Sarolea 1934 34S 500cc 1 cyl ohv 2611

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Description

Sarolea  1934   “34S  Supersport” 499 cc   ohv  frame & engine # 303835    

The firm was established in  1850 at  Herstal( Liege)  as an arms factory by Joseph Saroléa. 
In 1892 the production of bicycles was started. 
Joseph died in 1894 and under the management of his sons the company grew bigger and bigger. In the early years of the new century the company  started to develop motorized bicycles and soon Saroléa was a force to reckon with: around 1907  the firm employed some 200 labourers and had 4000 m2 of production facilities.
In the early years of the century  Saroléas were sold  in Britain under the “Kerry” brand..
Both singles and V twins were made and the firm supplied engines to a number of  firms in several countries.
In turn,  Saroléa used a number of British components such as Sturmey Archer gearboxes and AMAC carburettors.
In the 20s the firm got  successfully involved with  long distance runs, reliability trials and hill climbs.
From 1927 on the company  made its own gearboxes and early in 1929 the factory was extended to some 6000 m2.
Nearly all components of the bikes were made in-house now and the production capacity grew to 50 machines per day.
Later in 1929 a brand new state-of –the-art production facility was commissioned which brought the production capacity to 75 machines per day.
Saroléa was ready for the new decade and showed this by bringing out a fine new range of sloping engine ohv machines in December 1930. 
The 350 cc model had a bore x stroke of 75×79 mm, the 500 model measured   80.5 x 97.
The new engines had two-port exhausts and  dry sump lubrication with the oil being kept in a forward  compartment of the crankcase.
The weight of the 499 cc  machine is  150 kilograms, top speed  is some 130 km/hour.
This attractive sports machine  has been restored to near-concourse condition and comes complete with Bosch electrics.