those home flipper shows on HGTV, when the work of flip is done, the last major element is the staging for the sale. In looking at that other car site that has become nothing but auctions, the better the staging as far as the photograph locations, the better the price. Avoiding locations where the object for sale is lost in the picture is rule #1. See if you can find this 1981 Puch Magnum LTD Mk2 for sale in Foothill Ranch, CA for $2,200 via craigslist.
Tip from Rock On!
Built by Puch in Austria, the Magnum was a top tank moped that was powered by a 50 cc aircooled two-stroke engine with oil injection (no need to pre-mix). It put out about 2HP through it’s two speed automatic transmission and a light rider under ideal conditions could peg the speedo and hit a top speed of 30mph.
The MKII LTD was a limited edition made for North America. It was limited to 500 copies and had such extras as an optional tachometer (which this one didn’t get), a fairing, custom decals and paint scheme. Some say that the real run was 1,000 copies with 500 sold on each coast of the U.S. Never the less, this one is #152 in the series. I wonder if there is a doppelganger of it out there somewhere.
See a something better under the sea? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Gianni is Daily Turismo’s Pacific Northwest correspondent and tiki mug enthusiast.
Love this thing!
Actually, it has to be UNDER 50cc to qualify under most of the moped laws. So I looked this one up, and it is 48.8 cc (OK, let's call it 49cc). And supposedly legal mopeds cannot be able to exceed 50 kph (30 mph).
However, in recent years, these under-50cc mopeds have fallen into the hands of serious tuners in Europe. Expansion chambers are "de rigueur", and that 30 mph top end is a thing of the long-distant past.
I had a friend in high school who had a Puch moped. He bored out the engine, and put in a smaller rear sprocket, and a free flow muffler. It was silver top tank model, and heavy for a moped. It didn't have much acceleration. But man, when it got up to speed, that sucker could hit 60mph. The heft of the thing made riding at 50-60 mph feel solid/planted and secure… Yeah, it was still a moped, but it hauled and was fun till we got hour driver's license 2 years later… Reminds me of a joke about being seen on a moped, heh, heh…
– Average Bear
really good moped video on Regular Car Reviews regarding Tomos mopeds and the tuner movement… lots of fun for not a lot of bucks… youtube.com/watch?v=rRPLWoo6S0I