The Moto Reve pictured below was once owned by my Grandfather. He owned the Moto Reve until 1945 and it stayed in the UK until a few years ago when it was sold, lost its UK registration and now exists somewhere else. If you own this Moto Reve or know where it is then I would love to hear from you. Moto Reve started in around 1906 in Geneve and started with a V twin engine. The first Moto Reve bikes used BSA frames and after a few hundred moved on to their own frames. I am told that these Moto Reve bikes run very nicely and get along very well.
I think my grandfathers Moto Reve was a model A from 1908 to 1909. From 1907 Moto Reve bikes were also constructed in the UK either from a kit of parts or from engines only and they used different frames from the Swiss production. English built Moto Reve seem to have a bracing tube on the top tube and perhaps longer frames and other changes. The English built Moto Reve also had a square style fuel tank and seems to have used Druid type forks from 1908 ish onwards. With all of this considered it would appear that my grandfathers Moto Reve is a English built Model A of 1908/1909. My grandfather was a motorcycle engineer and he kept it until 1945.
I think my dating of the bike is accurate as I have just read a response that Bob Currie gave in The Classic Motor Cycle of March 1985 re registrations and he (and he would know) says that LB was issued in London from March 1908 to April 1909 only.
I can be contacted via paulg@go-faster.com
Below is a picture of a young James McCudden early in WW1. He went on to become one of the top "Ace's" of the war and was awarded a Victoria Cross in addition to a DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, MM and Croix de Guerre. Looks like he is on the same model of Moto Reve as my grandfathers.
The advert below is from The MotorCycle September 1909.
Moto Reve Engine for sale
This engine is c1908 and the seller can be contacted via email - kurskklon@hotmail.com
1909 MOTO REVE FOR SALE
This beautiful 1909 MOTO REVE (below) was for sale in Milan, Italy. It is now sold via its appearance on this page to a new Swedish owner.
Below are a couple of Moto Reve's that took part in the Pioneer Run 2012, you can see a full report of the run here - Pioneer Run 2012
In October 2011 I published a few pictures of old bikes - my father and his pals riding around Europe in 1953 on a Brough Superior, Triumph Thunderbirds etc and in just a couple of months the page has had over 13 million hits!
That web page is here - http://www.go-faster.com/SS100.html
If you like even older bikes, then you may be interested to read about my exploits on my 1914 4hp Triumph. I bought it in November 2011 and being a novice to such ancient machines have started to record my experiences of owning and riding it. It is quite an experience riding a bike with no gears, no clutch and almost no brakes!
See: http://www.go-faster.com/1914Triumph.html
I have also created a page about a 1911 Triumph that was once owned by my grandfather,
see http://www.go-faster.com/VeteranTriumph.html
As people have contacted me asking where they could a similar Veteran motorcycle, I have created a web page listing any that are for sale or recently sold - so you can get an idea of values.
See: http://www.go-faster.com/VeteranMotorcycleForSale.html
I have now (January 2012) I bought a 1954 Triumph T110 and created a page about Triumph T110's.
See: http://www.go-faster.com/TriumphT110.html
As people have contacted me asking where they could buy a Triumph T110, I have created a web page listing any that are for sale or recently sold - so you can get an idea of values.
See - http://www.go-faster.com/TriumphT110ForSale.html