Puch 250 SGS

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Dr. Frankenstein
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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#16

Post by Dr. Frankenstein »

"...why someone isn't loading containers of these for your shores?"
Ummmm, because people leave them up against old barns to rot away...? Just a guess...

To be fair, though, old Sixties bikes (50's, 40's, 30's...what have you) Are pretty cool, but honestly the bikes I have from the 70's and 80's are built better, ride better, run better and are just all-around more comfortable. That Being Said, to revive an antique bike like that takes you to another time, and it's that 'time travel' factor that I love about any old bike. To pour your time and money into a project that hasn't seen the road in decades and then hit the switch or kick the starter and hear it come to life with it's original voice - well, that's the money shot/payoff, at least for me.
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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#17

Post by Old Fogey »

There's one company in England that does that. In fact, it was started some years ago by the owner going over to the States and shipping back (I believe!) 10,000 bikes of all descriptions. They are still the biggest importers of US bikes and certainly the biggest bike breakers in Britain, possibly in Europe.
Some years ago I did think about bring Wings over but the logistics with me living in Scotland and the major port being 600 miles away in the very south of England just didn't make economic sense unless it was full containers. That meant big premises to cope with the numbers. Then there is the old problem that early Wings are not all that popular over here; never were even when new. I decided that I didn't want the hassle.
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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#18

Post by Dr. Frankenstein »

But even Europe has their fair share of cool bikes too - Nortons, Triumph, Royal Enfields, DKW's, Velocettes, and any number of other makes, and I'm sure there is a club somewhere over there that's into them. Not to mention the Vincents and W650's and 850's, which originated over there and have since migrated to the US. Besides, I thought scooters were the mostly Big Thing in the UK...?
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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#19

Post by Paola Zago »

flyin900 wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:12 pm
Old Fogey wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:23 am Those split singles were very popular at one time over here. Pretty well unbreakable, as you have proved. Hard to find now in the UK and as Paola says, prices in UK/Europe are FAR higher for even rusty relics than in the States.
So it begs the question. Why if these old bikes are worth a small fortune in Britain and the EU; why someone isn't loading containers of these for your shores?
Maybe they are, or the logistics don't make sense, since containers are now really expensive to transport with recent world developments.
A very famous one who imported containers of motorcycles from the USA was Greeford's "Classic Bike" in the UK, but I read that it greatly reduced imports due to the enormous increase in transport costs and customs duties. A few years ago in the UK there was Rick Brett who imported from the USA containers of Kawasaki two-stroke and Z900 (KZ900) and related spare parts, but then with the increase in costs and taxes he decided to move to the USA bringing with him the his fabulous collection. As far as I know, Davidsilverspare remained in Europe, importing motorcycles from the USA, but lately only focusing on recent motorcycles. But for us Europeans, buying from an English seller who in turn bought in the US becomes a bloodbath for the new customs duties. We recently bought 4 rear-view mirrors for Kawasaki H1 on Ebay in the UK, paid 97 euros, a good price, 28 euros shipping but 46 euros customs tax! So you understand that the taxation on a motorcycle that costs 1000 or 2000 euros, becomes unacceptable!
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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#20

Post by Dr. Frankenstein »

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I spent a little more time on the Puch this afternoon, and delved deeper into my no-spin, no-turn problem.

The Good was I got the headlight off and took a peek inside - not bad at all!
ImageDSCN2092 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

The Bad -
I finally got the rear wheel to turn by taking off the rear brake stay ( the aluminum thingy under the rear tire) with a generous use of my Harbor Freight impact wrench to remove the rear axle and get it down off the truck, finally. I'm pretty sure the pads in the hub have rust-welded themselves to the hub, which in turn froze up the wheel - the axle was surprisingly okay; but in any event, I finally managed to work the exhaust loose with a generous amount of PB Blaster, heat and colorful invective, which is Key to any decent deconstruction - you can see the problem child here, that silver stub sticking out from the mufflers - they go into the frame and just did Not want to come out:
ImageDSCN2081 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

