Motobécane Motorcycle and Moped Books - History

Motobécane, cycles et motos de France

In this book you will discover the long journey of the Pantin firm through numerous French and international catalogs. The book highlights the period from 1923 to 2003, a period during which the Ateliers de la Motobécane became one of the largest manufacturers in the world.
Bicycles, bicycles with auxiliary engines, motorcycles with cylinder capacities ranging from 100 to 750 cm³, aircraft engines and of course the Mobylette, produced in fourteen million units, are all products produced by the company.

This book, intended to tell the industrial saga of this house, will serve as a guide for collectors who want to date their model precisely and place it in the context of the time.
The chronology of the models and their evolutions, the numerous period photos and the multiple anecdotes linked to restoration advice allow this book to go beyond the framework of a simple historical narrative to reflect a French art of living during the 20th century.

Information

Author:	Patrick Barrabès
Details:	288 pages, 31 x 23.5 cm / 12.2 x 9.25 in, hardback
Illustrations:	598 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	ETAI (F, 2018)
Series:	Héritage
ISBN:	9791028302542

Motobécane - La Mobylette universelle

The Mobylette is universal. Fourteen million copies were manufactured and many of them are still circulating in the world. The history of the Mobylette, and that of its manufacturer Motobécane, is deeply linked to the industrial adventure of the 20th century.
What family has not counted among its members a loyal Mobylette, from uncle to nephew, from grandmother to grandson, and rare are those who have not held the handlebars of these blue, yellow or cauldron in their hands.

After a presentation of Motobécane, founded in 1923 and now MBK, relive the history of the Mobylette, from 1949 to the present day.
Find the faithful description of the different models, as well as the history of the people who designed and manufactured the Mobylette.

Through a magnificent collection of 900 unpublished photos and documents, also discover the manufacture of a Mobylette and the life of the Motobécane factories.
Finally, a technical chapter offering numerous tips and tricks from the period workshop manual, accompanied by a few courses from the Motobécane school will allow you to restore your "Mob".

Information

Author:	Patrick Barrabes
Details:	240 pages, 25.5 x 25.5 cm / 10 x 10 in, hardback
Illustrations:	about 900 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	ETAI (F, 2008)
ISBN:	9782726888049

Motobécane, les deux temps 1921-1984

The history of the bicycle manufacturer Motobécane is deeply linked to the industrial adventure of the 20th century. A technological but also human adventure with the meeting, within this company, of workers, testers, technicians and extraordinary engineers who will raise the "workshop" of 1923 to the level of the world's leading manufacturer.

This book guides you through the two-stroke engine models from the creation of the brand to its last days.
In particular, you will be able to discover or rediscover the motorcycles of the Roaring Twenties, popular or luxury models, the scooters of the 1950s, the cyclo-sport and the 350 cm³ of the 1970s, the competition and Grand Prix machines, without forgetting of course the essential Mobylette which will leave a lasting mark on the world of motorized two-wheelers in post-war France.

You will also learn that Motobécane approached the automobile market with its small cars, the production of which will remain confidential, and that of leisure with its lawnmowers, its engines of boat and its ski lifts.

Thanks to the chronology of the models and their developments, the restoration advice and the anecdotes, this work goes beyond the framework of a simple historical account to reflect a French art of living throughout the 20th century.

Summary:

1. The beginning of a story
2. The prehistory of Motobécane
3. And it all began with the MB1
4. A logical continuation of the MB1: the 175 two-strokes with gear change
5. For more comfort: the 308 family
6. Motobécane and Motoconfort: two different brands?
7. The 250 Type E, B3A/T3A and MC6: the right compromise?
8. Bicycles with auxiliary motors: variations on the popular motorization par excellence
9. The Pony - The Scout
10. The Mobylette: "a small permanent tailwind"
11. Signatures: the evolution of logos at Motobécane
12. Motobécane scooters with two-stroke engines
13. The D52 and D75: Mobylette with gears or reduced motorcycles?
14. The 125 Motobécane twin-cylinder: the French challenge
15. The 350 Motobécane 3-cylinder
16. The sport cyclos of Saint-Quentin: D55 and D55TT
17. The 80 Enduro: the Catalane of Saint-Quentin or complicated history of an unsuitable legislation
18. At the cradle of the Motobécane
19. Two-stroke: the unknowns of Pantin
20. The men of the Motobécane.

