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 Terrot - 350 Flat twin Cuzeau
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Terrot Flat twin Cuzeau motocyclette motorrad motorcycle vintage classic classique scooter roller moto scooter
Photo ou archives : Cl. Reynaud
8606

Capacity : 350
Model : Flat twin Cuzeau
Production : 1916 - 1920
Category : (R) Street Bike

TERROT

350cc Cuzeau Flat-Twin - 1920

Too advanced to survive

After WWI, Terrot recommenced production with modest two-stroke singles but developed ambitious projects like this extraordinarily original flat-twin two-stroke.

Working for the Army

A renowned engineer and racer, Henri Cuzeau was demobilized in 1915 to work at Terror on the MAG-engined Motorette destined for use by the French Army.

Top-Hat Pistons

During WWI, Cuzeau also designed this flat-twin, which was built in 1919, but the Terrot Cuzeau was too advanced in concept and never passed the prototype stage. While there were many flat-twin engines at that time, the Cuzeau was the only two-stroke, and that wasn't its only originality. In a two-stroke single, the descending piston compresses the gas admitted into the crankcase, but this principle doesn't work in a flat-twin. For while one piston is trying to compress the gas, the other is rising in its cylinder, nullifying the work of the first. Like the English Dunelt Company on its 1919 singles, Cuzeau used double-diameter pistons in which the upper part functioned normally while the lower section precompressed the gas admitted into the crankcase into a holding chamber above the piston skirt until it was allowed into the combustion chamber by the transfer ports. The frame was just as original, for in place of the classic twin top tubes with a tank between, it had a load-bearing gas tank welded between steering head and saddle pillar. The gasoline ran down inside the saddle pillar, at the base of which was a tap – the gas tank was pressurized by a hand pump so that the fuel was force-fed to the carburetor.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 350cc (60/85x62mm) air-cooled flat-twin; single-throw crank; magneto ignition

Valves: two-stroke

Fuel System: carburetor; crankcase intake, precompression by lower (larger) part of piston

Transmission: 2-speed, chain final drive

Suspension: swing arm (front); rigid (rear)

Brakes: twin-shoes on dummy belt-rim (rear)

Too complex, the Terrot flat-twin never passed the prototype stage, and only two or three examples were built.




Le fichier Moto Passion réalisé par François-Marie Dumas réunit près de deux mille photos accompagnées d'un historique très complet des machines présentées.
Il sera progressivement mis à jour ici et toute information complémentaire est la bienvenue sur info@moto-collection.org.

Cette documentation unique, qui constitue sans doute l'encyclopédie la plus exhaustive jamais écrite sur l'histoire de la moto, a été réalisée avec l'assistance de nombreux spécialistes dont principalement Didier Ganneau, Christophe Gaime, Mick Woollett, Jean Goyard, Bernard Salvat, Christian Rey, Yves Campion, Helmut Krackowizer, Michael Dregni, Michel Montange, etc. que je remercie ici.

Disponible sur demande :
- Les fiches originales sur papier
- Les photos et archives signées de mon nom en haute définition ou les documents originaux.
Me contacter sur info@moto-collection.org pour les conditions et droits d'utilisation.