Austrian moped maker, Puch, offered many models of these small pedal-started motorcycles beginning in the early-1950s and they were popular well into the 1980s. After that, the company was squeezed out of the market due to intense competition and sold off the two-wheel division – although their mopeds were still offered by other manufacturers. This mind-blowing 1986 Puch Maxi Sport LS 2 is being offered as a Barn Finds Auction and is located in Towson, Maryland.
After WWI and before WWII, Puch offered bicycles, cars, and motorcycles, and also mopeds, small motorcycles typically started by pedaling. A lot of “mopeds” eventually used a spring-type kick starter mechanism rather than pedals but the term moped stuck with a lot of these small motorcycles. They’re perfect for short commutes, on college campuses, around the neighborhood, or to go along with you in your RV. This one would sure be a great pit bike!
Puch offered several models that looked similar but were differentiated by features or even paint colors. This is one of the top models, a Maxi Sport LS 2. It’s a level above the Maxi Sport LS in having nice, five-spoke (actually, ten-spoke) gold wheels, black paint, bold graphics, and a two-speed automatic transmission. This example almost looks like it just rolled out of the showroom. We don’t really see a flaw anywhere, and the seller says that it’s 98% original and has otherwise been restored over the last year since they’ve owned it. This is the last year that Puch offered mopeds made in Austria. The Maxi Sport LS 2 model has a locking under-seat storage area, which is handy.
This Puch appears almost like new and is showing 3,326 miles on the odometer. The seller tells us that this time machine sat in the original owner’s garage for three decades before he bought it and brought it back to life a year ago. The seller did the following work after buying this hidden Moped: “new Michelin tires and tubes, front fork lock, under seat storage lock, drive and pedal chains, fuel line and fuel petcock, points, condenser, and spark plug, and new a rear brake cable.”
The company offered several engines, with a variety of power outputs and gearing options. This one has the 1.5 hp ZA50 2-speed engine which is good for a top speed of around 25-30 mph. The seller says that “the gas tank was flushed and the carburetor was rebuilt, the engine transmission shift dampeners (pucks) were replaced and the transmission fluid was changed, and the top end was rebuilt, cylinder honed, new piston ring and gaskets installed.” This has to be the nicest final-year 1986 Puch Maxi Sport LS 2 on the planet. It’s titled and ready to go and it can be yours at Barn Finds Auctions!
- Location: Towson, Maryland
- Mileage: 3,325 Miles
- Engine: 50cc 2-Stroke
- Transmission: 2-Speed Automatic
- VIN: VAM622155GG397901
- Title Status: Clean
Bid On This Auction
- MadMike05 bid $1,500.00 2023-08-21 23:44:57
- Fredrico bid $1,000.00 2023-08-20 09:39:58
- Frogwarts bid $750.00 2023-08-18 13:06:56
- Marty bid $600.00 2023-08-18 09:24:56
- Richie bid $500.00 2023-08-16 09:40:46
It’s been told, there’s 2 things you should only do at night. One is ride a moped,,and the other, um, never mind. A moped on our beloved BarnFinds? Right next to Lambos, Chevelles, and such? Go ahead and laugh, if you were smart, you’d bypass the current E bike craze, and go for this. For a fraction, this is just as good, if not better in many ways. Don’t be fooled, the “pedals”, like on E bikes, are strictly for emergency, and make poor bicycles. The bonus here, is this can keep up with city traffic, an E bike, has maybe a 20 mph limit, and of course, range anxiety. A gallon of gas here goes twice as far as an E bike. I just don’t see the E bike advantage, but it’s the current hot button, and we haven’t seen the results( injuries, repairs, etc) yet, but rest assured, lawyers are already gearing up, I’m sure.
We always laughed at the name, who wants something named “puke”? I know, they laugh at our “injun” names, but you can’t go wrong here. No cross country trips, although I bet someone did. Oh, btw, check local rules about 2 strokes. The noise and smoke may be forbidden in some areas. Won’t find many like this, as they were generally the lowest form of motorized transportation and treated as such. I remember piles of mopeds in junkyards. With camping so popular, why is this still here and no bids? Nice find.
The makers of anything E don’t tell buyers about the replacement cost for the batteries. Your right about finding a good one searching classified adds, most are junk or not worth what sellers want.
Repeating the Petro chemical propaganda I see. Range anxiety isn’t a factor for most ebike riders. You’re only riding around town, not inter city. And the price of batteries, like most new technology, will come down. Remember when personal computers cost thousands of dollars? You can get a decent laptop for a few hundred now. It’s a cute bike, but two stroke? Forget it. Noisy and smelly. Now a vintage Vespa, that I could get into.
TomP, You might want to review your information. Teslas have an extremely low rate of battery replacement — the lowest overall of any electric vehicle make. The percentage of Teslas having required battery replacements is as follows:
Model Y – 0.29%
Model 3 – 0.34%
Model X – 0.79%
Model S – 3.75%
Here’s the source if you care to fact-check me:
https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-car-battery-models-replaced-most-often-nissan-tesla-2023-3
Tesla batteries are designed to last from 200,000 to 500,000 miles before needing to be replaced. Real-world data suggests they are delivering on that promise, with Model S and X cars retaining about 90% of their original capacity at 200K miles.
Here’s more on that:
https://www.motortrend.com/features/how-long-does-a-tesla-battery-last/
Thanks, TomP, I agree that the Puch is nice. I don’t know much about e-bikes but I do know that Tesla battery life is proving to be very long, and battery-replacement rates are well below 1% for all Teslas except the Model S, which is below 4%. In other words, over 96% of Model S cars and more than 99% of all other Teslas have not required battery replacement. In actual use, Tesla batteries are going far beyond 200,000 miles with plenty of usable capacity left.
It’s too much power for me.
Lived in Germany in the late 70’s. Was a bad boy and lost my license for a year. Needed to get to work, so bought the German version, the ZunDap. They were all almost identical. Buying point? No license required to operate in Europe. Not sure about US now days. Is 49 CC engine so max’s out around 32. Seller didn’t specify, these were 50:1 mixer’s in Europe, is this one also?
Hi Wes,
Thanks for your comments. As far as needing a driver’s license, it varies by state. Some states also require the moped to be registered and titled which this moped is.
Speeds range from roughly 25-30 mph.
I always run a mixture between 35:1 and 40:1. Many people with mopeds do run 50:1, I prefer to run a little richer.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask me.
Indian mopeds were a competitor to these mopeds too.
Yes, I’ve owned several Indian mopeds. They were made in Taiwan and had a 49cc 4 stroke engine. It was a Honda clone.
Did puch make mopeds with bigger engines ?
No, they didn’t. There are 70cc kits available today for them. Puch did make a few motorcycles with a larger displacement.
Is it possible to have this transported to Miami Florida if I buy it? I just don’t know of any transporters so that’s why I put the question out there.
We can recommend a shipper if you’d like to get a quote.
Hi,
I’ve used uShip myself. Several people that have bought bikes from me have used them as well.
If I can help in anyway, let me know.
Bill S.
Seller