My purchase of two VeloSolexes, last year, came as something of a surprise. I was thinking of buying a Sinclair Zeta, the electric motor for fitting to bicycle.

Instead, I found a whole new world of cyclemotors. Although I was born in 1947, and in the Midlands, where, at that time,  many families ran heavy plodders and sidecars, time had kindly removed any memory of such low powered machines as cyclemotors.

                 

49cc two-stroke air cooled with flywheel generator on one side and small fuel tank on the opposite side. The clutch is centrifugal. Braking is cycle type rim brake at the front with drum brake at 
the rear. Unit exhaust fitted to engine.  Simple petrol pump, driven by engine 
depression, and unique carburettor without float chamber (unused petroil is simply returned to the tank).

To start, lower the engine onto the front wheel, swing choke lever full on, pull in decompressor lever, pedal, release the de-compressor and open the throttle.

More research showed that The French VeloSolex was a simple two stroke engined bicycle that had been made in France for over forty years. Being something of a francophile, I love Citroens, I felt that this quaint machine could be just what I was looking for........ and my wife too, only she didn't know it.

More searching the web turned up two VeoSolexes for sale in Newark. Studying the digitised photograph, one machine appeared to be a Pli-Solex.  The little that I had learned told me that this was a rare folding VeloSolex. The other machine seemed to be a fairly common, and still in production, VeloSolex 3800.

Some emailed arrangements to view and a week later the two machines were safely stored in my garage.

Neither machine was running. Since the Orange Pli-Solex was in better condition and appeared to be low mileage this was tackled first. Anyway the black 3800 was in a bit of a state and had vital bits, such as the front brake mechanism and the exhaust missing, it was probably destined to be a spares machine (both models shared basically the same engines).

It didn't take long to discover that the small bore petrol pipe from the tank to petrol pump was blocked with time solidified two stroke mix. Once the petrol pipes and the carburettor jets had been cleaned the little Pli-Solex started easily.

After a little cleaning the Pli-Solex was put aside and my attention turned to the 3800. Since this is still in production parts are available, on the web, from several sources in Europe and America. Although parts are inexpensive because this model is relatively common, it was not a machine that I felt deserved any serious investment.

So last winter saw the frame being stripped. The frame is unlike a normal bicycle since it is mainly flat pressed plates bolted together and hanging on the main downtube. This means that any part of the frame can be replaced quite simply.

Once work began it was obvious that there was no primer coat, the machine had just been sprayed Black onto the bare metal. Although there was a lot of surface rust it all stripped back to shiny metal. The surprising thing was that all nuts and bolts were in good condition and undid easily.

By the end of the winter the 3800 was just a carrier bag full of framework, two rusty wheelrims and the engine. Here worked stopped.

Early this year, 2001, another advert was spotted on the web. This was for a VeloSolex 3800 needing restoration but supplied with two brand new tyres, tubes and pedals for £30. This machine was also purchased and although the bike itself was probably too far gone for restoration and the engine was seized it yielded many useful bits including the front brake, carburettor diaphragm, the exhaust and other various bits and pieces.

Out came the carrier bag and I decided to reassemble the first 3800 in order to try the engine. Just as well that I had the second frame because I realised that I would never have remembered how all of the sections, bolts and spacers went back together.

After the usual fettling, cleaning the petrol pipes and using the petrol pump donated by the spares machine she reluctantly fired up. Whilst the engine seems much more noisy it also appears to be more powerful than the newer Pli-Solex. Its early days, but I am currently working to get this machine through the MOT later in the year. Work still to be done, apart from the cosmetics are the rear brake is useless, I am hoping that the donor machine will offer up its rear hub brake lining, and the lighting system is as yet untried.

Sunday, June 10th 2001
Time to learn of some of the differences in models! I decided to take a look at the linings of the rear hub brake of the spares machine. As I hoped, after 15 minutes struggling to undo the hub nut, I found that the linings were good. So then I struggled to undo the hub nut of the rear wheel of the 3800. As I thought, the linings were well worn. Fine, so its easy to swap the linings over. Except........... something strange here, one set  of linings are much smaller than the other. The spare machine, although outwardly similar to the 3800 is actually a 3300 and the hub is considerably smaller.

The only solution was to fit the rear wheel of the spare bike to the 3800 - no problem. Until I discovered that the freewheel sprocket is again smaller on the 3300 than the 3800 with the result that the chain was now too long. The chain of the spare machine was very, very rusty and some links were totally locked up. Half an hour later after WD40, spray grease and liberal oiling and the old chain was free. Out came the rear wheel again, on went the chain and everything is hunky-dory. The back brake now works well.

It was a similar experience with the headlight. Although outwardly identical in appearance, apart from  one with 3300 logo and one with 3800 logo, the wiring to the headlight was different. On one the earth was switched and on the other the live feed was switched - and even then after much head scratching it didn't work. The connection to the headlight is very French with seemingly no live feed,  that is until you fit the front light unit and discover that it makes contact with a screw on the crankcase.

September 2002
Decided to fire up the 3800 after a lay-up of 12 months. The engine always seems rather tight but does fire after about 18 feet of pedalling, emitting a lot of blue smoke!

VeloSolex chrome plating seems to be low quality and so the rims were very rusty. I decided, since new rims are one of the more expensive items, to try painting them. Once the rims were sanded down they were, in fact, quite sound. They were given a light spray coat of anti-rust primer followed by a fine coat of steel wheel spray in a satin silver finish. So, very slow progress but this is not an urgent or expensive project. I can enjoy doing a little work as and when I feel like it and lets face it it takes up a very small amount of garage space and isn't going to depreciate rapidly. I am sure that if we lived somewhere like East Anglia the machine would now be in regular use. Unfortunately its probably not best suited to the valleys of South Wales.

The VeloSolex has a fascinating history and you will find much of it on the web. 
First prototypes were built after the war by the family well known for Solex carburettors. The 49cc (initially 45cc) engine drives a carborundum coated roller which bears on the front tyre to drive the wheel. The machine has evolved through many types with the 3800 being the most popular and is still built in Hungary using the original French machinery.

I have received an email from www.velosolexamerica.com telling me that they are no longer made in Hungary but are being made in France once more.

It provided the masses with transport, immediately after the war, and although built in the UK, too, it never achieved the mass following that it did in its home country. Apparently it is rarely seen now in France but has since enjoyed a cult following in other parts of the world.

Construction and mechanics are simple with the early 3800 (amongst some other models) enjoying a centrifugal clutch (no gearbox) and clever combined brake/throttle system.

There are many Solex websites and clubs around the world, some links to other sites are provided on the Links page.