Like so many motorcycle manufacturers Swiss brothers Armand and Henry Dufaux entered motorcycle manufacture by fitting diminutive engines into bicycle frames – a far cry indeed from later ventures which included 996cc V-twin machines and indeed even a seven-cylinder radial engine.

They were suppliers of proprietary engines and indeed their engines were built under licence also by other European manufacturers.

‘Motorcycling’ magazine in 1910 promoted the Motosacoche in the following terms:- “The Gentleman’s Motor Bicycle and no-one can deny it.

The only satisfactory machine for ladies, Medical Men, Clergymen and Professional men is the Motosacoche … the Motosacoche is the machine for Gentlefolk ….

it offends no-one ….

it does not squirt oil over its riders …” Although the V5 registration document records first registration on 3rd July 1914, correspondence on file suggests that this machine dates from 1908 and was first owned by A L Hunt, the first person in Chesham to own a motorcy...