Puch 500 (motorcycle)

Motorcycle Puch 500 VL with Felber sidecar 1937

The name Puch 500 referred to a motorcycle that Steyr Daimler Puch AG manufactured in its plant in Graz-Thondorf from 1931 to 1938.

The vehicle was suitable for solo operation and for use in sidecar teams. It contained a number of technically new components that caught the attention of experts. A two-cylinder, two- stroke in-line engine provided the drive. Thanks to their reliability, motorcycles of this type were in use for decades.

Precursor and evolution

The Puchwerke had already brought a motorcycle suitable for sidecar use on the market in 1928. It was equipped with a four-stroke engine from JAP . Its stroke volume was 489 cm³, it made 12 hp at 3800 rpm. Because of a high selling price, the success of this very good JAP-Puch was very modest, Puch only produced about 300 pieces.

But the need for a powerful motorcycle that could also be used on mountain roads with a sidecar remained. The Puchwerke developed the new type of Puch 500 with an in-house motor.

Engine and power transmission

The concept of the engine was original: For the first time, a two-cylinder engine was built based on the Puch two-stroke double piston principle . This advanced and simple design resulted in an economical vehicle. The basic idea was obvious: In order to achieve the desired performance, two cylinders of the single-cylinder engines were placed next to one another. There were two bores and two pistons per cylinder on a common connecting rod . The two cylinders lay one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the motorcycle, and the crankshaft was accordingly in the longitudinal direction. From the beginning, cylinder heads and pistons were made of light metal . The main and connecting rod bearings were roller bearings . In order to supply the two cylinders evenly with mixture, Puch developed a new carburetor that was placed between the cylinders. The air supply could be adjusted. A fresh oil pump was used to lubricate the engine. Their delivery rate was dependent on the current fuel requirement and was also manually adjustable. The engine with a displacement of 496 cm³ made 14 HP with a compression of 4.7: 1 and a speed of 3800 / min. The power was transferred from the crankshaft to the gearbox via bevel gears . A manual shift operated the initially three or - from model V - four forward gears. A foot switch was also available. A roller chain transferred the power from the gearbox to the rear wheel. The clutch was located in the rear wheel hub and was constructed similar to an inner shoe brake .

Electrical system

It is typical for the period around 1930 that the trade press particularly appreciated the serial installation of a lighting system . The designers improved the electrical system several times over the years of production. First there was a 30-watt lighting system and magneto ignition , then later a 50-watt system and high-voltage battery ignition .

Chassis and sidecar

The chassis consisted of a tubular frame with prepared connection points for a sidecar. The rear wheel was unsprung, a parallelogram fork with coil springs was supported on the front wheel . The fork initially also consisted of tubular profiles, from model L there was a modern pressed steel fork . Comfortable, low-pressure tires also ensured a pleasant roadholding and a wide, soft-sprung driver's saddle for comfort. Puch did not deliver sidecars; these were obtained from outside manufacturers.

Gasoline consumption and operating experience

Thanks to the Puch double piston principle with its favorable flow conditions in the cylinder, fuel consumption remained economical. A sidecar combination of the Puch 500 could get along with 4.5 liters of petrol - even poor quality - for 100 km with economical driving . The heating of the rear cylinder was a problem when driving uphill at modest speeds. Larger cooling fins on this cylinder helped somewhat. Simple water cooling was available in the accessory trade , but was rarely used. One made do with cooling breaks when driving uphill.

Model names and production numbers

The following models were produced one after the other:

Puch 500-	Z	Two-cylinder	1931	600	piece
	N	New version	1932/33	1000	piece
	N2	New version 2	1933	600	piece
	V	Four-speed	1934/35	850	piece
	L.	luxury	1935/36	379	piece
	VL	Four-course luxury	1936-1938	900	piece
		Total production	1931-1938	4529	piece

In its time, the Puch 500 was in the top group of sidecar machines thanks to its design, economy and reliability. In the 1960s, individual Puch 500 teams were still in daily use on European country roads with a distance of 200,000 km and 30 years of service.

literature

Friedrich F. Ehn: The great Puch book. Puch two-wheeler production from 1890–1987. 8th edition. Weishaupt, Gnas 2013, ISBN 978-3-900310-49-3 .