Volkswagen maggiolino 1902

Volkswagen maggiolino

Manufacturer: Clément
Model: Model B
Year: c.1902
Displacement: 143cc - 1⅓hp
Engine type: 4-stroke / aiv
Cylinders: 1

Frame number: 789
Engine number: LM833

Already a successful maker of bicycles and pneumatic tyres - he owned the Dunlop patents in France - Adolphe Clément diversified into motorcycle manufacture in 1897, having just bought the Gladiator cycle company, and built his first four-wheeled automobile two years later, taking an interest in the existing Gladiator concern.

Around 1902 Clément began supplying motorcycle engines to Charles Garrard in the UK, who fitted them in frames supplied initially by James Lansdowne Norton and marketed his products under the Clément-Garrard name until 1911. Norton was impressed by the French-built motor and used it to power the first of his own motorcycles in 1902. In October 1903 Adolphe Clément broke his connection with the company he had founded and set up a new factory in Levallois-Perret, adopting the trade name 'Bayard'. The original Clément-Gladiator enterprise continued to manufacture motorcycles until 1935.

Displacing 143cc and rated at a nominal 1⅓hp, the Clément engine powering this gents' bicycle is a single-cylinder four-stroke with detachable cylinder head and overhead valves, the inlet being of the 'atmospheric' type and the exhaust mechanically operated. The motor features coil ignition, and drives the rear wheel via a long belt tensioned by a jockey wheel attached to the seat tube. Fuel is contained in a cylindrical tank mounted above the bicycle's rear mudguard, behind the saddle.

This 1902 Clément pioneer bike is a real eye catcher each vintage motorcycle event. Its in superb condition and comes with Pioneer Certificate and Lucas headlight, Amal carburetor, Lucas hand bell.

It´s the perfect bike for Banbury Run.