1954 Puch SGS 250cc 'Super Sports' Motorcycle

Description

Johann Puch originally made his name producing bicycles in Graz, Austria in the early part of the 20th Century, moving on to motorcycles and cars, then supplying the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War.  Merging with Austro-Daimler in 1925, the company became Steyr-Daimler-Puch in 1934 and automobile production ceased at the same time.  After turning to arms manufacture once again in 1939-1945, the early post-war period saw Puch return to producing bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles in large numbers.  Launched in 1953, the lightweight 250 SGS (which stood for Schwing-Gabel-Sport) was powered by a split-single two-stroke engine where two pistons share the same combustion chamber, a design claimed to have a wide torque band and durability.  The Puch utilised a pressed-steel frame with a low centre of gravity for good handling, a telescopic front fork and swing-arm rear suspension with teledraulic shock absorbers.  Contemporary road tests praised the Puch 250’s “vivid engine acceleration” and “excellent flexibility” (Motor Cycling October 1959), along with a high quality finish and attractive styling.  A higher performance ‘Super Sports’ version was available with a special alloy barrel, close-ratio gearbox, English Smith’s speedometers and twin Burgess straight-through silencers.  Commercially successful in Europe, Puch also sold the bike in the United States through retail giant Sears Roebuck, who marketed the SGS as the “Allstate 250” (also known as the “Twingle”) via their ever-popular mail order catalogue.  Remaining in production until 1970, some 38,584 250 SGS motorcycles were made but few survive on the road today, particularly in Australia where very few were sold.