1954 MOTOBECANE - Lot 30

1954 MOTOBECANE Type D45S Serial number: 576797 11 784 € invoices Collector's registration 800 / 1 000 € If French automobile production can boast "the car of the 20th century" with the Citroën Traction avant, so can our national motorcycle production with the friendly D45. Who hasn't heard of the legendary D45? In family albums and in the memories of thousands of French people, the side-valve 125 Motobécane is a familiar sight. The D45 appeared in 1945 as the D45A, with a parallelogram fork and rigid rear end. It took six to seven months to obtain one. The D45 became the D45S (for suspension). The four centimeters of travel were admittedly small, but they did filter out the jolts caused by street paving and improved handling. In 1951, a telescopic fork further improved handling. This was virtually the last major development on this model, which continued to enjoy an exemplary career right up to 1961, retaining its dual clutch control and three hand gears. The model presented here was purchased by our collector in 2016. A photograph shows its condition at the time of purchase. He then proceeded to its complete restoration that same year. Nearly €12,000 worth of restoration work will be spent at CM Services in crevecoeur en auge. We recommend that future purchasers carry out the usual restarts required when these machines are immobilized in the collector's museum. We recommend that future purchasers carry out the customary restarts required by the immobilization of these machines in the collector's museum. 1954 MOTOBECANE Type D45S Serial number: 576797 11 784 € invoices Collector's registration 800 / 1 000 € If French automobile production can boast "the car of the 20th century" with the Citroën Traction avant, so can our national motorcycle production with the friendly D45. Who hasn't heard of the legendary D45? In family albums and in the memories of thousands of French people, the side-valve 125 Motobécane is a familiar sight. The D45 appeared in 1945 as the D45A, with a parallelogram fork and rigid rear end. It took six to seven months to obtain one. The D45 became the D45S (for suspension). The four centimeters of travel were admittedly small, but they did filter out the jolts caused by street paving and improved handling. In 1951, a telescopic fork further improved handling. This was virtually the last major development on this model, which continued to enjoy an exemplary career right up to 1961, retaining its dual clutch control and three hand gears. The model presented here was purchased by our collector in 2016. A photograph shows its condition at the time of purchase. He then proceeded to its complete restoration that same year. Nearly €12,000 worth of restoration work will be spent at CM Services in crevecoeur en auge.