Motorcycles

The Solex motor bicycle was built as the result of two French engineers endeavoring to create a better bicycle.

Quite a departure from Solex’s other offerings, the Flash debuted in 1969.

The Pli-Solex is the folding version of the Solex 5000. The frame folds in the center, and the handlebars, seat, and engine may be removed to allow for easier transport or storage.

In 1940, Marcel Mennesson had a prototype built for a bicycle equipped with a motor on the front wheel. The 38cc engine was outfitted with a roller transmission, carburetor and tank, and mounted on the front 700-millimetre wheel.

Building on its success in the 1960s with racing two-strokes, Suzuki decided to create a large-capacity multicylinder sports bike for road riders.

While not a household name, Victor Bouffort (1912-1995) was a prolific French inventor of the mid-20th century. Inspired by the collapsible Welbike motorcycle used by British paratroops during the war, Bouffort developed a prototype for a folding, stow-away scooter in the early 1950s.

There are certain scenes that spring to mind when thinking of Italy. The Colosseum in Rome, the gondolas on the canals of Venice, and narrow roads filled with Vespa scooters.