motorcycle archeology - 1936 Puch 800

In January 1985, after searching for years and negotiations for one year with the owner, I could buy over 20 old motorcycles, hidden in an old shed in my hometown Graz. After clearing away all kind of scrap above the bikes, this is the first view of the treasure I was hunting, a very rare Puch 800 4-cylinder, built in 1936 by Puch in Graz. Not very promising.

In 1971 I bought my first motorcycle when I was seventeen, at a small dealer in Graz, a 1938 BMW R51. In his backyard I could see several wrecks, also this one. I didn't pay attention much, years later I remembered and identified the bike as a Puch 800. The shop had closed at that time, the owner had ceased to be and nobody knew anything about the wrecks. After years I found the son of the former owner in Vienna and after one year of negotiation and uncounted phone calls he told me, that the bikes still exist. But he was not willing to sell only the Puch 800, only all bikes together, back then for a price, which was rather high for me. Anyway, I made the deal. I never documented most of the bikes I found, which I will do now. - scanned slide, Minolta X700 - see PiP