Terrot 1919 500cc 2 cyl V-twin ioe MAG

Manufacturer: Terrot

Model: 500cc

Charles Terrot started in business in the late 1880s with a modest textile workshop before diversifying into bicycle manufacturer in 1890. Like many of his cycle industry contemporaries, Terrot turned to powered transport towards the end of the Century and by the early 1900s his Dijon factory was not only making bicycles but also motorcycles, quadricycles and voiturettes. The name ‘motocyclette’ had already been registered by another company, so Terrot called his first offerings ‘motorettes’. Terrot used proprietary engines in its early years, that of the Motorette being supplied by the Swiss firm of Zedel. Equipped with a variable-ratio pulley gear, the Motorette was a capable performer by the standards of the day and was claimed to be able to climb the infamous Mont Ventoux without the rider resorting to pedal assistance. By the time war was declared in August 1914, there was a choice of two different models: a 2¾hp single and a 4½hp v-twin. In the mid-1920s Terrot began producing its own power units and by the decade’s end was France’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles. The firm offered a diverse range of machines in all sizes throughout the 1930s, garnering many competitions successes along the way, but after WW2 concentrated mainly on lightweights. Terrot was taken over by erstwhile rivals Peugeot in 1961 and the once-famous name disappeared soon after.

Note the front fork is not original. Terrot produced around 200 examples of this model. It is estimated that around 30 still exist, of which probably fewer than ten are running. This sturdy all chain drive Terrot bears it´s first paint and is equipped with a MAG 500cc V-twin engine, O.S. speedo, AMAL carburetor, Gurtner oil pump, Miller acetylene lighting, drum brakes and a Bosch magneto.