Buchet () was a French

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

and

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manufacturer between 1899 and 1930.

Origins

Société Buchet was founded in 1888 at

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the right bank of the Seine, some from the Kilometre z ...

as a producer of lamps. In 1899 Élie-Victor Buchet began to manufacture engines for auto-makers. Buchet engines were also used to power other manufacturers'

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

(from 1906), and

The business

It was not till 1911, initially at

, and after 1919 at Billancourt, that Buchet started to produce cars of its own. In 1919 the company was purchased by Gaston Sailly and renamed Gaston Sailly, Moteurs et Automobiles Buchet, with a new factory at Billencourt. The cars continued to be branded with the "Buchet" name, however. By the end of the decade Buchet was one of a number of automakers to find itself competed out of business by France's by now increasingly dominant larger auto-makers. Activity ceased at the factory at the end of 1929, and in 1930 Buchet went out of business.

The cars

Early cars

The first Buchet automobile was a 12/20 hp model with a 4-cylinder 1996 cc engine and a three speed transmission. During the early part of the

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, between 1914 and 1915, Buchet were delivering chassis to the ''Hollingdrake Automobile Company'' in

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, England. Each included a four-cylinder 10HP side-valve engine and a transmission. Hollingdrake mounted their own bodies - mostly open two-seaters and

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

s - and sold the Anglo-French car branded as the Ascot, priced at 195

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s. At the 15th

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...

in October 1919 Buchet were exhibiting a 1,456 cc (8CV/HP) engined car. Its wheelbase was .

1920s

After the relocation, in 1919, to premises in Billancourt, Buchet remained largely faithful to their by now tried and trusted methods, and as the 1920s progressed they came to be seen as somewhat conservative. In 1924 the manufacturer was offering the "Buchet Type B4 8/10HP" which used a 1545cc 4-cylinder side-valve engine, but during 1925 this was succeeded by The "Buchet Type B5" with a modified valvegear assembly that now incorporated rocker arms. The Type B4 on display at the Motor Show in October 1924 was priced at 21,800 francs for a "Torpedo" bodied car and 27,950 francs for a "Conduite interieure" (two-box sedan/saloon/berline) version. There were also a so-called "Normande" (light truck) version listed. and a smaller 1,131cc (6 CV/HP) engined model. By 1929, when production came to an end, the little 4-cylinder 1,131cc (6 CV/HP) model was one of two Buchet models still listed. The other was a 6-cylinder 1,737cc (10 CV/HP) powered car which had been launched in 1928.

The motorcycles

From 1900-1911, Buchet was an automotive machine and motorcycle manufacturer. His 1903 3 litre twin-cylinder model achieved in the hands of Maurice Fournier. It was also used as the chassis for Ernest Archdeacon's experimental 'propeller driven motorcycle', the '' Aéromotocyclette Anzani'' of 1906.

La Foudre

''La Foudre'' ''(Lightning)'' was a pioneer of French motorcycle history. It used a 350 cc 'inlet over exhaust' Buchet engine. The inlet valve worked on the atmospheric principle, but the exhaust valve was operated by pushrod and rocker. It had an accumulator and coil ignition system, and a ''Longuemare'' carburettor. It used both front and rear wheel brakes and 26 inch wheels.

Racing

On 25 February 1900 the ''Circuit du Sud Ouest'' was held in Pau. Monsieur Marcellin finished the 337 kilometre event in 5 hours 47 minutes 14 seconds and was the first motor cycle home, and third overall. On the 23 February 1900 Monsieur Marcellin's 7 hp Buchet 'Quadricycle' finished second in the '

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- Pinerolo-

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Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

- Racconigi-Turin' event. He covered the 130 kilometres in 2 hours 17 minutes 54 seconds.

References

{{reflist, refs= OzeBook, Top 100 motorcycles of the 20th Century, Image of standard chain-driven 1903 ''Buchet'' chassis.
/ref> Swelco catalogue - #44 - 1903 Buchet Motorcycle
{dead link, date=November 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
/ref> *David Burgess Wise, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles''. Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of France