Peugeot Motocycles

Peugeot Motocycles , a subsidiary of the French automaker Peugeot, builds small motorcycles primarily for the French domestic market.

History

Peugeot Motocycles were first built following the parting of ways between Eugène and Armand Peugeot, Eugène utilised the space left in the Beaulieu factory where he would construct motorcycles and tricycles.

A prototype first motorcycle was presented at the 1898 Paris Exhibition. It was fitted with a Dion Bouton engine mounted perpendicularly to the rear wheel.

Peugeot's first production motorcycles built in 1898 by Les Fils de Peugeot Frères (Sons of Peugeot Bros) were tricycles. Only the cycle section was made by Peugeot; the entire mechanical assembly to include the engine was manufactured by Dion Bouton.

Peugeot then built a quadricycle (with a saddle) in 1900. It has a Peugeot engine which in 1901 was fitted with cylinder head coolant system. The 1902 Peugeot motorcycle catalog only contained six quadricycles , four with Peugeot engines. Quadricycles became larger and more powerful and were no longer very different from small cars. However, they were not very practical, and were difficult to drive and to start. These drawbacks led them to lose popularity in favour of small cars. 1903 was the last year they were produced by Peugeot.

Peugeot's first two wheeled motorcycle produced was the "Motobicyclette" which was presented at the Paris Exhibition in 1901. It's Swiss ZL (Zürcher and Lüthi) 1 1/2 hp 198 cc engine, mounted over the chassis frame in front of the pedal assembly, powered the transmission was by belt. The cycle section was ultra light, and was a reinforced bicycle frame.

Peugeot then produced a 5 hp motorcycle in 1903, and its engine was placed inside the chassis frame, becoming the definitive location for the mechanical components and is still so today. Five Peugeot 3 1/2 hp motorcycles took part in the Paris-Madrid Racein 1903.

Peugeot then increased the sized in power of its motorcycles and which in the 1910s saw the appearance of twin cylinders, some of which demonstrated their capacities in competition. Peugeot pioneered the double overhead camshaft in both cars and motorcycles. In 1914, the 500 cc twin cylinder double camshaft engined Peugeot Grand Prix models appeared. It was to have been ridden in the French Grand Prix, but but World War One intervened. In 1914 it did beat the speed record set at 122 km/h. After the war the Peugeot Grand Prix won many races.

In the 1920s, Peugeot seperated the motorcycle business from the automobile business and in 1926 the Nouvelle Société des Cycles Peugeot was created. The NSdCP then grouped together all of Peugeot's motorcycles and bicycles business together. At the start of the 1930s Peugeot's biggest motorcycel was the P 107, made populare by the travels of the motorcycle riding reporter, Robert Sexé. The P107 was powered by a 350 cc engine. In order to counteract British competition, which offered powerful machines with big engines, Peugeot launched two 500 cc 4-stroke models, the 515, with overhead valves and the 517, with side valves. Presented at the Paris Exhibition in 1933, a year later the 515 beat the world 24 hour record on the Montlhéry circuit, with an average speed of 118.747 km/h. This superb machine - one of Peugeot's most handsome - was to be the last big French motorcycle.

After the Second World War, the difficult economic conditions favoured smaller engines. Peugeot produced popular 125 cc, 2-stroke motorcycles, which became very widespread. The P 55 came out in 1946. This was a single cylinder 125 cc, which copied a pre-war model. An industrial tricycle was derived from it - the Peugeot "tri", a fifties icon which the advertisements rightly stated was the least expensive of the utility vehicles.A simple, economical 175 cc and a 250 cc twin cylinder followed in 1953.

From then on, Peugeot was the French leader in the motorcycle market, ahead of Motobécane and Terrot - although the roles would later be reversed during the 1950s. The 356 TB 125 cc twin cylinder turned out to be Peugeot's swan song during this period. For the motorcycle market was regressing, a victim of the two-pronged attack from the scooter and the popular car.

Of the 300 manufacturers that have made their mark on the history of the French motorcycle, Peugeot is the only survivor, and over the years has acquired many of the great French names, such as Terrot and René Gillet, before succumbing to Japanese domination, like most European companies.

In 1987, the bicycle and motorcycle businesses were separated. The motorcycle business has been renamed Peugeot Motorcycles (PMTC), and Honda holds a 25% stake. Today, Peugeot Motocycles is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PSA Group, and has been since 1998. The current XPS is a response to the new surge in the 125 cc market that has been triggered by new regulations.

Mopeds

• Peugeot 102 Peugeot 102
• Peugeot 103 , 103 from 1972 to today, with different models (LSMs, SP, Land, Chrono, Electronics, TLX, RCX, Clip, Vogue, FXR, CRX and many others)

Scooters

Following the abandonment of mopeds in favor of scooters by customers, Peugeot has directed its construction to this product. The brand is now famous for their manufacture on its sites Dannemarie (300 employees) and Mandeure (800 employees). The brand has developed large-displacement scooters (125 cc and above), in addition to its models of entry-level (Ludix), which it announced in 2008 the relocation to China. . Peugeot Scooters are especially popular in Switzerland and France.

Motorcycles

En 1930, Peugeot absorbed Automoto who had been a pioneer in the field of motorcycles and scooters.

Peugeot XPS

It is unusual to see bikes circulating brand elsewhere in France. 50 cc Mopeds are very popular in France for several reasons: a national market price slightly lower than the competition, equipment, motor bikes in the AM6 Minarelli, like many other manufacturers, which facilitates repairs and lowers their price. The price of opportunity is much lower than most manufacturers, which causes an energizing effect on the market.

Before the famous and XP6 XPS, appeared in 1997, motorcycles 50cc bore the name of XP [17] dating from 1986 (motorcycle automatic?) And TLX 1982. Other models largest displacements also existed, but there remain today more than the XPS CT 125 (125 cc) equipped with Honda engines. Ungoverned and / or slightly modified motorcycles 50cc reach 90 km / h.

The XP6 XPS and have a profile motorcycle cross, the XR6 and XR7 has a sporty profile, but cost more and are less numerous. AM6 XP6 Meca-boxes with a Minarelli AM6 engine

Other models models are: GL10, GT10, TSA, TLX, XP, SX5, SX8, BB P107, TYPE 55.

External links

• Company website

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