Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
6309
STOPPA
500 JAP / Bufflier "Grand Sport" Sidecar - 1933
A family business
In its day, the French city of Lyon had a thriving automobile and motorcycle industry. On the two-wheeler front, the best-known companies from the Lyon area were Ultima, New-Map and Kœhler-Escoffier and sidecar makers Bufflier and Imperial; in the second rank were Thimonnier, P. Martin, Keller-Dorian and Deronzière. But few people have ever heard of the Stoppa marque.
The Stopp Shop
"Stoppa" was the name of its creator, Charles Stoppa, whose father Paul had emigrated to France from Italy. Crazy about motorcycles, Charles opened a shop in the Prado Place in Lyon, in 1928.
Small-Scale Assembly
In 1931, he began small-scale assembly of Stoppa motorcycles, using frame components provided by suppliers in the nearby town of St. Etienne. The JAP engines were obtained from the French importer Moto-Comptoir. This nickel-and-dime operation was scarcely viable and was quickly abandoned. Yet, the name Stoppa is still well-known on the bike scene in Lyon, since Alexis – brother of Charles – in tum opened his own motorbike shop under the name of Alexis-Moto, which later became a Yamaha concession run by his daughter and grandson. This rare Stoppa 500 is coupled to a Bufflier "Grand Sport" sidecar, introduced in 1932 and built on a lowered sport chassis. Its "Campbell" body shell was made of plywood covered with "crocodile grain" leather cloth. This model was suitable for fitting to machines with 500cc overhead-valve engines and cost about 350.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine: 490cc (85x85 mm) air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke; total-loss lubrication
Power Rating: 15 hp@ 4500 rpm
Valves: overhead; twin exhaust ports
Fuel System: carburetor
Transmission: 3-speed foot-shift, chain final drive
Suspension: girder (front); rigid (rear)
Brakes: drum (front & rear)
Wheels: 19 inch (front & rear)
Weight: 507 lb (with sidecar)
Maximum Speed: 6o mph
The Bufflier Grand Sport sidecar is carried on a substantial cold-formed tubular chassis with a four-point attachment to the ultra-rare 500cc JAP-engined Stoppa motorcycle.