One-time motorbike Velo Solex in Saigon

Velo Solex, the French name of a motor bicycle, was widely used in Saigon in two decades from 1950's to 1970's. This vehicle tends to design for female. A slim and compact design fits the slender appearance of a Vietnamese girl in a traditional long dress.

Velo Solex was fabricated in 1946 by two French entrepreneurs Maurice Goudard and Marcel Mannesson. By that time, the French were proud of their motor bicycle as they said: "A motor bicycle runs by itself." A piece of a motor is installed in front of this bicycle. This motor transfers the movement to the front wheel that moves the back wheel, quite opposite of the principle of today's vehicle movement, the back wheel moved by a motor pushes the front wheel.

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Photo of Tuoi Tre online