First bike I ever rode was a Sears 106, I was seven. My dad had to ride on the back as I couldn’t touch the ground. I could barely pull the clutch in. I forgot to pull the clutch once and put it in first gear, all I saw was my dad’s hands and feet flying up beside me, he was not pleased! Cool video!
Dad worked for Sears for over 20 years. He bought one in the late 60's, I believe it was a 250cc Allstate. He rode it for years (I still have 1 of the tank badges on the side of my toolbox). I had a Harley Davidson Sprint 250cc, that had right side shift with a "reverse" pattern, damn thing was a ball to ride. My favorite thing was to ride it to my friends Harley dealership and watch people cringe at my Italian Harley Davidson!
Sears and Roebucks sold pre-built whole houses! The Sears catalog was strong back in the day the first Amazon! I used to love my Sears and roebuck shotgun single-shot bolt action!
@@johnsheetz6639 My late mother worked for Sears, Roebuck and Co. from the mid 1950s until the late 1980s (PEAK of the COLD WAR!!) she SAID she sold "appliances" but, hell... THAT could mean ANYTHING! (wink,wink). 🤔🤣
Bob I have one of those little Sears Gileras. Mine is also a 1967 and it has 275 original miles. I bought it a few years ago and replaced the original tires and tubes and replaced the fork seals.
My Dad's coworker gave me a Sears 124 about 40 years ago. It wasn't in running condition. Someone had replaced the seat with a gray top seat from a Triumph Cub. I made a list of parts it needed and ordered them from my local sears parts department. Out of all the parts I ordered, the only thing still available from Sears was the exhaust header gasket. I have since bought a gasket set and oil seal set on ebay. There was also an ebay seller that had reproduction Sears and Gilera badges for the tank. They sold out before I got around to buying any. That Cub seat is probably the most valuable part of the bike by far.
Great stuff. I grew up on the Allstate 250s, my brother owned the very rare Allstate 175 which was a Twingle just like the 250. When they ran we called these Puchs "Pooks." When they didn't, we called them "Pukes." There was also the Sears (Gilera) 124 c.c.
You said amazing it worked after 50 years, in most everything didn’t work brand new, that’s a good one, I can remember about once a month sears would run them in the ad $199
In the days before the internet you could get almost anything you wanted from a department store catalog. From shoes and toys, Right on up to an "assembled by numbers" vacation home!
I bought a BSA 650 lightning in 1972 that was a 1971 left over model with the right-hand shift. I paid twelve hundred dollars for it brand new and I believe 1972 was the last production year for the BSA,s. I rode it for two and half years putting seventeen thousand miles on it riding it whenever I could weather permitting. The dealer was selling Yamaha's and a 650cc was twenty-six hundred dollars.
@@patricklarkin9666 I was going to keep it but my brother had a friend who offered me nine hundred dollars for it after I bought a 1000 cc Harley Davidson Sportster which I still have to this day.
@@flower2289 Where did you buy the Norton? I bought the BSA in Selden New York. A friend with his 650 triumph Bonniville and myself took a ride for a week and ended up in the state of Maine.
Sears had a hand in almost everything my parents and grandparents and myself went to Sears for almost everything we had a Sears card and off we went . Haha
Back in the mid 70s I traded for a Montgomery Wards 125 lightweight motorcycle that looked just like this one. It was a 2 cycle engine and the gas cap had a built in cup to measure the oil to add to the gas tank. It would do 50 mph on a flat run without a headwind. Unfortunately I wrecked it when I got blown off the road by a big gust of wind.
I have a 1968 Hodaka Ace 100 that has the gear change on the left but is one up four down Years ago I rode a mates old BSA 650 that had the gear change on the right and was one up and three or four down, luckily I was on a quiet rural road that I knew well, I'd gone about ten kilometres and came up over a hill into a sweeping corner and instinctively went to touch the brake with my left foot but instead clicked it into a higher gear that with the heavy flywheel in this thing instead of slowing down caused it to increase the speed into the corner and scared the crap out me After that shock I didn't make the same mistake again and ended up doing about another fifty kilometres on it half of that on a highway I was lucky I was on that road if you made the same mistake in a city you could die at the first intersection Your lady is pretty good to just jump on it and ride it like that
I have a 70 100 ace that we are slowly putting back together. It is in great shape but the gearbox needs to be reinstalled in the cases and I am dreading that.
