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Le VeloSoleX de mon pere

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Franck MENERET, Jean GOYARD

Edition:

ETAI, 20 November 2002

ISBN:

2-7268-8569-1

EAN13:

9782726885697

Details:

119 pages, 24.5 cm x 22.2 cm x 1.5 cm, 0.705 kg

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CREATED in 1940 by Marcel Mennesson, the VeloSoleX over the decades left its mark of "the bicycle which moves by itself" thanks to Solexine pre-mix fuel.  Whether in the city or countryside, the VeloSoleX left its mark over generations. As the years went past and thanks to an organized network of dealers, the VeloSoleX evolved quietly, was exported outside of France and built in several other countries. The 1950s see a mass of accessories produced making it possible to have a different VeloSoleX to your neighbour. By the end of the 1960s the VeloSoleX was available in several colours and models. Bicycles, cyclomotors with Cardan drive-shaft transmission and chain-driven versions supplement the original roller version. Competition in the 1970s cause a fall in the number of machines produced. But the Model 3800 hasn't yet had its last word and continues under the direction of Motobecane and later MBK. Today it is an object of collection or even simply a nostalgic machine. The word VeloSoleX is synonymous with the idea of simplicity. It represents an emblematic figure of France and constitutes accordingly a true cultural and industrial inheritance.


Le Cyclomoteur a galet de mon pere

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Franck MENERET, Sylvie MENERET

Edition:

ETAI, 29 January 2004

ISBN:

2-7268-9354-6

EAN13:

9782726893548

Details:

119 pages, 24.7 cm x 22.5 cm x 1.7 cm, 0.7 kg

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THE transmission of engine energy via a friction roller wheel is a principle used since 1920, but which is particularly associated with the VeloSoleX from the 1940s. After having produced engines able to be fitted to any bicycle, at the front or behind, manufacturers then produced the cyclomotor with the motor integrated. This book takes you on a voyage of the cyclomotor from the beginning of the 20th century to through to the 1970s via the pinnacle years of the 1950s. In France, in addition to the large manufacturers Motobecane, Peugeot, Terrot, Vap or Le Poulain, many smaller manufacturers launch their own versions, sometimes briefly:  Cyclex, Kid and Baby Star. As well as being economic in use, the roller engine in its manufacture and simplicity of installation attracts many foreign manufacturers: from the extravagant English Cymota through to the JLO and German diesel Lohmann of 18 cm³ cubic capacity, while passing the American Travis, the Italian Mosquito, and the Dutch Berini to the rhythm of the roller of some 60 other models from around the world. Bonne route!


Le VeloSoleX - La bicyclette qui roule toute seule

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Bernard SALVAT, Dominique PASCAL, Jean GOYARD

Edition:

CHARLES MASSIN, 1 September 1989

ISBN:

2-7072-0156-1

EAN13:

9782707201560

Details:

80 pages, 31.0 cm x 24.0 cm, 0.670 kg

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WITHOUT doubt, the black VeloSoleX is closely associated with the image of France.  Along with the image of the Citroen 2CV, it occupies an exceptional place in the history of popular motorized transport.  With Camembert cheese, red wine, baguette and beret, its black silhouette is one of the national institutions of France. After the Second World War, it was necessary for France, disorganized and ruined in terms of transport, to have an economic, easy-to-use and reliable means of transport.  The prototype studied during the occupation resulted in a VeloSoleX the creators had hoped for - a means of transport that the French could ride day after day. 5,000,000 of the machines were built over a 40 year period. From the nurse to the country priest to Patrick Poivre of Arvor, the celebrated television journalist, everybody was pleased with its robustness and simplicity despite its lack of performance. In this book, celebrating the institution of the VeloSoleX, 3 specialists describe its 50 year history from the first prototype built in the 1940s to the last French ones sold at a charity auction in 1988. This book is intended for all who, today, search for the nostalgia of their VeloSoleX years.


Du Cyclomoteur a la Mob

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Bernard SOLER-THEBES

Edition:

ETAI, 2 November 2003

ISBN:

2-7268-9350-3

EAN13:

9782726893500

Details:

