1950's PANNONIA seen at Oley, PA

[JJCerilli]

During the judging at Oley, PA last weekend, someone brought an interesting 1950's Pannonia (Made In Hungary).
I believe it was a 250cc and it was the first one I had ever heard of...or seen in person!
That's the great thing about our shared hobby, there is always something to learn!

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JJ Cerilli

[T. Cotten]

Wow!

There was an expert PANNONIA judge on hand?

What did he declare needed to be "corrected"?

....Cotten
PS: My point, Folks...
Is that the system needs severe revision.

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Tom, it's always a problem with these unusual bikes. I spoke with John about this machine at the Oley judging session, as I always worry we thrash the Harleys and Indians in judging while other marques get lighter treatment. However, I've judged with the Japanese and British teams, and been impressed with their deep level of knowledge, but oddballs such as this one have the potential to upset our judging system. I worry that, say, a Maruscho with mismatched engine and frame numbers could get an undeserved AMCA award, while better known bikes get the blizzard of quarter point deductions we are used to. In this particular case the bike was unrestored, with obvious wiring faults and two judging forms from previous outings. The owner was called through the public address system to explain the history of the bike and any known faults, as a way of reassuring the judges. I'm sure our Chief Judge Don Dzurick can explain better than me on the Judging Forum how such bikes are addressed. I've previously had difficulty on teams judging Cushmans and Toppers, where many components are hidden by bodywork panels. BMWs also have many major components hidden inside, so avoiding comments such as wrong shade of nickel on the Harley generator tags. Any judging system involving humans will have problems, but we try our best.

[AFJ]

During the judging at Oley, PA last weekend, someone brought an interesting 1950's Pannonia (Made In Hungary).
I believe it was a 250cc and it was the first one I had ever heard of...or seen in person!
That's the great thing about our shared hobby, there is always something to learn!

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JJ Cerilli

JJ,

The 250 Pannonia motorcycles, made by the Csepel island state-owned machine and motorcycle works near Budapest originated after WWII as the Csepel 250 but became the Pannonia 250cc single cylinder 2-stroke in 1954. In 1968 it was re-modeled as a 250cc twin cylinder 2 stroke and production continued until 1975. In the 1960's the Pannonia was sold in the USA under the "White" brand name and the one you pictured looks to me - no expert - as a mid-60's "Super Sport" model. Pannonia motorcycles were sold in Europe and large numbers exported to the USSR. Total production of the 250cc Pannonia is claimed by one internet source to have been 689,039 motorcycles in the 21 years of production. Other motorcycles in smaller sizes were made under names such as Csepel, Danuvia, Berva and Panni. A large number of sidecars and single wheel trailers were also made during this time period.

I expect that there are experts in White (brand) motorcycles in the AMCA and they could fill us all in on the story of them.

AFJ

[gww]

so was it judged or refused?