Roypercy

Advertised locally. I need another bike like I need a hole in the head, and I likely won't go check it out, but it's piqued my curiosity. It looks like a lugged frame, but I've never seen this paint scheme on a Moto. Any ideas?

Pcampeau

To me it looks like a 1973 or earlier oddly repainted Le Champion with a replacement fork painted to match, but who knows? Not enough detailed pics to say with certainty. I wouldn’t go look at it either, even though I love Motos and especially the Le Champion.

Velo Mule

The Motobecane decal and the paint job make me think it is more modern than vintage, but the arc in the fork, cable housing clamps, down tube shifters, derailleur clamps and many of the components say vintage. Modern wheels were swapped in.

My guess, and it is only a guess is that it is vintage frame with a repaint. And the fact that the paint looks pretty good throws me off too. But I'm sticking to a vintage frame from perhaps the late '70's or early '80's.

The brake calipers are proof it is a Franken bike. Nothing wrong with that I have a few. The brakes are not great looking. Maybe because they are mis-matched or the extra long screws. The front wheel is bolt on and the rear is quick release with the cam on the wrong side.

The serial number and the location of the serial number may help.

If the price is right it could be worthwhile.

SurferRosa

197x Grand Franken.

[Pronounced "Grond Fron ken."]

unworthy1

ignoring the fork since it's very likely not a Motobecane fork, at least not one of the same vintage as the frame...would a '73 Le Champion have eyelets on the DOs?
My assumption is these were "racing machines" so no need for fenders or racks, but I dunno.

Pcampeau

Yes, prior to 1974 the Le Champion had eyelets. Actually some of the gray 74s had eyelets too.

Here’s my 73 Le Champion I found a couple of years ago that I regretfully, haven’t done anything toward refurbishing yet for comparison.

52telecaster

My le champion has eyelets too. Who knows what was originally on the bike but that crank is about nomad level. As always though Motos look cool.

sbarner 

I have one of these that I bought as a frameset several years ago, completely stripped of everything, including paint. All the details on the bike in question match. I believe the only difference between the '73 and '72 LCs was that the latter sported no chrome. It's a full DB 531 frame with long Campy dropouts and semi-wrap seat stays. It pairs a longish wheelbase with 74/73 degree angles and would make a fantastic stealth commuter if you remove the decals. I'd say if it fits and is less than a hundred bucks, you might want to consider if it is worth the effort. What I don't recall, and am too lazy to check, is what the threading of these was. It could have been French or Swiss, which could explain the fork replacement. On the other hand, it would have come with a Stronglight V4 headset, which could put up with a lot of abuse.

unworthy1

thanks for all this info re: eyelets on the Campy DOs of these early '70s LCs.
but for my next question: "...is what the threading of these was. It could have been French or Swiss, which could explain the fork replacement."
Is there some difference between FR and SW FORK threading that I don't know about? I own an approx. 1975 Allegro (Swiss) which takes a regular FR headset, and aside from the DS BB threading (which or course is LH 35 x 1) it's very like a French bike in terms of the metric 531 tubes, steerer, forkcrown race and all other threads.