I had Montgomery Wards 250cc twin two stroke with a huge chrome swan on front fender. Had it for less than five minutes as guy passed by on a new 1974 Sachs dkw 125cc and he did a 180 and wanted to trade. I never even got a chance to start that old Puch 250 street bike but I got the cool German dirtbike. My grandma bought an entire casino outta a sears catalog complete with everything needed. Those were the days when men were men and couldn't get pregnant.
Haha I'm stealing that "men were men" comment. Here are a couple of mine in exchange... Bobism: Riding dirt bikes is like eating donuts. The first donut you eat is the best you ever had. So, you have a second. Not quite as good, but still really good. So, now, you try a third donut, to get that first donut feeling. By the third donut, you are hooked and chasing the donut high. Same with dirt bikes Bobism: The 3 M's--Motivation, moderation and momentum are the keys to motorcycles.... and life. And when life gets you down, remember this; it's one down and four up.
Looks very similar to a couple of Allstates, also sold by Sears, that I restored for a customer several years ago, a 1958 350 "Twingle", and a 1965 250 "Twingle".
These are Gileras, unrelated to Puchs. Gilera made some very advanced bikes, especially for racing. Puchs were designed for Austria, lots of mountains so low down torque.
Sears also sold a 125cc 2 stroke made by Puch in Austria. 3 speed gears selected by twisting the left grip as did the Vespas of the day. Fan forced cooling through an aluminum shroud.
i had a neighborhood teen that had a sears 175 from the 60' to that one , this was probably 1971 he wanted to sell me for $75..i ended up with a Honda SL100 but back than we would ride anything just to get on the road.
Sears was the first Amazon, should not have ignored the developing internet, which put them out of business. Sears stores and catalogs used to sell everything, everywhere.
I bought a 125 Gilera when I was 15 back in the '60s. What a doggy piece of crap! Took a girl for a ride out in the country and tried to trail ride up a hill. We had to get off and push the sick SOB UP THE HILL. Not a way to make a good impression! 😅😅😅
@@bobwhite42 That bike is 100% Gilera. The giveaway with their small singles is the rocker box cover that looks like a 2 stroke cylinder head. The Benelli/Motobi singles had near-horizontal cylinders, the "egg engine" due to its shape.
First bike I ever rode was a Sears 106, I was seven. My dad had to ride on the back as I couldn’t touch the ground. I could barely pull the clutch in. I forgot to pull the clutch once and put it in first gear, all I saw was my dad’s hands and feet flying up beside me, he was not pleased! Cool video!
Imagine being a teenager back in 1968 and getting this for Christmas. Very cool.
Nice to see it run. At 14 years old I did my first top end rebuild on an Allstate 175, made by Puch. Yep, it was a "Twingle".
I still have my 1966 Sears Puch 250SGS. It’s in my dad’s barn. I bought it when I was 14 in 1978.
Nice. I have a 1967 Sears Allstate 125 scooter made by Vespa, and a 1979 Sears Free Spirit pedal moped, made by Puch/Kromag.
kool
Dad worked for Sears for over 20 years. He bought one in the late 60's, I believe it was a 250cc Allstate. He rode it for years (I still have 1 of the tank badges on the side of my toolbox). I had a Harley Davidson Sprint 250cc, that had right side shift with a "reverse" pattern, damn thing was a ball to ride. My favorite thing was to ride it to my friends Harley dealership and watch people cringe at my Italian Harley Davidson!
I had one. Great little bike.
Sears and Roebucks sold pre-built whole houses! The Sears catalog was strong back in the day the first Amazon! I used to love my Sears and roebuck shotgun single-shot bolt action!
Sears also sold cars. Hell, Sears sold EVERYTHING but nuclear weapons. LOL.
@jamesslick4790 maybe, just maybe, a little plutonium here and there 😂
@@johnsheetz6639 My late mother worked for Sears, Roebuck and Co. from the mid 1950s until the late 1980s (PEAK of the COLD WAR!!) she SAID she sold "appliances" but, hell... THAT could mean ANYTHING! (wink,wink). 🤔🤣
I had a Sears/Gilera 124. My first bike. Could hit 60 mph. Loved it. I was going places.
