Terrot Motorcycles
Terrot was a motorcycle manufacturer in Dijon, France.
From 1887 to 1935 Terrot was based at:
2 rue Andru-Colomban
DIJON (Cute-d'Or)
The modest workshops built in 1887 by Charles Terrot on the current location the factory (rue André-Colomban à Dijon) were first used in the construction of knitting machines.
Charles Terrot, a personal friend of Gottlieb Daimler, made his fortune from knitting machines for which he filed a patent when he was 20 years of age.
1903. Terrot offered three engines: Faure, Givaudan and Zedel.
Terrot of Dijon was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in France for much of the first half of the twentieth century, having absorbed Magnat-Debon in the late 1920's.
During the early 1920s Terrot built JAP powered 350cc machines with 2 speed gearboxes. The G model, introduced at the Paris Salon of 1925, came in two versions, the Sport and Touriste. Later that year the H model appeared with a Terrot engine and much improved front suspension. The late twenties also saw the production of a Blackburne powered 174cc racing bike, and in 1937 another racing model had a transverse V-twin of 498cc.
After WWII they built a range of ohv singles up to 500cc in capacity, a number of two-strokes and some rather nice scooters. In the 1950s they almalgamated with the Automoto Group under Peugeot and the name Terrot faded out.
Terrot components were used in Nougier Motorcycles
Charles Terrot and Wilhelm Stücklen had founded a machinery factory in Cannstatt, Germany in 1862, and Terrot added a branch factory in Dijon in 1887, and in 1890 the Dijon factory added bicycles to its products.
Bicycle manufacturing began in 1900 and continued until 1970.
During this period the construction of new buildings and the addition of new products: in 1899 quadricycles after De Dion, in 1900 two-seater voiturettes, and in 1902 motorcycles. Automobile were built from 1910 to 1914. By this time, the marque was very well known.
Shortly after the end of the 1914-1918 war the company was confiscated by the state for suspected collusion with the enemy. Taken over in 1921 as a public limited company by a group of industrialists headed by Alfred Vurpillot (CEO from 1921 to 1933), the Terrot business boomed. Due to the firm's visionary administration and the technical prowess of Vurpillot's son Jean, the business developed rapidly. In 1922 Terrot formed a partnership with Magnat-Debon. By 1928 Terrot was the foremost French manufacturer of motorcycles.
In 1934 Edmond Padovani of Corsica (who later became their most famous designer) joined Terrot as a rider. At this time the ramifications of the 1929 stock market crash were increasingly evident and by 1936 production fell despite diversification in prams (1934) and sidecars (in 1938).
Participation in the war effort in 1939 actually start production in 1940 but the factory was occupied by the Germans and ceased all two-wheel manufacturing, turning its machines to the production of generators for Zundapp.
In 1941 Padovani designed a prototype 100cc (the MTRC) which was the basis for future 125cc. From 1940 to 1944 some machines were assembled from existing stock, mostly GDR and RCMA.
Post-war Era
Limited production resumed in 1946, with the first 125 type EP (named for the designer, Edmond Padovani) appearing in 1947. This was the machine which proved the lifeblood of Terrot throughout the fifties.
Two other models (a 250cc scooter and the OSSD) were not well received and caused the company a serious setback.
Padovani returned to the company in 1956 and new models were on the drawing board, but the writing was on the wall. Cheap cars and other factors led to waning popularity of the motor cycle. In 1960 the marque was absorbed by the Peugeot group.
Terrot Models
There are over 190 different Terrot models which fall broadly into the following range:
M, M344, M347, M349, MO, MP, MT, MT1, MTK, MTRL, MTRP, MTRS, MTV, TVML, VM, VMO, VMS
1925
TERROT FT Tourisme
In 1925 Terrot launched Type F, a lightweight motorcycle equipped with a two-stroke engine of 247 cc of his own design, rated for 3 hp. The F-Type was initially offered in two versions: the Tourisme with two-speed gearbox and belt drive and the Sport-Luxe, with a three speed and a secondary chain. Models derived from the F-type were proposed in the '30s.
1931 The Terrot V series was launched in 1931 using the JAP 680 engine, followed in 1934 by the 750cc VA which remained in limited production until 1939. It was also marketed by Magnet Debon as the VMA.
The VATT was very similar, being produced from 1936 to 1940 and was often fitted with a sidecar.
Terrot Engines
Types include: Terrot :
- IT
- MT1
No models found