The French fire Motobécane MB2 from 1927, 175 cc
Motobécane was a French manufacturer of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and other small vehicles, established in 1923. “Motobécane” is a compound of “moto”, short for motorcycle; “bécane” is slang for “bike.”
Motobécane is a different corporation from Motobecane USA, which imports a wide range of bicycles from Taiwan manufactured by Kinesis Industry Co. Ltd. under the Motobécane trademark.
Luis Ocaña won Tour de France on Motobecane branded bike in 1973.
In 1981, the original Motobécane filed for bankruptcy and was purchased by Yamaha and reformed in 1984 as MBK. The French company continues to make motorscooters. They also made fingerbar mowers at least up to 1981.