Information

Author:	Patrick Barrabès
Details:	192 pages, 25.5 x 25.5 cm / 10 x 10 in, hardback
Illustrations:	400 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	ETAI (F, 2019)
ISBN:	9791028303358

Motobécane, les quatre-temps

Motobécane is the Mobylette that has become universal and has conquered the world thanks to its fourteen million units, but it is also a range of motorcycles equipped with four-stroke engines.

From the English JAP and Blackburn blocks to the famous D45, including the small 125 cm³ single-cylinder with side valves, all genres are represented.
Popular with their "boom-boom" that rocked our childhood or extraordinary machines with the four-cylinder 750, and the 500 Bloc S Grand Sport, they represent the diversity and excellence of French motorcycle production.

Side-mounted single-cylinders, overhead camshafts or rocker arms, 50 to 750 cm³, leisurely touring or commuting, sport, speed, trial or endurance, the four-strokes adorned with the heads of Gauls are everywhere.
Present in all rallies, they are in the majority in collections, a sign of the love rating for these endearing machines with their indisputable appeal.

Thanks to an original iconography and in-depth research, the author gives us an album that goes beyond the framework of the Motobécane workshops.

Information

Author:	Patrick Barrabès
Details:	192 pages, 25.5 x 25.5 cm / 10 x 10 in, hardback
Illustrations:	400 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	ETAI (F, 2019)
ISBN:	9791028303730

Motobécane, le catalogue du siècle

The result of many years of research, "Motobécane, le catalogue du siècle" traces the history of the brand with the head of Gauls from its beginnings on rue Beaurepaire in Pantin. Illustrated with carefully selected advertising documents, this veritable "catalogue of catalogues" allows you to identify each model, date it and discover its evolution.

Like a transmission chain, each model (or model family) meshes with the next, revealing the entire Motobécane production: from the brand's beginnings to the Rouvroy factory where the MBKs are now made, not forgetting global production.

Information

Author:	Patrick Barrabès
Details:	160 pages, 30 x 24.5 x 2 cm / 11.8 x 9.7 x 0.79 in, paperback
Illustrations:	250 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Sophia Éditions (F, 2023)
ISBN:	9782385140113

Motobécane, l'album du siècle

Immerse yourself in a captivating retrospective of the Motobécane and Motoconfort models through this album. Each meticulously selected photo exhumes these photographic treasures from the obscurity of their long-closed albums, allowing us to relive, in their context, moments of life marked by sadness or joy.
Images freezing a soldier in uniform, an elegant young girl, a newborn with his mother on his father's 500, or even a mechanical breakdown, captured under the spotlights of a studio or bathed in the sunshine of Provence, invite us to follow these protagonists in their daily lives.

This Motobécane journey offers an immediate journey through a century of slices of life in France, sometimes even to the ends of the earth. The album thus offers an evocative dive into the history of these emblematic two-wheelers.

Information

Author:	Patrick Barrabès
Details:	160 pages, 29.5 x 24.5 x 1.9 cm / 11.6 x 9.7 x 0.75 in, paperback
Illustrations:	profusely illustrated
Publisher:	Sophia Éditions (F, 2023)
ISBN:	9782385140328

Motobecane, la course en quatre temps

Well known since its beginnings in 1923 for its everyday motorcycles, Motobécane nevertheless has the demon of racing. The factory was heavily involved during the post-war period with a real Racing department.
During these years, the Bloc S appeared, born from Ernst Drucker's slide rule and Géo Ham's pencil stroke. Available from 250 to 600 cm³, it would win everything: the Bol d'Or several times, the French championship, Paris-Les Pyrénées-Paris...

Despite the dark years of the war during which the brand officially withdrew from racing, real champions would emerge and surround the brand's logo with laurels. Agents firmly established in the heart of French cities or local mechanics, they prepare a Motobécane four-stroke, the essential "Z", with the means at hand, mutual aid, and a little talent to finish a Bol d'Or!
Although sport, at Motobécane, is synonymous with circuit or open road racing, the four-strokes, from the 125 to the 350 twin, face all terrains: the track of course, but also the quagmires of trial courses, the bumps of cross courses and the impossible courses of enduro.

This book is not just a history book: it offers a bit of technique and the evolution of motorcycles, but you will especially come across stories of men, those of these talented pilots, preparers and mechanics who have dedicated their lives to the service of the Pantin firm by associating a... stopwatch!

Information

Author:	Patrick Barrabès
Details:	192 pages, 26 x 26 x 2 cm / 10.25 x 10.25 x 0.79 in, paperback
Illustrations:	450 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	ETAI (F, 2021)
ISBN:	9791028304379