Me and my best friend both had these motorcycles...... when we were kids we used to ride them on the trails.
My friend's brother had a 106 we thought it was Soooo, Cool. Thanks for sharing.
My uncles Bob and Bill bought one brand new and I got to ride it when I was very young.
Fun.. I have a 1959 All-State MoPed. My 1st bike and it still runs. Enjoy
Cool find. I has an 62 Allstate 175. I rode with a guy who had a Sears 106. Back in the day we called that shift pattern " 1up 3 down".
Bob I have one of those little Sears Gileras. Mine is also a 1967 and it has 275 original miles. I bought it a few years ago and replaced the original tires and tubes and replaced the fork seals.
My Dad's coworker gave me a Sears 124 about 40 years ago. It wasn't in running condition. Someone had replaced the seat with a gray top seat from a Triumph Cub. I made a list of parts it needed and ordered them from my local sears parts department. Out of all the parts I ordered, the only thing still available from Sears was the exhaust header gasket. I have since bought a gasket set and oil seal set on ebay. There was also an ebay seller that had reproduction Sears and Gilera badges for the tank. They sold out before I got around to buying any. That Cub seat is probably the most valuable part of the bike by far.
Great stuff. I grew up on the Allstate 250s, my brother owned the very rare Allstate 175 which was a Twingle just like the 250. When they ran we called these Puchs "Pooks." When they didn't, we called them "Pukes." There was also the Sears (Gilera) 124 c.c.
You said amazing it worked after 50 years, in most everything didn’t work brand new, that’s a good one, I can remember about once a month sears would run them in the ad $199
My dad got a sears sabre in late 60s, which was a 50 cc 2 stroke puch motorcycle
In the days before the internet you could get almost anything you wanted from a department store catalog. From shoes and toys, Right on up to an "assembled by numbers" vacation home!
Pretty cool
I bought a BSA 650 lightning in 1972 that was a 1971 left over model with the right-hand shift. I paid twelve hundred dollars for it brand new and I believe 1972 was the last production year for the BSA,s. I rode it for two and half years putting seventeen thousand miles on it riding it whenever I could weather permitting. The dealer was selling Yamaha's and a 650cc was twenty-six hundred dollars.
I saw something other day about the worth of the dollar. In 1970 If you had $100, today t would be worth $11...
Joseph I bought a 1972 Norton 750. It was British racing green and I paid $1503.50.
Wasn't the nickname beezer? Old dude here that's how I remember it
@@patricklarkin9666 I was going to keep it but my brother had a friend who offered me nine hundred dollars for it after I bought a 1000 cc Harley Davidson Sportster which I still have to this day.
@@flower2289 Where did you buy the Norton? I bought the BSA in Selden New York. A friend with his 650 triumph Bonniville and myself took a ride for a week and ended up in the state of Maine.
I have a 1966 Sears 106 Gilera in my junkpile out back. 😮
ANY PARTS WORTH SELLING?
Sears had a hand in almost everything my parents and grandparents and myself went to Sears for almost everything we had a Sears card and off we went . Haha
Back in the mid 70s I traded for a Montgomery Wards 125 lightweight motorcycle that looked just like this one. It was a 2 cycle engine and the gas cap had a built in cup to measure the oil to add to the gas tank. It would do 50 mph on a flat run without a headwind. Unfortunately I wrecked it when I got blown off the road by a big gust of wind.
I have a 1968 Hodaka Ace 100 that has the gear change on the left but is one up four down
Years ago I rode a mates old BSA 650 that had the gear change on the right and was one up and three or four down, luckily I was on a quiet rural road that I knew well, I'd gone about ten kilometres and came up over a hill into a sweeping corner and instinctively went to touch the brake with my left foot but instead clicked it into a higher gear that with the heavy flywheel in this thing instead of slowing down caused it to increase the speed into the corner and scared the crap out me
After that shock I didn't make the same mistake again and ended up doing about another fifty kilometres on it half of that on a highway
I was lucky I was on that road if you made the same mistake in a city you could die at the first intersection
Your lady is pretty good to just jump on it and ride it like that
I have a 70 100 ace that we are slowly putting back together. It is in great shape but the gearbox needs to be reinstalled in the cases and I am dreading that.
