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 MR - 100 BMA Tandem
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Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
2902

Capacity : 100
Model : BMA Tandem
Production : 1939 - 1940
Category : (R) Street Bike

MR

Mandille & Roux / 100cc BMA Tandem - 1939

And baby made three

In 1936, the Socialists came to power in France, bringing an end to the wave of strikes that had crippled the country. Workers were granted a 12 percent pay raise, collective bargaining, a 40-hour work week and two weeks paid annual vacation.

All Going on a Summer Holiday

Those first national vacations saw the roads crowded with a ragtag assortment of vehicles heading for the mountains, country and seaside. French makers courted this new market with a new kind of tax-dodging power-assisted bicycle. To escape taxes, these feeble featherweights had to have engines of less than 100cc, no more than two speeds and weigh less than 66 lb.

They Even Raced

Among the leading manufacturers of this new breed of powered two-wheeler was a Parisian maker named Mandille & Roux, better known under the name "MR," who used the reliable unit-constructed Sachs two-stroke. Surprisingly, 98cc Sachs-powered machines won their class in the Bol d'Or endurance race from 1934 to 1937. In 1937, an MR covered 1000.4 miles in 24 hours at an average 41.7 mph. In 1939, MR unveiled an oddball, a powered "family" tandem. Its two-speed gearbox certainly complied with the law, but the single-chain drive incorporated a Derailleur gear, which gave a somewhat random choice of three final drive ratios. With its light "baby buggy" trailing behind, and aided by pedal assistance, the MR family tandem could cruise at an erratic 25 mph but they only sold 40 of them.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 98cc (49x52mm) air-cooled single-cylinder; flywheel magneto

Valves: two-stroke

Fuel System: carburetor

Transmission: 2-speed gearbox plus three-speed Derailleur gear, single-chain final drive for power and pedal

Suspension: girder forks (front); rigid (rear)

Brakes: drum (front & rear)

Wheels: wire (front & rear)

Maximum Speed: 25 mph

Despite its quirky appearance, the MR Tandem was a reasonably practical touring machine.




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.