Cycle News

VOL. 51 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 19, 2014 P85 finished form. He's been an ardent motor- cyclist since the age of 14. After graduating from university as an engineer, in 1992 Olivier decided to build his own motorcycle, origi- nally as an after-hours and week- end project in between heading up the design studio for a firm of automotive component suppliers. In 1994 he obtained his first patent for what turned out to be the Midual engine. But after unsuccessfully searching for fi- nance, he started his own auto- motive parts company, designing the myriad small components that go into making a Renault, Citroen or Peugeot in order to earn a living while still working on his project. By now he'd recruited his elder brother François to the fold, and with his help and the support of his wife Lise, produced the first complete Midual 875 motorcycle in 1999, which was displayed at that year's Paris Show – albeit with an externally authentic ma- quette of a non-functioning 875cc engine, made from – wood! However, the favorable re- sponse to the bike heralded a further two-year search for fi- nance to underwrite building it. But once again Midy came up short, so in 2001 the two broth- ers established a five-year plan to set aside the bike project and focus entirely on their automotive component business, in order to build up the funds to self-finance the creation of the Midual. It was a good time to make that choice, with the French car industry flourishing, and so in 2006 they were able to restart the motorcycle project. But the two-wheeled world had moved on considerably in the interven- ing period – thus Midy designed a completely new 1036cc version of the engine, which duly ran for the first time on the dyno in 2007. From there to Pebble Beach has been seven years of constant endeavor and no small sacrifice, but now at last he and his team have the satisfaction of seeing their bike entering production – admittedly though on a very small scale. "I realized in 2007 when we first ran the engine on the dyno, and discovered much to our relief we had created something really valid, that I'd have to address a dif- ferent sector of the market than conventional motorcycle com- panies," says Midy. "I've always been interested in fine watches – even if I don't have the money to buy any! – and it seemed to me that our best chance of finding a place for the Midual was to build an extremely high quality product that appealed to the same kind of connoisseurs who buy such watches – people who appreciate mechanical objets d'art as much for the beauty of their design and creation, and their complex, unique mechanical specification, as for their undoubtedly excellent dynamic function. So that's our strategy for producing the Midual, and I'm very confident that we've chosen the right path." In the months leading up to its Californian debut, I've twice vis- ited the Midual factory to ride the bike in two configurations. On my first visit I tested the distinctive but unlovely development prototype with 19,800 hard miles under its wheels, and on a return visit some months later rode the first of the two pre-production bikes which were displayed at Pebble Beach. I'm happy to say that, in the meantime, Midy and his team had successfully addressed most of the various areas of criticism I'd had after riding the prototype. Company owner and bike designer Olivier Midy (left) has already taken deposits for two of the Type 1s. Midy's brother Francois (right) is his right-hand man.

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