Forde's Puch Maxi Project Thread! <Moped Content>

[Forde]

Hi,

Just posting in case anyone is interested in my moped projects.

I posted one of my maxis on here before but since I now have 4 I thought id start a new thread to include all of them and just keep everything together.

Ok so first after I sold two Tomos Bullets I had, I got this '82 maxi S ska special edition, probably a year ago, with a kickstart engine (all of the bikes have the E50 motor) someone had given it a curse word spray job ruining its original limited colour and decals but it still had its mag wheels, screw in metal fuel cap etc and was a good runner except one of the main bearings was well on the way out and noisy.





My plan is to do a full restore and rebuild on this one with some tasty mods, right now it looks like this





Next up I bought these two together

A pedal start maxi S and a kickstart maxi N

the S is a great runner and paint is good but needs small jobs doing and tank cleaned. only part missing was airbox and decompressor lever perch was broken but still works.



the N is missing carb, chain, mudguards and side covers but tank is surprisingly clean and engine has compression, going to stick the carb off the ska on it and I think it will run.



So my plan was to get the pedal maxi S road legal with maybe a pipe, jets and filter then replace the shocks and maybe drop bars with a round light and mini tail light and other bits and bobs

But then yesterday this came along, a '70 pedal start maxi N



Running good aside from carb leaking a little fuel and associated air leaks causing erratic idle etc. No parts missing, lights all work, V5 with it etc.

So now the plan is to swap the carb from the ska onto this and put this one on the road first, then rebuild the carb off this for the ska.

An order of parts mostly from YPVspares has arrived. I ordered these with the pedal S in mind but will probably use the biturbo on the new N for now and after the mot maybe change the lights but they are working atm so not going to mess with it before mot. Tbh ill probably hard wire it after mot.

When I get paid this week ill be ordering some more bits for my various projects, a couple cone filters, various jets for the carbs, maybe some drop bars for whichever one I wanna put them on, new lever for the pedal S, then some spares like plugs and gaskets, new grips, kill switches etc. Need to find some decent looking pedals too wonder if bike or bmx ones fit?

Going to get a couple of the easier ones going well first so I can mess with them whilst I do a long term build on the ska.

Stuff I got this week



Biturbo expansion exhaust
Black/chrome round headlight
Mini rear light (tail only)
Petrol tap with filter
EMCA 300mm adjustable shocks black/chrome
Flywheel puller
Some clear fuel pipe and filters off ebay but seem too big
10x 6v 18w headlight bulbs
10x 6v 4w tail bulbs

Thanks for looking!

[windburn]

You don't see many peddle mopeds around. It looks like you are well on the way to haveing some fine running machines. These are urban stealth bike that can be parked anywhere, cut through alleys, idea for the short cuts, earn runs. And a trip to the park. They sip gas like a granny sips tea. Many state have no registration requirements. I send along my respect for returning to service the cast off of others.

[JerryH]

I have a 1980 Puch Newport II (same frame as Maxi) I bought it a long time ago and rebuilt it from the ground up. It is the ZA50 2 speed 2 hp model, reddish brown, wire spoke wheels. It has over 20,000 miles on it (over half of them are mine mine) but is missing several things, like the side covers and handlebar switch gear. Head, tail and brake light are wired direct. I also have a like new E50 engine with 300 miles in a box I got off eBay for it. ZA50 still runs fine though. I haven't ridden it in a couple of years. NO rust, stored inside with gas tank and cylinder full of oil.

[Forde]

Originally Posted by windburn

You don't see many peddle mopeds around. It looks like you are well on the way to haveing some fine running machines. These are urban stealth bike that can be parked anywhere, cut through alleys, idea for the short cuts, earn runs. And a trip to the park. They sip gas like a granny sips tea. Many state have no registration requirements. I send along my respect for returning to service the cast off of others.

thanks mate, my plan is to build them all up differently.

the ska (purple one) going to do a full paint job, super clean looking stockm modified build, not take it too far from stock by chopping frame or fenders or anything probably but lots of nice parts and paint etc

the other twin shock id love to put longer shocks and forks and knobbly tyres and shorten the fenders, put mtb bars on it etc make it dirt bike style

one of the hard tails (white one) do a real stripped down build on it

and the other hard tail probably close to stock with tuned motor

yeah i live in ireland so not same as usa but to put A bike under 200cc on the road you are talking about £15 road tax a year, £20 per year for the yearly inspection, and £50 insurance for the year (for me, depends on age etc) so not too bad.

[Forde]

Originally Posted by JerryH

I have a 1980 Puch Newport II (same frame as Maxi) I bought brand new back then and still have it. It is the ZA50 2 speed 2 hp model, reddish brown, wire spoke wheels. It has over 20,000 miles on it (all mine) but is missing several things, like the side covers and handlebar switch gear. Head, tail and brake light are wired direct. I also have a like new E50 engine with 300 miles in a box I got off eBay for it. ZA50 still runs fine though. I haven't ridden it in a couple of years. NO rust, stored inside with gas tank and cylinder full of oil.

thats awesome you got pics? wish mine had been stored like that the tanks are minging on them all lol any tips for cleaning?

FYI you can buy those parts new or new/repro

the site i use in uk is ypvspares.com and he sells all those things, but lots of american sites like 1977mopeds and treatland.tv would have them too, i think ypv gets his stock shipped from usa tbh

[JerryH]

Unfortunately you cannot get the right sidecover for the ZA50, it is shaped differently from the standard E50 cover. I tried all the U.S. moped places, 1977, Treats, Moped Warehouse, Moped Junkyard. Dave at Moped Junkyard said he would keep an eye out for some, but not to hold my breath. That was over a year ago. I'll get pics soon.

BTW, if you have rust in your gas tanks, an easy but somewhat tricky way to get rid of it is to first clean out all the old gas/oil residue with a product called Castrol Superclean, then remove the petcock, plug the fitting with silicone, and fill the tank with full strength muriatic acid SLOWLY. Let it soak for 24 hours, then dump it out. All the rust will be gone. Rinse well with water, and fill with oil to prevent more rust. 2 stroke mix will prevent it from rusting while in use. I have cleaned a lot of tanks this way, including a couple that developed pinhole leaks afterward, because they were rusted through, and rust was the only thing plugging up the holes. On a motorcycle tank that can be fixed with a product called POR-15, but I would scrap a moped frame in that condition. It not only has to hold gas, but it also holds the bike together.