• Premier French make
• Rare early model
• 'Barn find' for restoration

Already a successful maker of bicycles and pneumatic tyres – he owned the Dunlop patents in France – Gustave-Adolphe Clément diversified into motorcycle manufacture in 1897, having just bought the Gladiator cycle company, and built his first four-wheeled automobile two years later, taking an interest in the existing Gladiator concern. Around 1902 Clément began supplying motorcycle engines to Charles Garrard in the UK, who fitted them in frames supplied initially by James Lansdowne Norton and marketed his products under the Clément-Garrard name until 1911. Norton was impressed by the French-built motor and used it to power the first of his own motorcycles in 1902. In October 1903 Adolphe Clément broke his connection with the company he had founded and set up a new factory in Levallois-Perret, adopting the trade name 'Bayard'. Now fully controlled by British investors, the original Clément-Gladiator enterprise, trading under the 'Clediaber' name, continued to manufacture motorcycles until 1935.

After 1905 motorcycle production was suspended for a number of years but by the end of 1911 new models had been introduced that generated considerable interest. Inspired by the lightweight v-twins becoming popular in Britain, especially the Motosacoche-powered Royal Enfields, Clediaber introduced MAG-engined 2¾hp and 4hp Clément and Gladiator v- twins, which were designed along British lines and more luxurious than the average French motorcycle. Produced up to the outbreak of war in 1914, the 4hp model, as seen here, was the most expensive in the catalogue.

Looking remarkably similar to the contemporary Motosacoche-engined Royal Enfield, this Clément previously formed part of the collection belonging to a deceased Munich-based private collector and is offered for sale by his heirs. The machine has been dry-stored for many years and is presented in 'barn find' condition, in need of complete restoration. Some parts are missing: the front mudguard, foot-boards, and chain covers being the most obvious. The engine turns over but the machine's mechanical condition is not known and thus it is sold strictly as viewed. There are no documents with this Lot.