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Motorworld’s newspaper №80
1938, the Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG concern started the production of the Puch 350GS motorcycle (letters GS in the model’s name meant Geländesport, i.e. “off-road racing”). In fact, it was the world’s first mass-produced enduro. It came with a tubular duplex frame and the McPherson (or candle) suspension of the rear wheel. A raised exhaust pipe was a distinctive feature of this bike. Giovanni Marcellino designed the engine for this motorcycle: a longitudinal U-shape cylinder and pistons with separate connecting rods. The transmission layout was copied from the previous models of the brand: longitudinal crankshaft, conical motor gearing, 4-speed gearbox, and rear-wheel clutch hub. The initial version of the engine had the cylinders of different diameters (48 and 55 mm) and could and could achieve 14 hp, but since 1939 a simplified version with cylinders of equal diameter (51.5 mm), which developed 12 hp, went into serial production.
Puch 350GS was the last machine designed by Giovanni Marcellino: he left the country after the Anschluss (Germany’s takeover of Austria in 1938). But 350GS could not emigrate, so it was called to serve the occupiers: a considerable number of these machines joined the Wehrmacht troops during the Second World War. By order of the army, the Puch 350GS motorcycles were also made in a simplified version: with a rigid suspension of the rear wheel and the lower positioned exhaust pipe.
Manufacturer | Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, Graz (Styria, Austria) |
Years of manufacture | 1938 – 1942 |
Quantity produced, units | About 10 000 |
Price | 1 700 S |
Today’s value | 7 325,55 $ |
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION | |
Type | 1-cylinder, 2-stroke |
Engine capacity, cc | 349 |
Bore and stroke, mm | (48 & 55) х 83,4 |
Engine rating | 14 h.p. at 4000 rpm |
Sparking | Battery |
Carburetor | Single |
Battery | 6 V |
Clutch | Dry, multiple-plate |
Transmission | 4-speed |
FRAME AND WHEELBASE | |
Frame type | Tubular duplex |
Front suspension | parallelogram |
Rear suspension | parallelogram |
Brakes | Drum type |
Wheel size | 3,50 х 19 |
DIMENSIONS | |
Length, mm |
2 125
|
Width, mm |
800
|
Height, mm |
1 040
|
Wheelbase, mm |
1 341
|
Ground clearance, mm |
150
|
Seat height |
701
|
Mass, kg |
170 (с коляской 245)
|
Gas tank size, l |
12,5
|
Maximum speed, km/h |
108
|
Range, km |
357
|