I have a lot of experience with motorcycles but only Puchs as far as mopeds. I'd read a few times that the Puch was considered "overbuilt" by moped standards and just thought "meh"... if that's the standard then I guess so. But the forks wouldn't pass muster on a cheap mountain bike and the pressed metal parts everywhere are pretty low grade soft and heavy steel.
I recently got an upclose look at a friend's QT50 and was astonished at the difference in basic quality. Compared to the Puch, the handlegrip throttle assembly, cables, carb and riser, engine mounts, and assorted fittings, levers, cable stops, hardware, headlight/taillight, were motorcycle grade in minature. They made the Puch's (same year of build by the way) look like toys'r'us. Seriously. How could the Austrians have skimped so compared to their competition from Honda and Suzuki?
Thinking about it though, a 1980 Volkswagon Rabbit compared to a 1980 Toyota Corolla was pretty much the same story all around. Shouldn't be surprised. (edited)