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2015 Shannons Sydney Spring Classic Auction
Lot
AA

c1950 Liberia Type 98 Motorcycle

$1,800

Sold

Specifications

Engine Single-cylinder, 98cc
Gearbox 2-speed manual
Colour Maroon

Description

This lot is no longer available

Established by Antoine Biboud of Grenoble, who previously co-founded the region's first bicycle and motorcycle firm Magnat-Debon, Liberia first began making high quality two-wheeled machines at the conclusion of the First World War under the brand name Manufacture Francaise Cycles, or MFC. Biboud was a keen cyclist and adopted the slogan ?Don't follow the peloton, lead it!? and Liberia sponsored a team in French National cycling events each year from 1948 until 1962. Initially making frames by hand, Liberia gradually industrialised, outgrowing the original workshop in the centre of Grenoble and moving to a new factory on the outskirts in 1925. Liberia's first motorcycles appeared in 1929 using British-made JAP engines, offering an extensive range of small capacity bikes and mopeds over the decades that followed. Post-war models were powered by either Sachs two-stroke or AMC four-stroke units, with smaller mopeds using a Ydral motor. At the 1951 Paris Salon a two-speed scooter using a Sachs 98cc engine was unveiled to popular acclaim. The bikes bearing the Art Deco rising sun badge never lost their quality but Liberia struggled against the invasion of cheap competition from Asia and eventually the family-owned business declined and closed its doors in 1996.