Description
Magnat Debon 1913 3 ¼ HP 398 cc OHV frame # 8301 engine # 1858
In the year 1900 Joseph Magnat and Louis Debon founded a firm in Grenoble that started to produce bicycles.
In 1902 the first motorcycle was produced, equipped with a De Dion Bouton engine.
Soon they started to use their own engines and in the years before the first world war the firm prospered: the machines had many novel features such a telescopic front suspension and some models had overhead valves.
Both founders died at the end of the war and in the early twenties the company got into financial problems.
In 1922 the firm was taken over by the Terrot company. For 1913 the company had abandoned the side valve models and concentrated on two OHV machines.
The 3 ¼ HP model had bore x stroke of 75 x 90 mm and a displacement of 398 cc, its more powerful brother measured 80 x99 mm and displaced 498 cc. Our 3 ¼ HP is equipped with a reliable Bosch magneto and the company’s own aluminium carburettor.
New for 1913 were a bigger petrol tank ( holding six litres now instead of five) and automatic lubrication of the engine.
Veteran OHV machines are rare; this charming French bike with a well running engine, is unrestored and weighs a mere 57 kilograms.