Velosolex, Anyone?

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Lucien Harpress
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Velosolex, Anyone?

#1

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Because I don't have enough projects already, and because I'm a sucker for the oddball, I decided to expand my little fleet of bad ideas with something a bit more... French.

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I know next to nothing about these, other than they were built for decades, parts seem okay to get a hold of if you're willing to import, and now I'll have to start mixing 2-stroke gas. I managed to get it running today, but am unsure if it's running like crap, or if it's a tiny single cylinder engine from the 60s and that's all it's got.

It's gonna need some help. New tubes and tires for sure (it's getting whitewalls :8) ), possibly some spokes as well, along with all new control cables- a PO at some point completely butchered the throttle controls. (In their defense, it seems like every spring and throttle control is there to get the engine to throttle DOWN, rather than the usual up. I can tell this is going to be fun.)

I'm undecided on if I want a full re-paint or not either. But I'll figure that out later. Overall, a majority of the concerns are mostly bicycle issues, which are a bit fuzzy for me, but RIGHT up both of my brothers' wheelhouses.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#2

Post by Whiskerfish »

Looks like a fun project. What is that tube along the top of the rear fender, a tire pump??
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#3

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Yup. Identical to bicycle pumps that got put on a lot of old Schwinns. The covered section of the rear rack has a small spring-loaded tray under it that contains the (surprisingly intact) tool kit.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
ob1quixote
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#4

Post by ob1quixote »

looks like fun!
1979 GL1000
2001 DRZ400
1983 CR480
And a few late '60's - early '70's British thumpers
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#5

Post by desertrefugee »

Huh? Ok. Well, the only absolute in this project is that, when you get that thing going, there MUST be at least one photograph provided of you astride the machine.

Preferably with a pack of cigarettes rolled up into your t-shirt sleeve...
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#6

Post by Rat »

Some of us older folks remember when European streets were full of these.

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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#7

Post by 5speed »

that is pretty cool. what is the round housing at the bottom of the front fender for? Is that the "transmission"?
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
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1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#8

Post by Lucien Harpress »

desertrefugee wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 7:27 pm Huh? Ok. Well, the only absolute in this project is that, when you get that thing going, there MUST be at least one photograph provided of you astride the machine.

Preferably with a pack of cigarettes rolled up into your t-shirt sleeve...
Oh no, it's going to be nothing but flat-top hats and tweed waistcoats. :lol:

After the spark plug got a quick trip through the wire wheel, I managed to take a trip of about half a (country) block and back. If my Trail 90 is "fun", this thing is "sedate". At 20mph topped out, it's like jogging, but with less effort.

It's still backfiring through the carb occasionally, so I'll need to look into possible fixes. This is my first two-stroke, so who knows. Speaking of the carburetor, the thing is absolutely adorable. About half an inch thick and about half the size of a credit card. And I thought my 90 carburetor was simple....

Oh, and that round housing? THAT would be the muffler! :lol: It's supposed to have a transmission of sorts, from what I can tell- there's a centrifugal clutch in the flywheel assembly (the left side of the engine- the right side is the gas tank). In theory you can stop and the motor will still idle without lifting from the front tire. It doesn't do that, and with the buchered throttle controls, there isn't a great work-around yet.

I'll go into more depth on operations when I get new cables, but essentially there is a (springless) hi-low twist grip throttle, and and a second cable run off the front brake lever hooked to a bell-crank on the carb that throttles the engine down when the front brake is applied. Release the brake, engine throttles back up (as much as it can- you need to pedal to help it out if you're starting from a standstill).
Last edited by Lucien Harpress on Thu Jun 24, 2021 8:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#9

Post by 5speed »

interesting muffler..and I just noticed it's got a jockey shift! :mrgreen:
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)

2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#10

Post by wingrider »

Would this be the Solex carb company?
2002 1800 Wing
2001 Valkyrie Interstate
1978 1200 EFI Wing with Motorvation Coupe Royale sidecar
1977 1200 Wing cafe/bobber project
1974 Suzuki GT550
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#11

Post by Lucien Harpress »

As far as I know, yes. It seems they started making bicycles with this assist motor shortly after WWII (1954, iirc), and kept going until 1988, the only major changes being a switch from a bicycle style tube-frame to a series of shockingly-thin stamped sheet metal channels. They were license-built by China and Hungary for a time in the 90s, but these are functionally identical.

