Special or not???

Hi all,

Spotted this 20's bike on a french forum, The truth is wilder than you think!!! All will be revealled!!!





Patrick

are those Truffaut forks? Looks like a 770cc or 998cc JAP twin witha Sturmey-Archer gearbox. Looks very like a Royal Enfield apart from the forks, but I don't know the French scene at all

love the footboards.....

Hi 45Brit,

A JAP with a 42 degree Dixie magneto, me think not!!!

Patrick

motosacoche? You're probably going to tell me it's an Indian of some sort, seeing as I know absolutely nothing about them...

Looks like a power plus motor to me.

Pete

Yes, Pete, it's that good old Powerplus engine...

...Now, is it a special or factory build???

Patrick

Yes, Pete, it's that good old Powerplus engine...

...Now, is it a special or factory build???

Patrick

Never seen and never heard about a factory model like that.
I think it's homemade.... but where come from the parts ??
The main fork looks like Indian but with bent rear tubes.
The gas tank look strange too.

I wonder what's up with the 2 hand levers and no clutch pedal?

looks as though it could be a Sturmey Archer gearbox and clutch, some British bikes have those gear levers sticking up off the top of the box. The chequer-plate footboards are obviously new, as is the primary chaincase and the aftermarket lever on the left bar, which I would guess is the clutch.

Hi all,

this is actually a french "DS Maltere"...

They bought a lot of Indian parts just after the WW1 period and made their own sv singles 500 by using these parts. This is the only twin I ever seen and features a full Powerplus engine...

For the 500, they cast their own crankcases, modelled after the Indian dimms so they could use the Indian cams/gears. When Indian parts ran out, they remade them as needed. They lasted into the 50's with smaller bikes...

Here's a 500 OHV, one can recognize the typical Indian gear case to the front magneto... Looks like the top end is british JAP!!!



Patrick