190 pages, 26.0 cm x 26.0 cm x 2.5 cm, 1.270 kg

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THE story of the Cyclomotor began in 1943 with the 50 cm³ engine before one even considered the idea of adapting the engine to fit a bicycle, initially for one to pedal less and then for one not to pedal at all! Among the different types of motorized vehicles, no other machine developed more than the Cyclomotor to meet the travel needs and desires of the users. This book contains a vast array of Cyclomotors beginning with the auxiliary engine through to the Mobylette and VeloSoleX but also includes the Italian Cyclo-sports during the Rock 'n' Roll period. Also well-represented, are the Dutch Cyclo-scooters and the luxurious 50 cm³ German models, while not forgetting the valiant Tri-cars or the amusing Mini-cyclos of the 'Hippy' years. The author recalls: "Among the rare advantages to have been born in the middle of the last century, includes the one of being there to see the birth of the Cyclomotor and to have been alongside its constant development. At the start of the 1950s, the first model to capture my attention as a child was the one my teacher owned and I would not grow up until I had one. I did not know then, how much the Cyclomotor was going to affect my adolescence and later life as an adult to the point of becoming almost an obsession due to the constant research required of the machines and parts which need to be added to the documentation, seemingly, never ending."


Cyclo-sport - Les marques, les modeles et leur histoire de A a Z

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Bernard SOLER-THEBES

Edition:

ETAI, 1 October 2002

ISBN:

2-7268-8589-6

EAN13:

9782726885895

Details:

192 pages, 26.5 cm x 26.0 cm x 2.0 cm, 1.250 kg

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AFTER winning the attention of 2-wheel collectors, the Cyclo-sport leaves to conquer the general public appearing on television, cinema and indeed anywhere old motorcycles are admired. This is not astonishing when one considers the recent retro return of the aesthetic values of the 1950s and 1960s. In the middle of this changing period, the Cyclo-sport was born from passion, a contemporary of the electric guitar, the coiffured hairstyle and later the hair in the wind of the 'Hippy' years. How many Rock 'n' Roll stars posed on models such as the Flandria, Benelli or Paloma? While the scooter charmed the girls, the Cyclo-sport became the friend of the boys, who hastened to add accessories and extras to improve performance. In Europe, with the Cyclo-sport claiming the young, the motorcycle manufacturers (Peugeot, MV-Augusta), keen to satisfy demand, put out more and more machines including the manufacturers of bicycles such as Gitane and from the factory of Viberti. As a result, 394 Cyclo-sport models are presented here, each one indexed and with accompanying notes. Among these are some of the most beautiful and famous machines but also some of the most curious ones, each model illustrated with brochures of the period to create a nostalgia to touch all generations.


Motobecane-MBK - De la Mobylette au Booster

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Didier GANNEAU

Edition:

ETAI, 19 March 2002

ISBN:

2-7268-8592-6

EAN13:

9782726885925

Details:

143 pages, 26.1 cm x 26.1 cm x 1.8 cm, 1.040 kg

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FOR over a half century a French factory equipped young people and not so young with increasingly sophisticated two-wheeled vehicles.  It began under the name of Motobecane which continues today as MBK as a subsidiary of a large Japanese manufacturer. This painful change, not helped by Dassault, Peugeot and Renault, did not prevent Motobecane from traversing these 50 years with real technical euphoria. Indeed, the huge funds that the Mobylette generated were re-invested by Motobecane without delay. This book reveals the astonishing prototypes resulting from this policy. It also tells the story of the factory, the men and above all, the prizes won in Grand Prix competitions.


La Motobecane de mon pere

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Patrick NEGRO

Edition:

ETAI, 1 January 2005

ISBN:

2-7268-9416-X

EAN13:

9782726894163

Details:

119 pages, 24.5 cm x 22.5 cm x 1.4 cm, 0.700 kg

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THE small Motobecane and maroon Motoconfort 125 cm³ D 45 side-valve motorcycle created just before the Second World War or the Series-Z 125 & 175 cm³ over-head valve motorcycles created shortly after the war covered the roads of France for more than 20 years! They are written into our memory and into the hearts of their owners. With their handlebars they took their owners to work and to their holidays. Hardly sporting but long-lasting despite poor maintenance, the "Tobec" did not let them down! Their owners are unanimous in remembering them as reliable and economic machines consuming little fuel. Manufactured from 1946 to 1964 with easy maintenance, there are still a lot in service today and have become a collector's motorcycle.


Motos Francaise 1869 - 1962

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Patrick NEGRO

Edition:

ETAI, 9 September 2004

ISBN:

2-7268-9387-2

EAN13:

9782726893876

Details:

191 pages, 26.0 cm x 26.0 cm x 2.1 cm, 1.260 kg

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FRANCE sees more than 1000 models of motorcycles born on its pioneering grounds. In 1869, Perreaux builds the first motorcycle in the world. French motorcycles gain worldwide reputation with their reliability. Terrot, Gnome & Rhone, Motobecane, Rene Gillet, Peugeot, Jonghi, Koehler-Escoffier, Magnat-Debon, Ratier, Monet-Goyon, Werner and many others still ride the roads of the world and are exported to Japan too. They excel in racing - breaking and establishing hundreds of world records some of which are still held. Riders like Robert Sexe and George Monneret, legendary figures in the world of motorcycling were distinguished by their machines. Filled with several hundred illustrations of the time, the majority of which are new, this book recalls the history of the models of the first period of the history of the French motorcycle right up to the 1960s.


