index   Go to the Archive index  The most complex small engine
ever?  Ettore Bugatti's cyclemotor  Sandy Skinner  The
background  Clip-on cyclemotors seem to be the children of great
wars.  This may come from a general demand for immediate, cheap
transport or a call by ex-conscripts for personal wheels that
will take the owner where and when he wants.  Either way,
designers met the demand with engines which reflected national
experience.  The Brits gave us rather crude two-strokes with
horrible transmissions.  Italy responded with little gems like
the Cucciolo which set the pattern for generations of Ducati
competition bikes.  In France the VéloSoleX honed the skills of
generations dodging its wobbling progress.  And then there was
Bugatti...  Ettore Bugatti was Le Patron, the absolute boss of
his factory at Moisheim, near Strasbourg.  However, he never
lost contact with Paris and, in 1916, rented an apartment in rue
Boissieres, a suitably fashionable address, which he kept until
his death more than thirty ye