The more I consider mine, the more I'm wondering if a full powdercoat is in order. I initially was going to try to preserve the thin gold pinstriping on the fenders, but they are pretty rough too, and between my brother and I we know a very good powder-coater and pinstriper. But I gotta get the engine back in my 1000 before I even START to think about tearing this one down.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#12

Post by Paola Zago »

In Italy, as in France, the Solex was very popular, I used it for the three years of high school, it was very practical, it never broke and it was very cheap, it did more than 70 km with just one liter of mixture. I think yours is the last series produced, the S3800, mine was the 1400 from 1958. Apart from the normal wear of the front tire, mine, which is from 1958, was used until a couple of years ago, then the person I gave it to decided to do a total restoration and now it is displayed on a shelf in his brewery.
The only weak point, especially if it remains stationary for a long time, is the carburetor diaphragm. if you need some spare parts, let me know, in Italy you can find almost everything.
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#13

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Thanks for the offer. If I need anything, I'll be sure to let you know!

I did a bit of digging on mine, and according to the engine number mine's a bit later than I expected- 1974, really towards the tail end. Apparently a bunch of them got imported to the tri-state (Michigan, Ohio and Indiana) area, so they tend to show up in my area a bit more than most, which is neat.

My cables are still in the mail, and I went ahead and ordered a gasket kit for the engine and fuel pump. I'm not sure how well it shows up in the photos, but there's a hefty leak from nearly every part of the barrel.

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The fuel pump is the housing on the front of the crankcase- it uses crankcase pressure to move a diaphragm along with two impossibly small glass balls that work as check valves.

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The spark plug is clean, but the engine is still running very rough. The other assembly is the compression release, which is meant to both aid starting and as a kill switch for the motor, of which mine currently does neither. It does, however, leak rather well. I've got a new one of those coming too. I've got no plans to do rings just yet, but if I do getting to them is simplicity itself.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#14

Post by Lucien Harpress »

I decided to do a bit of digging into why the motor on this thing doesn't run quite as sweet as it should, so I did some unbolting and was able to turn my motor assisted bicycle into just a bicycle.

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The cylinder barrel was de-carboned and repainted, the head cleaned up and the compression release replaced, and new gaskets all around. I was curious as to why the compression release didn't seem to work, and it turns out the air passage from the valve to the exhaust manifold was completely plugged. In addition, it looks like a PO adjusted the valve itself to open WAY farther than it was supposed to (I'm guessing to counteract the non-functional release), to the point where it would make contact with the piston if it was moved too far. I've still got to nail down the exact adjustment, but I can at least get that taken care of. I also was able to clean out the carbon buildup in the exhaust port itself.

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The fuel pump got a new diaphragm and plastic backing plate, and everything was cleaned up the best I could. It really is a neat little motor. Unintuitive, a pain to get apart in spots, absolutely baffling bolt placement in others, and a mounting system to the frame that's complicated to the point where even after I've gotten it off I STILL don't entirely know how it works, but neat.

Image

Speaking of weird, this is the carburetor. As it sits in the photo, fuel come up from the bottom on the left side, and air comes down from the top on the right. Air and fuel mix in the center crossover (there's a jet in there, on the backside), and the air-fuel mix exits into the engine out of the bottom on the right. The best part is there's no fuel bowl- any excess fuel exits out the tube on the upper left to drain directly back into the fuel tank. Oh, and the throttle linkages (currently removed) set the carb to wide open when at rest.

As far as the rest of the bike is concerned, I'm going back and forth about painting it or powdercoating it. Paint would be well inside my current budget, but this thing is enough of a pain to take apart that I really should do it right the first time. Problem is, my normal powdercoat guy is backlogged on projects due to Covid, so he's stopped taking any non-industrial work for the forseeable future.

(shrug) Who knows. I guess we'll see.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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Re: Velosolex, Anyone?

#15

Post by sparkyrasmus »

:popcornx2
Goldwings don't accelerate, they gain inertia.

1978 GL1000 - almost stock - needs a head replaced, parts are ready to install!
1979 GL1000 - Winter project/parts bike - custom "Busted"
1983 GL1100 Standard- raised from the dead and back to organ donor status :cry:
And the newest acquisition, 1979 XS 650F to be a sidecar tug. crossy.gif
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