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International Motobécane gathering
Story snapshot:
Everyone is welcome to this club meeting in Pluvigner, Brittany
Mark your calendars for 22nd & 23rd June 2019
There was a time when Motobécane was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in France. Founded in 1923, this imaginative and ambitious Gallic firm produced a varied range of machines from 750cc heavyweight inline-four shaft drives, to lightweight two-strokes, to everyday bicycles—and even a pedal car for basic transportation during a period of very limited petrol supply.
The company's most famous product, however, is the humble and utilitarian Mobylette moped of which over 14 million were manufactured; a design that was produced under licence from England to India. But Motobécane also campaigned its performance products on the race tracks, and in 1939 the company won the Bol d'Or 24 hour endurance race.
▲ 1938 Motobécane 100cc B1V2 military motorcycle. Originally a civilian mount, the French army used these until the fall of France (June 1940). Then the Germans put these bikes to work on airfields mostly as runabout. Top speed 31mph. Sturdily built. Unpretentious. Bonhams sold this example in 2010 for £1,610.
Motobecane inline four
▲ Motobécane flirted with 500cc and 750cc inline, four-stroke, shaft drive sidevalves. It's not clear exactly which model this is, but we think it's a prototype model built around 1930. If you know better, please tell us.
Stylish, sophisticated and well made, much of the Motobécane story reads like the rise and fall of the British motorcycle industry. Cheaper cars slowly ate into the sales and profits of the French motorcycle trade, and by the 1960s the Japanese had arrived on mainland Europe with new thinking and fresh energy.
In 1981 Yamaha bought the company, refinanced the business and relaunched it as MBK which currently manufactures a range of motorscooters. The Motobécane name, however, is still in use by various firms around the world thereby helping dilute the heritage in much the same way as Matchless or Belstaff fashion clothing.
Currently, the Motobécane Club de France boasts around 1,000 members. To that end, an appropriate gathering (the 24th) is being organised by Autos, Vintage Motorcycles - Atlantic Club (AMECA). The venue is the Espace Saint Michel in the commune of Pluvigner, Brittany which is in the Morbihan department. The date is 22nd & 23rd June 2019.
You don't need to own or ride a Motobécane motorcycle, scooter or moped. You simply need to turn up and enjoy the festivities. The event notification that we received appears to have lost something in translation, so we suggest that you contact the organiser to clarify dates and other details. But it's a given that you'll find food, drinks, entertainment and probably some trade activity. We note also that 2019 is the 70th anniversary of the Mobylette.
Meanwhile, if you need an excuse to go motorcycling around France, which is generally pretty cool biking country at almost any time of the year, here's a suitable opportunity.
www.motobecane-club-de-france.fr/site