ImageDSCN2080 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

...and the Ugly - I took a look inside the head, finally - and Yeah, It's Ugly...! This is the Left (front) cylinder -
ImageDSCN2089 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

...while the Right (rear) cylinder is not Too bad - at least they both appear to be 'up', thereby sealing the engine innards off from the elements...
ImageDSCN2090 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

I also noticed that the right foot rest rubber was worn way down - somebody was laying this puppy over and riding the then-new machine Way too hard for the break-in period; not only that, but when I took out the oil nut on the line from the tank, it looks like golden engine oil came out -it's supposed to have 2-stroke oil in it(kind of a teal green), which I suspect May have contributed to somebody locking up the engine 1,147 miles later and they said "Eff It' and put it up against the barn where it sat undisturbed for Lo these many years...

So I did what I could so far - got the plugs out ("Allstate" plugs, too!), put some PB Blaster and ATF in the top end, squirted more PB into the exhaust ports and put some engine degreaser on the case and cleaned it up as best I could, but it could still use a good scraping, and probably another go-over with my heat gun to get the hardened goo off, but she's in the lab waiting room now, finally.

I would Love the pistons to be in okay shape, but we'll see...they're just over $100 apiece, from Germany...but all that's down the road; I still have the '78 GL1000 on the slab in the lab I need to put back together. And I hate to admit it to myself, but I'm probably going to do a frame-up restoration on this one - thank God for Matt Quirk out at Motorwest!

Anybody know a good way to get heavy rust off a cast iron head??
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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#21

Post by Dr. Frankenstein »

I was able to dig a little deeper into the Puch today. Got the head cover off and found that the ATF and PB Blaster I put in there didn't seem to have done anything.
ImageDSCN2093 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

I soaked it all out of there and was confronted by this:
ImageDSCN2095 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

I tried pulling the head, but of course that didn't go anywhere fast, but I was very heartened to see this...!
ImageDSCN2108 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr
ImageDSCN2101 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

The carb was a little stuck, but that's mostly just "age"...
ImageDSCN2103 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

...and the air filter/choke was as I suspected - it's Done! A pricy little item to replace, though, they average about $100! Might have to try to find a similar aftermarket solution.
ImageDSCN2099 by Dr. Frankenstein1, on Flickr

That's about all I had time for before the sun went down, but at least it gives me a better idea of what I'm dealing with...and you can't really see it, but I think that piston on the left side is toast too - you can barely make out some slight 'ripples' on it brought on by exposure to the elements...but I won't know until I get in there.

Overall though, I'll bet the inside of the case is pretty clean; it's a lot better than my current runner was! Anyway - I thought you guys might be interested.


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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#22

Post by gltriker »

Yes! The emerging view of the crankshaft and connecting rod assembly in this engine made me Happy for You, John. :oldies

Swaddle that crankcase opening to keep All the crankshaft and connecting rod bearings CLEAN. tumb2
Last edited by gltriker on Wed Apr 06, 2022 8:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#23

Post by Pumpguy »

Would anyone have the Sears Manual for the 250 SGS road bike?

Specifically need only the pages showing illustration of rear wheel assembly, and page showing actual part numbers and description.

I have manuals for the SR175, 810.94170 and 250 Scrambler 810.94200. Needing to compare what parts are same and which are different for these 3 models. Working on a Bitza project that will use the cush drive rear drum brake assembly that are used on these bikes.

Thanks for all replies.
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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#24

Post by Rat »

Welcome … but I’m not sure you’re in the right place ?

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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#25

Post by Pumpguy »

Rat wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 3:21 pm Welcome … but I’m not sure you’re in the right place ?

Gord
How so? I don't understand. Could you please elaborate, or suggest a better place to ask?
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Re: Puch 250 SGS

#26

Post by Rat »

Well … this is a forum for old 4 cylinder Goldwings, maybe you should google Puch 250 SGS …
Gord
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