MAÃŽTRE

500 Three-Seater - 1932

Two-wheeled stretch limo!

Motorcycling is usually a solitary activity, occasionally enjoyed with the company of a passenger, sometimes in a sidecar. However, bikes with three seats were – and probably just as well – a rare exception.

Dynamic Duo

Only two makes immediately spring to mind: the Bohmerland – built, as its name implies, in Bohemia – of the mid-1920s and the Moto Maître of 1928, the invention of Eugene Maître, then in charge of the workshops at Automobiles Theodore Schneider of Besançon.

Length without Strength

He later set up on his own account to market his unorthodox bike. The business eked out a precarious living until 1938, having built around 60 bikes (and sold them with great difficulty), mostly powered by 500 ohc Chaise, LMP and Moser engines. But there were four examples powered by transverse 1000cc JAP V-fours, plus six with the Train four-cylinder engine. Eugene Maître was more than just an assembler of brought-in parts. He built his own frames and forks and for the rest used the finest available accessories. Maître did make typical bikes, but his extraordinary machines with three saddles proved as unrideable as they were disproportioned. The double-cradle frame, with no rear suspension, was stretched without any reinforcement other than a couple of flimsy vertical braces. Handling and stability didn't seem to be included; hairpin bend were out of the question, and the flexibility of the frame coupled witl1 the minimal fork travel and the length of the wheelbase generated disturbing reactions at the handlebars.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 499cc (85x88mm) air-cooled Chaise unit-construction single-cylinder four-stroke

Power Rating: 16 hp @ 3800 rpm

Valves: shaft-driven overhead-camshaft

Fuel System: carburetor

Transmission: 3-speed hand-shift, multi-plate wet clutch; chain final drive

Suspension: Druid-type girder forks (front); rigid (rear)

Brakes: drum (front & rear)

Wheels: 19 inch (front & rear)

Weight: 375 lb

With the torsional rigidity of a ripe banana, the three-seater Moto Maître did not encourage its rider to explore the upper limits of the performance of the Chaise overhead-cam engine!