They say that there’s no replacement for displacement. By that logic, the best way to improve a single-cylinder Puch moped is to turn it into a five-cylinder Puch moped. At least, that’s Uwe Oltmanns’ theory.
Based in Northern Germany, Uwe is a moped enthusiast with an extensive resume. He’s a professional toolmaker who’s worked at Airbus, built hopped-up Opel street cars, and dabbled in drag racers. These days, he spends his time building vintage car engines from parts that he’s machined himself?mostly for pre-war BMW 328s.

He also messes with vintage mopeds?or, as they’re known around those parts, ‘MOFAs.’ ?Due to the flat countryside near the North Sea, automatic MOFAs are a thing in Northern Germany, especially the Puch Maxi S and N from the 70s and 80s,? says Uwe’s friend, and the photographer who brought us these stellar images, Sven Wedemeyer. ?So there’s a long-standing tuning scene in this region.? ?These were called MOFAs (short for ‘MOtor-FAhrrad,’ which is German for ‘motor-bicycle’), and usually had bicycle pedals. The dream of every teenager back then!?

To say that Uwe is passionate about mopeds is an understatement. To relive his youth, he organized a four-hour endurance race for classic MOFAs, with a makeshift circuit that ran laps around the local bar. ?It was a huge success,? Sven tells us, ?with 46 MOFAs and eight emergency calls to the hospital!?
The event bec...