Description
New-Motorcycle ca. 1928 500cc OHC Chaise frame # 1581 engine # 15022
The New-Motorcycle is the brainchild of French designer Georges Roy.
Roy is born in Thuré near Chatelrault ( Vienne) in 1888 and he starts experimenting in the early twenties to design a motorcycle that does away with the conventional tube frame.
Roy considers a tube frame not suitable for a motorcycle because of its tendency to flex at higher speeds and break because of repetitive vibration.
A sheet metal carcass will overcome these drawbacks; a further advantage of pressed steel chassis is a better weather protection for the engine and at the same time it will protect the rider from oil and grease.
After experimenting with a prototype Roy applies for a patent in December 1926.
On the patented design there are removable side shields with openings on both sides of the engine, but it seems these shield are not used on the production models.
On a surviving photograph Roy poses with a prototype that is fitted with a 350 cc Train two stroke engine but apparently for production models other engine types are used: at the 1927 Paris Salon we find a New-Motorcycle with a 350 cc OHV JAP engine, at the 1928 event the machine is fitted with a 500 cc OHC Chaise power source.
Not much is known about Roy’s production facilities: the Kervoline plaque on the right hand side pressed steel fork blade gives 13, Rue du Parc , Orléans as company address, a 1928 advert in Moto-Revue mentions 77, Avenue d’Antony, Chatenay (Seine).
These two places are more than 100 miles apart.
The New-Motorcycle was not a commercial success, it seems Roy didn’t have a good sales and service organization but that didn’t stop him from designing and marketing an even more unusual motorcycle, the Majestic. But that’s another story…One thing is for sure: this exotic machine is a rare beast. It’s a barn find in original and untouched condition.