Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
6416
MONET-GOYON
250 Auto-Mouche GW - 1936
A very French design
It's difficult to realize the vast human cost to France during WWI – which was largely fought across its territory. After the war, thousands of Frenchmen were left crippled in some way. To meet their special needs, Monet-Goyon specialized, between 1916 and 1939, in vehicles for the handicapped.
Manually-Powered Tricycle
While WWI was still raging, they offered the Vélocimane and the Voiturette, the former being a manually-powered tricycle with a wicker seat and handcranks driving the single front wheel, the latter with either a 500cc Anzani single or a 750cc MAG V-twin.
Bizarre Machines
The Vélocimane could be fitted with an auxiliary powered wheel driven by a little 120cc engine with an automatic intake valve, making a bizarre machine with its wheels set in diamond formation. It was one in a range of specially-adapted power and pedal two-, three- and four-wheeled devices offered by the company, bearing odd names like "VéloFauteuil" and "Pousse-Pousse Coloniaux." Machines were also built for the able-bodied. In 1921, Monet-Goyon brought out the "Auto-Mouche," a similar machine in which the powered wheel took the place of the right-hand rear wheel. But in 1924, the definitive version of the Auto-Mouche appeared, with an open frame like a scooter and powered by a turbine-cooled 147cc Villiers two-stroke fitted beneath the rider's seat and driving through a two-speed transmission. Later, the Auto-Mouche was available with two seats – first in wicker, then in pressed-steel – and powered by 175 or 250cc Villiers engines.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine: 250cc (63x80mm) air-cooled single-cylinder Villiers Mk XIV-A; flywheel magneto
Valves: two-stroke
Fuel System: carburetor
Transmission: 3-speed, shift lever on right of driving seat; chain final drive
Suspension: girder forks (front); rigid (rear)
Brakes: drum (front & rear)
Wheels: 25x3.00 inch (front & rear)
Weight: 176 lb
Maximum Speed: 37 mph
Only the French could have conceived such a bizarre machine, derived from an invalid carriage. Only one rear wheel was driven, to avoid fitting a differential!