Motorcycles and Mopeds - France: Illustrated History Books & Guides

Les Gitane de mon père 1920-1980 - Moto, vélo, cyclo (2e édition)

The Gitane Testi Champion Super, born in Italy, captivated the French youth of the 1970s with its sleek design and authentic motorcycle engineering. However, the Gitane brand has a long history. Founded in 1928 by Marcel Brunelière, it initially gained recognition for high-quality bicycles. In the 1950s, Gitane expanded its production to include mopeds and motorcycles.

Gitane also achieved notable sports success. Cyclists like Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, and Laurent Fignon won the Tour de France ten times on Gitane bicycles. The brand also set speed records of over 200 km/h.

This book provides a comprehensive presentation of the motorized models, an overview of bicycle production, and a tribute to the main sporting achievements with Gitane bicycles. Richly illustrated, the book focuses on Gitane bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles produced between 1928 and 1980. This volume of the "De mon père" collection is a valuable resource for owners and enthusiasts.

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Les mobs de course de mon père

Among the multitude of competitions reserved for motorized two-wheeled vehicles, there is one that had its glory days between 1975 and 1995: the category of belt-driven mopeds, more commonly called "mobs" or "50 with variator".
It is this category and some of the machines that made its prestige that we will discover in this book. The racing mobs of My Father and a good number of his colleagues are therefore presented here over the twenty years when these machines were the kings of the track.

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Motos françaises 1869-1964

France, a land of pioneers, saw the birth of over a thousand motorcycle brands. In 1869, Perreaux built the world's first motorcycle. Known for their reliability, French motorcycles gained worldwide fame.

Brands such as Terrot, Gnome & Rhône, Motobécane, René Gillet, Peugeot, Jonghi, Koehler-Escoffier, Magnat-Debon, Ratier, Monet-Goyon, and Werner traveled roads across the world, even reaching Japan. They excelled in racing, setting hundreds of world records, some still standing. Legendary riders like Robert Sexé and Georges Monneret made their mark on these machines.

With several hundred period illustrations, mostly unpublished, this book traces the history of the most emblematic French motorcycle brands from the origins to the 1960s, when the national industry began to decline.

Pages of the book "Motos françaises 1869-1964"

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Cycles, motos, automobiles Alcyon, reine du Tour (Collection Prestige)

Founded in 1903 by Edmond Gentil, Alcyon was a globally known French brand of bicycles and motorcycles. It quickly stood out through innovation, strong marketing, and outstanding racing results.
With 13 Tour de France victories, 18 Paris-Roubaix wins, and many more, Alcyon was a dominant force in cycling. In motorcycling, the brand also achieved numerous titles and records, including the first-ever world championship. Before World War I, Alcyon also produced notable cars.

Pages of the book "Cycles, motos, automobiles Alcyon, reine du Tour"

Z.L. (Zürcher & Lüthi), founded in Switzerland by Ernest Zürcher, was a key engine manufacturer. It supplied all major early motorcycle brands in Europe, including Minerva, Peugeot, Terrot, NSU, Alcyon, and Brough. Zedel, its successor, produced remarkable automobiles.

In 1907, Alcyon and Z.L. joined forces. The book traces their combined industrial journey and impact.
It also discusses the rivalry with Peugeot in cycling. Despite fierce competition, the authors argue that Alcyon outperformed Peugeot and remains a benchmark in cycling history.

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Monet & Goyon - la moto française

At the beginning of the 20th century, discoveries abounded. Technology evolved rapidly thanks to men who were not put off by the unknown. This is how two young men, Joseph Monet and André Goyon, created hand-operated tricycles called "velocimanes".
It was after the First World War and there were many wounded. They quickly adapted a drive wheel of English origin, of which they became the exclusive manufacturers for France. The first step towards motorization was thus taken. A varied production of motorcycles up to 500 cm³ would follow.

The Mâcon brand Monet & Goyon carved out a solid reputation in competition between the two wars, while production continually evolved over the years. The English "Villiers" engines, followed by the Swiss MAG engines, equipped the motorcycles. In 1929, sales declined, and to regain the confidence of its agents, Monet & Goyon purchased the prestigious Koehler Escoffier brand.

In the 1950s, Monet-Goyon did not escape the fashion for the "Starlett" scooter and the moped. A new bodied motorcycle, "the Pulman" was studied in 1956. But that same year, the economic situation led to the decline of the company, which definitively abandoned the production of motorized machines and converted to the manufacture of motorized cultivators for Motostandard.

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Cyclo-sport - Les marques, les modèles et leur histoire de A à Z

After winning the hearts of collectors of vintage two-wheelers, cyclo-sport is now confidently conquering the general public, appearing on television, in the cinema and naturally in any self-respecting exhibition of vintage motorcycles. This is not surprising when you consider the strong comeback of the aesthetic values of the 1950s and 1960s.
Appearing at the heart of this period when everything was changing, cyclo-sport was born out of passion, contemporary with the electric guitar, the slicked-back hairstyle and then the wind-blown hair of the hippie period. How many rock stars have posed on a Flandria, a Benelli or a Paloma?

Leaving the scooter to charm the girls, cyclo-sport aims to be the friend of boys, who rush to accessorize it and improve its performance. Throughout Europe, young people are demanding cyclo-sport; So, to satisfy this strong demand, motorcycle manufacturers got involved (Peugeot, MV-Agusta), as well as bicycle manufacturers such as Gitane but also the Viberti dump truck factory and a multitude of small assemblers. As a result, three hundred and ninety-two brands, all listed and commented on in this book, have given birth to cyclo-sport bikes. Among these, we have selected the most beautiful models, the most famous but also the most curious and all those illustrated by the inimitable period brochures marked by this nostalgia which today affects all generations.

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49,9 cm³, éternellement jeunes (Motofocus)

In the immediate post-war period, 50 cc mopeds (with pedals) and mopeds (without pedals) allowed the masses to motorize economically. One brand particularly embodied this revival: Motobécane, which named its new moped Mobylette. This proper name would become common, and define all of these 50 cc models whose success would extend from the 1950s to the end of the 1980s.

Machines flourish in the ranges of all manufacturers, French but also European and Asian. Some of them will become cult: from the famous Bleue de Motobécane to the thunderous black Vélosolex, through astonishing machines like the Honda Dax, or the phenomena of the 1980s that will be the Peugeot 103 and Motobécane / MBK 51 Super with the young public, most of them are mentioned here.

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Les Motos de la Gendarmerie

This book allows you to discover or rediscover models of motorcycles never before seen in the Gendarmerie, from the birth of these machines in this corps to the latest models assigned to the units.

Thanks to a rich iconography of around 350 photographs and mainly from private collections, the reader will discover another image of these gendarmerie motorcyclists whose passion and love of motorcycles are mixed with their vocation as military personnel in the gendarmerie.

Pascal Meunier, son and brother of gendarmes, was also in the Gendarmerie. He collected, after much research, a wide range of documentation and photographs.

Summary:

1. The beginnings of the motorcycle in the Gendarmerie
2. The motorcycle in the period 1950 to 1970
3. From black to blue on two wheels. Period 1970-1990
4. Period 1990-2005
5. Period from 2005 to today
6. The motorcycle in specialized units
7. The Gendarmerie motorcycle training center.

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