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to the Archive indexI moved to France from Scotland about two years ago and live in the Haute-Vienne departement. This is just a few kilometres north of the famous English county of Dordogneshire. In fact I work in the Dordogne with a team of British tradesmen renovating property, mainly for ex-pats. I would like to point out though that my girlfriend is French and we have two babies here, so I think I am doing my best to integrate into the local society!
Gary with baby, VSX 3800, Trabby and Simson S51
While in living in Edinburgh I bought a nearly new SoleX (the Hungarian one) and used it regularly. It was very reliable and good fun too, but I found the saddle a bit short for pedalling up the steeply sloped streets of the capital and so sold it after about a year.
After moving to France I was soon hankering after another and was lucky enough to find one thanks to "La Vie de la Moto". This was - no surprise - a black S3800 and the price was an attractive €50. It was being sold by a French-speaking Belgian builder who was moving house and had been given the bike in lieu of payment by a French customer. The little machine was dirty and slightly rusty but had obviously not been heavily used since leaving the factory in 1966. I got it running easily enough and treated it to an aerosol respray and some new transfers. Since then I have carried out a few modifications which might be of interest to fellow owners. Firstly, I found that (just like the Impex) the headlight tended to pop out of the housing when riding over bumps or holes. This was remedied with a bead of clear silicone around the inside edge of the housing. Next the laughable electrical system was tackled. A nice chrome toggle light switch was installed in place of the broken original and the lights rewired (the pressed metal connections being replaced with small screw in 'chocolate block' connectors). This made a big difference to the lights, particularly the rear, which is now nice and bright even at tickover.
After this, I replaced the original contact breaker set-up with a Chinese electronic ignition system. This was bought by mail order and is presumably the same unit as that fitted to the Black'n'Roll SoleX. I am a great fan of electronic ignition and have fitted both points triggered and fully electronic versions to various cars and bikes over the years, always with good results. With the SoleX, however, I can't say that the difference has been dramatic. Perhaps with such an unusual little plodder of a motor this isn't surprising. Anyway, the main reason for fitting the system was to avoid relying on the 40 year old ignition coil (which had already failed and been replaced with a 2nd hand item). The price of a new coil wasn't much less than the electronic system so the choice was easy really. Other mods were the fitting of a chrome bulb horn (great for laughs) and a set of rear panniers. These were bought from Go-Sport for, I think, €30. They fit perfectly and look great although they are admittedly a bit flimsy and I wouldn't trust them with much more than a few baguettes or a picnic lunch. Some cable inners were also replaced - easy to find in the supermarkets here.
As for performance, it feels pretty much the same as the Impex machine. The metal brake levers on the old SoleX are much better than the modern plastic ones, which bend, giving even less feel to the already marginal brakes. On the other hand, I think the modern cable operated decompressor is neater. Like the Impex, my 'original' SoleX sounds unhappy when the motor is running fast downhill. It seems most content on the flat or even going up a slight incline. My collection of odd two-strokes doesn't stop at the S3800 however. I bought an S2200, with a spare S3800 engine, for €100 although this does need fairly extensive renovation. I also have a Simson S51 that used to belong to my brother. Then came my 1980 Trabant estate and finally a 1956 Rhonson moped with a 50cc VAP engine. The Rhonson was bought in running condition and only needs a coat of paint and a few new bits and pieces before being ready for the road. Fortunately I managed to buy an original VAP maintenance manual from a French e-bayer. According to this the 2-stroke oil should be mixed at a ratio of 1:12 and 1:10 for running in! Changed days indeed.
First published, December 2005