1929 Motobecane M2 JAP 250

[amewse]

Hi All,
I am new to the forum and am keen to see whether there are any other Motobecane M2 motorcycles in the UK. I believe these were only made for one season so fairly rare even in France. Mine machine is recently acquired and looks all of its 90 years! The plan is to keep it looking just as it is, preserve it to stop it getting any worse and just use it. I am sure to have some technical queries which I will post as they arise. I look forward to any comments or info that anyone might have. Thanks.

Angus.

[mini-me]

highly unlikely.

That lightweight Burman gearbox will provide you with hours of fun.

[amewse]

highly unlikely.

That lightweight Burman gearbox will provide you with hours of fun.

Thanks for the reply, I have managed to find a correct replacement gearbox (Staub branded) which is in good working order but needs one or two bushes. The gearbox currently fitted to the bike has suffered a major fracture of the kickstart quadrant housing, it has split in half horizontally! The bike came with a spare engine minus timing gear and magneto, not sure how common these JAP engines are?

[Rex]

Ah, New  Year, new French bike thread. I knew something was missing...

[mini-me]

Looking at the rust pits on it, it'll break in half soon enough, french steel of that period was rubbish.

[Rex]

Looking at the state of the ali and the frame tubes that one's been stored outside for decades, and then there's the original problem(s) that meant someone stopped running it and pinched half the gearbox..that'll need sorting too.

[cardan]

Cheer up you lot - it's a new year! A pretty little bike.

The Staub was a pretty fair copy of the Burman. I wonder if they paid a licence fee?

Cheers

Leon

[iansoady]

I think it has the makings of a nice little runaround but will never be worth a fortune. Probably a good thing.....

[leenane]

Congratulations! you have a beautiful French bike. Perhaps you will see the annual meeting in Brittany? Here is the address of our site and our forum.

I wish you good walks on the beautiful roads of the English countryside

http://motobecane-club-de-france.fr/site/
http://motobecane-club-de-france.fr/forum/index.php

[amewse]

I think it has the makings of a nice little runaround but will never be worth a fortune. Probably a good thing.....

I agree and all the better for it! Even though it is poor cosmetically, it turns over smoothly and appears mostly original. I live by the coast and just wanted a vintage machine to potter about the lanes on. I have owned a number of classic British bikes over the years, some original and some restored. People are paying crazy money these days for very ordinary British bikes which can be, to be honest, rather disappointing to ride. I have grown to prefer the more horrible looking the bike the better.

[Rex]

Nothing wrong with "horrible looking" bikes but the problems could be mechanical rather than cosmetic?
There's always a reason why a bike was laid up for decades

[amewse]

Good point. I think it might have been the kickstarter housing breakage that originally caused the lay-up. It may be that someone had been bump-starting it as there is 'relatively' fresh oil in the tank and crankcase and the gearbox is still working. Just need to find time to swap the gearbox, overhaul the carb and the mag and the clutch .....