French Motorcycles

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Diable Cyclecars

Impressions of the Paris Salon

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The Diable, a three-wheeler of sound design and construction.

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Diable Rear Wheel, 1919

The Diable three-wheeler has a channel steel frame, the rear part being hinged and suspended on long cantilever springs.

Diable.

Possibly the neatest and most practical three-wheeler in the exhibition is the Diable, which is fitted with a remarkably clean looking 8 h.p. air-cooled V type engine. The engine forms a unit with a two-speed arid reverse gear, a clutch being located behind the box. Shaft drive is employed throughout, the shaft being articulated at the point where the main pressed steel frame is joined to the spring rear portion. The final drive is by bevels, and the wheel is easily detachable. Suspension is by semi-elliptic springs in front and long cantilevers at the rear.

One engine arm forms the steering gear bracket, and though the chassis was unfinished the vehicle displays a neatness and compactness which is more characteristic of French automobiles than of their lighter types of wheeled conveyances.

Paris Salon, 1919
The Motor Cycle, October 1919


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