Introducing the MOTOBECANE AV 88 moped

The "Moped"

Launched in 1956, the Motobecane AV 88 mark them Thirty glorious (period between 1945 and 1975). She knows a real success with the population. The workers ride a blue one, the police a white one and the postmen a yellow one. In almost 50 years of existence, it has sold more than 30 million copies around the world.

It is the moped that has been the most sold in the world thanks to both its sturdiness and its elegant line (the gypsy blue is of course de rigueur). Indeed, the mopeds had very good finishes (chrome, paint...). This moped was the means of locomotion of thousands of young people who did not spare it. Furthermore, Moped had made a particular effort on comfort and had installed on the luxury mopeds an odometer to better respect the maintenance periods, a buzzer, a lock, a helmet hook, a box à tools, and everything to please.

The AV 88 was a mid-range model and a very good compromise that appealed to teenagers, workers and the middle classes alike. Worn par the success of the Blue, the term Mobylette, a trademark registered by Moped, will become a common name for all mopeds.

In 1974, Moped broke its production record in the factory of Rouvroy, with 750 thousand Moped. At the time, without reaching the figures of the 000s (France then had the largest fleet of motorized two-wheelers), the hexagonal moped market was still in great shape, with more one million annual sales.

At the time, the administrative staff drove in blue: the police had blue ones which were white in color, with police written on the side. Elevator companies had them white too. Those of the postmen were yellow.

Litters par a reputation for indestructible mechanics, the moped conquered North Africa and then the rest of the continent. In recent years, he sold, between Burkina Faso, Mali, Tunisia and Morocco (these last two countries still manufacturing the blue) ten times more gear than in France. .

Sold in 14 million copies, the Mobylette is the star range of Moped which makes it the largest manufacturer of mopeds in the world alongside Peugeot et Piaggio.

In 1977, for the first time, Peugeot preceded Moped in moped sales.

In a France that strums on Minitel and speaks TGV, the Mobylette is old-fashioned, it's old-fashioned. It loses its pop image and becomes the representation of a frozen France running after its time. Traffickedepar idle hooligans in search of cheap, noisy performance with its free exhaust pipes, the Mobylette goes astray. Every year the Mobylette loses customers in favor of the scooter, which is more responsive and more practical, but MBK will wait until the beginning of the 2000s to stop production permanently.

Le Symbolof the Glorious Thirties

The first models were very rudimentary: pad brakes, no suspension, compulsory pedaling to start and climb hills, etc. The variator is a big improvement, removing the obligation to pedal. The frame, initially tubular, is then made of electrically welded stamped sheet metal, with the tank included in the front beam, or in the high position, as for a motorcycle!

Road holding, braking, lighting, top speed, comfort, no feature is overlooked.

As for the engine part, this one is equipped with a 12 mm intake pipe, which allows it to have low consumption and a relatively high speed (about 70 km /h). This moped is not a racing beast, but a beast of burden. It’s 49,933cc displacement, 39mm bore, 41mm stroke.