Les Motos Francaises - Cent ans d'histoires

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Bernard SALVAT

Edition:

EPA, 9 September 1998

ISBN:

2-8512-0438-6

EAN13:

9782851204387

Details:

238 pages, 26.0 cm x 25.9 cm x 2.2 cm, 1.350 kg

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WHEN speaking about motorcycles, Japan is often thought about. When speaking about yesterday's motorcycles, England is very often thought about. But, if it is true that most motorcycles in the world are Japanese since the 1970s and that it was English from the 1930s to 1950s, it is wise not to forget that with a curious reverse chauvinism it had a French birth shortly before the start of the 20th century that lasted until the First World War. Neither should it be forgotten that France remained in the 1920s, the 1930s and even the 1950s, a major motorcycling country which built, alas seldom in great quantity, very refined machines with elaborate designs and outstanding performances; classics of the highest standards. This book describes the 100 years of French motorcycling, pointing out legendary names such as Terrot or Koehler-Escoffier and others which have passed into posterity like Griffon, Dax, Jonghi or Majestic.


L'age d'or de la Moto Francaise

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

GLENAT

Edition:

ATLAS, 25 May 2005

ISBN:

2-7234-5213-1

EAN13:

9782723452137

Details:

234 pages, 29.5 cm x 23.0 cm x 2.7 cm, 1.535 kg

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THE first motor bike was considered to be the one produced by Hildebrand in 1892 but even from 1855, there were various attempts to motorize the bicycle. In 1885, the German Gottlieb Daimler mounts an engine on a wooden bicycle and the British Edward Butler builds a metal prototype of a motor bike. In 1896, the French Werner brothers of Russian origin, build a Cyclomotor again equipped with pedals. They christen their model "motorcycle"; the French motor bike was born. French manufacturers, benefiting from technological advances, particularly those made by Dion and Bouton with their one-cylinder model, were especially productive at the end of 19th century and many traders began to build motor bikes. Hundreds of manufacturers such as Buchet, Clement, Aster, Alcyon, Peugeot or Rene-Gillet were born and the dusty roads of France become populated with motor bikes or tricycles. The French motor bike had arrived at a level greater than that of simple mechanical curiosity and in 1900 the Werner brothers crossed the boundary by producing 1000 motor bikes. It is was not until a few years before the First World War that the motor bike acquired its final form identified by power transmission by chain. The new vehicle improves as the years go by and from the 1930s, it becomes a popular and widely available machine. The engine becomes more powerful in terms of cubic capacity and improves technically, first with front fork suspension and then rear suspension. With many illustrations, this book recalls the complete history of the French motor bike from its early beginnings to the golden age of the post-war period.


Scooters - De A a Z

Language:

FRENCH

Author(s):

Bernard SOLER-THEBES, Jean GOYARD

Edition:

ETAI, 19 April 2005

ISBN:

2-7268-9424-0

EAN13:

9782726894248

Details:

192 pages, 350 photos, 26.0 cm x 26.0 cm, 1.250 kg

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WITHOUT feeling self-conscious because of its small wheels, the Scooter enters in 1950 to follow the larger tyres of its elder motorcycle. With its engine under enclosures and the headlight on the handlebars, it gives a wink to the girls. "A small car with two wheels" say the manufacturers as the Scooter joins the young couples who lean on the sides of the 2CV and the 4CV to take them camping by the Riviera, while the more adventurous travel around the world on overloaded Scooters. Born at the same time as the Scooter, the Cyclomotor slips into the background but occasionally donning an apron, suspension and a comfortable saddle it becomes the Cyclo-scooter. Not hesitating to pose alongside real Scooters, the Cyclo-scooter with its modest budget and lack of administrative overheads becomes very successful. Discover here the story of Scooters and Cyclo-scooters, synonymous with youth, freedom and pleasure with this book of 192 pages, 350 photographs and some 300 models from all continents of the world.

 

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Copyright © 2008 BRIAN'S VELOSOLEX. All rights reserved. This is a personal website containing information for and by VeloSoleX enthusiasts. It is not intended to replace any official information and whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of all published information no guarantee is offered nor liability accepted for any loss or damage that may arise from any errors or omissions.