Reisch’s ‘Indian Dream’

Bike: 1933 Puch 250SL
ENGINE: 248cc two-stroke single-cylinder
HORSEPOWER: 10.5hp
SPEED: 60mph
WEIGHT: 264lbs plus bags
FUEL CAPACITY: 5gal tank plus two 1gal cans
RANGE: 350miles

Long-distance riding on an Austrian Puch was a Reisch family tradition: Hans-August Reisch made a 2000km journey in Italy in 1905 aboard a clutchless single-speeder, and his son Max, aboard this very Puch two stroke, was the first to ride overland from Europe to India on any type of motor vehicle in 1933. But first he rode it to the Sahara, as a test run, and remarkably, both journeys were taken with his friend Herbert Tichy as passenger. The Puch was ingeniously modified by the factory with all the equipment still installed on this amazing time-warp adventure motorcycle. Reisch’s book ‘India: the Shimmering Dream’ is a classic of overland literature, and his second book ‘The Incredible Journey’ documents his 1936 round-the-world automobile trip with a Steyr 100.