1922 Peugeot500cc Gra
VINTAGE
stee ply downswept handlebars hav e a
busy look, with front brake and mixture
levers o n th e rig ht, togeth er wi th th e
twistgrip throttle, while on the other side
a pai r of match in g levers co n trol the
clutch and deco rnpresso r, wi th igni tion
control up top.
The vertica l twi n "cammy" Peu geot
Grand Prix racer is one of those mysterious, almost mythical bikes that you only
ever see in faded ph otographs, and are
never quit e sure really do exist until you
see it in the flesh. Thanks to Jean Nougier, the so le su rvivi ng exa m p le of th is
avan t-garde works racer is alive and well
and living in France. Elf must be hoping
th a t it s modern French eq u iva len t
becomes just as successful against its contem pora ry Ja panese rivals as its predecessor was agains t the British and Italian
bikes three-qu arters of a century ago! to,
N ougier's Peugeot s hares the same
. engine dimensions as its pre--World-WarI DOHC sister, measuring 62 x 82mm for
a total capacity of 495cc, and produ cing
27 bhp at 5000 rpm.
Th e he fty ou tside flyw heel helped
deliver good torque at low revs and ,
together wit h th e dry-s ump engin e
design. perm itted a s trong, na rro w
cra nkcase for good cra nks haft rigi d ity,
with three main ball bea rings . Exposed
coil springs and two valves per cylinder note the para llel exhaust ports - were controlled by a massive vertical shaft running off the right end of the crank at half
engine s peed . Th e top be vel housing
must have been dealt more than a few
mighty blows in the course of a race by
the rid er' s ha nd , since the knob of the
three-speed trans missio n's hefty handshift lever sits about an inch away from it
Remarkably, for the time, the Peugeot
is a unit-construction motor wi th gea r
primary drive and two-plate dry d u tch something British manufacturers took 50
years no/to copy! Magneto ignition and a
single carb
