Description
Monet& Goyon 1927 Model RC4 Villiers Mk 8 b 350 cc two stroke single frame# RC 1A 69 engine # A7765
In 1916, in the middle of the first world war, engineer Joseph Monet and Adrien Goyon, a wealthy inhabitant of Macon, formed a partnership with the aim to start the production of three wheeled vehicles for handicapped and immobilized people: a market that would be fast growing till the end of the war in 1918.
The firm of Monet&Goyon was established on April 2nd, 1917 .
Business went well, and in 1919 a motorized version of their vehicle was brought out, powered by a 117 cc motorized wheel.
In 1922 the company managed to get the production rights for the popular British Villiers two stroke engines.
Monet &Goyon was very successful in races with specially tuned Villiers engines; they won the French championship every year between 1924 and 1927.
They also set a number of world records with these machines.
From 1925 on MAG engines were also utilized; to such an extend that M&G became a top customer of the Swiss factory.
In 1928 it was decided that only machines with 100% French engines could take part in the championship races.
This ruled out the successful M&G machines, that all had foreign engines.
But the company struck back by acquiring the old Koehler-Escoffier firm that produced racing motorcycles.
Monet & Goyon also took over the licence to produce Sturmey Archer gearboxes.
They made the gearboxes under a French name and so managed to become fully “made in France”again and they resumed their racing victories.
In the 1930s there would be less and less differences between the Monet&Goyons and the Koehler Escoffiers.
The years after world war II were not so successful and the company stopped production in 1959.
This 1927 model is equipped with Monet&Goyon Gearbox gearbox and footrests instead of boards and is excellently restored.