Motobecane
Motobécane was a French manufacturer of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and other small vehicles, established in 1923. "Motobécane" is a portmanteau made up of two colloquialisms stuck together. "Moto" is a slang word for motorcycle; "bécane" is slang for "bike."
Mopeds
Motobécane introduced a moped, the Mobylette, in 1949; over the next 48 years, Motobécane manufactured 14 million Mobylettes.
Models
- Mobylette
- Motobecane 7
- Motobecane 50 - The base model, has a single speed 'dimoby' transmission
- Motobecane 50L - (L=Luxe) is a trim upgrade for Motobecane 50 with the single speed 'dimoby' transmission
- Motobecane 50LC - Has trim upgrade, dimoby and (C=Clignotants) turn signals
- Motobecane 50V - The variated model, has a continuously variable transmission or 'variator'
- Motobecane 50VL - (L=Luxe) is a trim upgrade, with rear suspension, for the Motobecane 50 with the continuously variable transmission or 'variator'
- Motobecane 50VLA - (L=Luxe) is a trim upgrade, with an extra seat, for the Motobecane 50 with the continuously variable transmission or 'variator'
- Motobecane 50VLC - Has trim upgrade, variator and (C=Clignotants) turn signals
- Motobecane 40T - Rigid rear suspension, base model, has a single speed 'dimoby' transmission
- Motobecane 40V - Rigid rear suspension with the continuously variable transmission or 'variator'
- Motobecane VLX
- List the rest
Scooters
Under the name MBK, the company continues to manufacture scooters and mopeds for the European market.
Motorcycles
Motobécane manufactured motorcycles from its inception in 1923 until its demise in 1981.
Bicycles
Motobécane was a major and respected manufacturer in the French bicycle industry. They built high-quality, low-cost frames that were a step ahead of many other French manufacturers.
History
In 1981, Motobécane filed for bankruptcy, and was subsequently purchased by Yamaha and reformed in 1984 as MBK; the French company continues to make motor scooters, and has no relation to Motobecane USA, which imports bicycles from Taiwan and China, manufactured to their specification under the Motobécane trademark.
Logo
Most moped companies were short lived enough that the evolution of their logo was slight or never happened. The Motobecane logo is an exception to this as it changed numerous times throughout the evolution of the company.
Repair and Performance Tuning Guides
- Motobecane manual (PDF) with full wiring guides.
- Motobecane Repair Introduction
- Motobecane service and parts manuals
- Thread on porting, cylinder differences, etc -- This should be turned into a Wiki page!
- Thread on creating new engine mounts -- This should also be turned into a Wiki page.
- Installing a new condenser underneath the fuel tank
- Motobecane L'Amour - an informative blog post all about Motobecanes.
- Ventilxp Variator Disassembly
- How to replace the engine rubber bushings, by Ventilxp
External Motobecane Links
- MBK
- Motobécane Club of France
- Tobec Online - Documentation on Motobécane /Motoconfort brands
- Personal Mobylette website
- Classic Rendezvous: Motobécane
- Les mobylettes Motobécane
- Motobecane.jp
- Mabecane's Mobylette Corner -- A Moby site for the new owners and beginners
- [1]. Link to the LE M 50 79Z dual variated Morini engine shop manual in French
External Motobecane Parts supplier Links
collection of websites I have found searching for parts--Snotrocket 11:38, 18 July 2012 (EDT)
- The Kingdom of Treatland (gotta love the treats, super fast shipping)
- 1977 mopeds (Good product selection reallllly slow shipping)
- Redureau Racing Design
- mob custom (pretty sweet website)
- Le Solex
- Solex-Motobecane
- Kreidler
- Scoot Bike Shop
- Scooter Parts International