@bobwhite42
They're simple
Search "Hodaka Ace 90 Build"
I had Montgomery Wards 250cc twin two stroke with a huge chrome swan on front fender. Had it for less than five minutes as guy passed by on a new 1974 Sachs dkw 125cc and he did a 180 and wanted to trade. I never even got a chance to start that old Puch 250 street bike but I got the cool German dirtbike. My grandma bought an entire casino outta a sears catalog complete with everything needed. Those were the days when men were men and couldn't get pregnant.
Haha I'm stealing that "men were men" comment. Here are a couple of mine in exchange...
Bobism: Riding dirt bikes is like eating donuts. The first donut you eat is the best you ever had. So, you have a second. Not quite as good, but still really good. So, now, you try a third donut, to get that first donut feeling. By the third donut, you are hooked and chasing the donut high.
Same with dirt bikes
Bobism: The 3 M's--Motivation, moderation and momentum are the keys to motorcycles.... and life. And when life gets you down, remember this; it's one down and four up.
I bought a brand new one in 1968 my first M.C. Iam still riding at 72 only Harleys now.
Looks very similar to a couple of Allstates, also sold by Sears, that I restored for a customer several years ago, a 1958 350 "Twingle", and a 1965 250 "Twingle".
These are Gileras, unrelated to Puchs. Gilera made some very advanced bikes, especially for racing. Puchs were designed for Austria, lots of mountains so low down torque.
Used to go to sears for parts for Cushman scooters
What a sweet survivor
Sears also sold a 125cc 2 stroke made by Puch in Austria. 3 speed gears selected by twisting the left grip as did the Vespas of the day. Fan forced cooling through an aluminum shroud.
I had that exact bike (original color is blue) as a kid in the early '70's, the powerplant is indestructible. The rest of the bike, not so much...
Sears was a magical company…… now we get junk from Walmart.
Looks like a Benelli, they made low CC bikes for Harley around the same time
I love that!!
thanks
i had a neighborhood teen that had a sears 175 from the 60' to that one , this was probably 1971 he wanted to sell me for $75..i ended up with a Honda SL100 but back than we would ride anything just to get on the road.
My brother had an allstate 250 in 1970.
Sears was the first Amazon, should not have ignored the developing internet, which put them out of business. Sears stores and catalogs used to sell everything, everywhere.
my first bike was a Gillera, if you want you can buy a gear change mechanism that makes it 1 down the rest up,
No, I wouldn't change it. Makes for a good conversation .
Sears carrying motorcycles just like J.C. Penney carried Bridgestone motorcycles. That is now a dead dog, never to return.
I had a Sears and row back outboard..?+
I had a Sears 12gauge pump shotgun i sold for $40 to a pawn shop. I regret that.
Great Video Thx for it , That was my first bike at 15 , do you want to sell it ?
No yet, just got it for the museum...
@@bobwhite42If you change your mind let me know 🙂
Had an Allstate/Vespa 125 and it got punched out from under me by a drunk lady in a Corvair. It cost me $60 in ‘68.
Sears sold EVERYTHING except perhaps nuclear weapons. Houses, Cars, Motorcycles...
I bought a 125 Gilera when I was 15 back in the '60s. What a doggy piece of crap! Took a girl for a ride out in the country and tried to trail ride up a hill. We had to get off and push the sick SOB UP THE HILL. Not a way to make a good impression! 😅😅😅
Wasn't that the idea? Go for a ride in the country with your GF and have a break down?
@bobwhite42 kind of embarrassing, "sweetie can you get off and push?" 😂😂
I have a 1966 sears allstate 250 2 stroke ran when I parked it. may get her up and going over the winter. Or Will sell for the right price.
I thought those old Sears bikes were made by Bonelli??
pretty sure Gilera.
Montgomery Wards bikes were made by benelli
@@bobwhite42 That bike is 100% Gilera. The giveaway with their small singles is the rocker box cover that looks like a 2 stroke cylinder head.
The Benelli/Motobi singles had near-horizontal cylinders, the "egg engine" due to its shape.