Motobecane

[wrm340]

I have a chance to buy a Motobecane. 1976, yellow with 375 orig miles. Looks very good. How are these puppys?! I heard they can be a pain in the ass. I really want a Puch but they are hard to come by in this shape. It runs, but only for a minute and then dies out. He wants 400$ for it. Should i pass or go?

[John]

Looks clean. Yes they can be a bitch but when they run they are good ones. You probably have a carb issue, so it needs to be cleaned out. There is a little screen in the bango I believe that can clog. Does it have an inline filter? Also the floats sometime sink because of leaks in the little metal float. Plastic ones are available. Pointy end up for the float to shut the flow off. Try and talk him down.

[xrongor]

yeah try and talk him down. but if he wont budge and you want the bike 400 isnt a horrible price these days for one in good condition. if all else fails, i bet you could part it out for 400 bucks or more. but since it starts it will very likely run after you do some basic maintenance like refurbing the carb.

if you want one thing to look for, check the tank. if the tank is rusted out i would pass. press with your finger all around on the tank, particularly around the petcock. if you feel it giving way or you punch through, you got a major pain on your hands to fix it. at that point i would definitely offer less.

just some random thoughts.

randy

[wrm340]

Thanx you guys. It is just that this thing is French and i figured it would be a hassle to get parts and fix that Vario drive these things have. I have a '76 Jawa T40, that was a headache to get running! It also now has 1100 miles original. This thing runs great now and is very dependable! I love riding it, there is nothing like the smell of 2-stroke in the morning!

[wrm340]

Hey, I am going this Sunday to look, so if you have anything else to add, please tell me now! I know that this is the best source of info in the world for Mopeds! Somebody has to own a Motobecane out there...........

[TowerTower]

The Mobylette is a high quality bike. The 1976 models have aclassic look to them that appeals to this day. The bike is easy to restore to pristine condition. Judging by the pictures, you may have to add an expansion chamber to boost power ($160), rust remover and touch up paint ($20), polish parts for looks, dissassemble, clean and restore carb ($20 jets)(or $120 new) to get it running right. Its unlikely to need variator work, but if it does, there is plenty of support, such as manuals on this forum to help. Parts are around but not plentiful. If you want a larger piston kit, that might be problematic.

[wrm340]

Well...........I went to look at it and ended up buying it for $320. It looks very good and it did start and run for 30 seconds or so when i got home. I will take the carb apart and clean it. One thing i am going to need is new grips! They are almost rotted away!

[vegamew2394]

not bad price. get her running and looking good and post a picture on the pic's of your ped thread.

[wrm340]

Should i grease up the clutch and pully system? There are grease fittings......Don't want to ruin any bearings. Grease fittings look small.....

[steamboat]

Nice bike.
The gas cap breathing hole may be plugged. Try running without the gas cap. Jim

[John]

Some grease probably won't hurt. Just don't go crazy. It needs a grease gun like they use on the bars of chainsaws as it is not a standard zerk fitting. Then what is standard on a Moby. lol
check for rust in tank and get some new rubber, lube the cables.

[xrongor]

i was lubing my cables this weekend and im sure glad i did. the throttle cable only had 2 strands left holding it on at the carb side. would have been very difficult to drive it home after it finally broke. which of course would have been far far from anything.

randy

[John]

It's one of the parts people seem to forget about till it is too late.

[wrm340]

Started takin' her apart finally!!!!

[xrongor]

while you got it apart, replace the gas line with new line and put an inline gas filter on it to save yourself much headaches. i prefer larger ones with actual paper in them but some people like the little triangular ones. make sure you install it the right way.

randy