verktyg 

1970-1972 Catalog. No mention of colors... The 1973 catalog looks like a black and white copy of the 1970-72 version.

Motobecane catalog (1970-1972)

verktyg

Chas.

rootboy, @motogeek

This picture from the 1970-72 US catalog clearly shows blue with white trim. Also spec sheets from 1970 through 1973 - very few changes.

Salamandrine 

Absolutely.

Blue + yellowed clear coat = Teal
White + yellowed clear coat = Ivory

For that matter:
Sky Blue + yellowed clear coat = "Celeste"

Vintage_Cyclist

Since this thread is active, I'll post this here for anyone in the NYC area that is looking for one of these. Brooklyn listing with a frame that looks just like the one in this thread. Ad is short on info and only one non-drive side picture.

https://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/bik/5754852394.html

rootboy 

He's not peddling those yellow appendages to me.

MeatloafOvadose

Here she is as of yesterday (today I changed the shifter and bar tape again to off white cotton)

Im gonna get some Velo Orange Facette fenders

1972 Motobecane Le Champion by Ryan Silva, on Flickr

Chicago Al 

Great find, great bike, and obviously exactly the right owner for it. (how do I insert multiple 'thumbs up' emojis here???)

Salamandrine 

Is it love if you change the tape every day?? Fancier crank looks nice, but I look forward to seeing the Stronglight on there.

Looking great. I do think you should splurge on one of the zefal/TA reissue water bottle cages. Cuz little things matter....

MeatloafOvadose

Haha, I get some serious OCD with my bikes with details and the way things gel together, I refuse to admit how many times Ive built my Grand Record and others, only to pull it apart the next few days and do something else with it.



I agree on the cage, This was just a blackburn I had in the stash, im short on cages so I'll pick one of those up. Amazon has them for 15 bucks

I got a Silca frame pump with campy head on the way too, weathered and aged of course

verktyg 

Originally Posted by The Golden Boy
Won't that clearcoat yellowing contribute to blue becoming teal?


Yes but... I was there, I seen em! The clear coat that Motobecane used in the early 70's did yellow but teal was teal and blue was blue and the ivory was too dark to be yellowed white!

verktyg

Chas.

MeatloafOvadose

Will that Stronglight 93 crank have French pedal threads? I got some Lyotard 136R's but thats it for french thread if so

motogeek 

MeatloafOvadose ... I notice that seat post is way extended. If you are more than 5"8" then that bike is too small for you. You need to buy that bike on the New York CL and sell me yours ... I could always use a backup for the one I have! :-)

MeatloafOvadose

I never even measured this frame, I bought it regardless to save it, but its always been a grail bike ever since I started learning about Motobecanes (after I bought my Grand Record at a yard sale). Im sucked into Motobecanes now and probably forever lol.

Im still playing with saddle height, but the biggest problem is toe overlap: my cages smashing my fenders, so I'll need to measure them and compare to the MKS dimensions on the website. I only have 8 1/2 shoes, so getting something smaller shouldnt be a problem

motogeek 

I've got the same toe clip overlap problem with my Blumels. Almost dumped myself on a low speed turn.

MeatloafOvadose

I almost dumped it yesterday riding downtown from it, on cobblestone too.

I measured the cages, 60mm Christophe cages, I'm gonna pickup a small 40-45mm mks cage. I just hope the new crank isn't 175mm lol

crank_addict

Lurking here and after seeing the image with mudguards was going to warn about it. No can do. I've been enjoying a '72 and often used as a gravel grinder. Sometimes I'll explore off-road trails with a few technical slow maneuvers. Thats when those little surprises play tricks with the mind and bike handling.

I love everything about this era Le Champion. Dig the classic rake yet has a decent quick response in left / right transition.

Yours looks like a nice candidate to mod with period parts. I did that with mine and could care less what the purist think. Its really a blast on the gravel with room for wide rubber. Running clinchers as cheap insurance for tire flats.

The blue is beautiful, very French too. Mine is black with the original black lacquer, shrinks with age and has crackled. The black always shows dirt.

That bike is a keeper. Enjoy!

[IMG]IMG_9530 by carrera247, on Flickr[/IMG]

motogeek 

I'll see if I can upload a pic of mine

Tbone5

Nice find and save. Been following the color controversy. I have the same bike and it's definitely teal with white (although yellowed with age. Just put my 1st sew ups on and was surprised what a difference it makes in the the ride. Here's mine built up from an Ebay frame purchase about a year ago:

motogeek 

Nice, Tbone5

You can clearly see how all of these bikes appear in photography to be blue, when in fact, they really are teal. And having worked in commercial printing and the graphic arts industry for over 25 years I can guarantee that color shifts in getting from the real object to the printed page are a fact of life. As the president of our somewhat large commercial print shop used to say, "Printing is not an exact science!" So, the color you see on a printed page may not be (and most likely isn't) exactly the same color as the real thing. All the pics of mine above appear blue. It ain't. It's teal.

MeatloafOvadose

My crank finally arrived, seller on ebay didnt ship it for about 9 days because he was on vacation and never let me know. Regardless it is here, and in good shape, along with bottom bracket and spindle, which I didnt need but its nice for the future.

I noticed the spindle from my bike had different 118mm engravings than the one I bought. My original was stamped 118 in the center, and the other was on the opposite side.

P_20160909_133413 by Ryan Silva, on Flickr
packed the bearings with plenty of grease, I like using a lot of grease on my builds.
P_20160909_133601 by Ryan Silva, on Flickr
P_20160909_141258 by Ryan Silva, on Flickr

I also bought this interesting fender set for 30 bucks shipped. Its really well made, measured 45mm wide, it came with 2 rear fenders so I cut the other down for the front.
P_20160909_141311 by Ryan Silva, on Flickr

MeatloafOvadose

No photos till its new maiden voyage around town tomorrow but I converted her to 650b! I have OCD with my bikes, so if I don't like it, I can try it on my other frame sets.

I bought a pair of new Pasela PT 42's for 12.50 each, only 2 were available so it worked out for me, Parts box Dia Compe 750's front and rear (rear needed a few mm filed out of the slots).

For the wheels I bought the Sta-Tru 650b individual wheels, front + rear. I paid about 35 bucks for the front and 39 for the rear. Single wall, chrome spokes, loose ball hubs but have rubber caps over the cones. The catch is the rear is 135mm spacing however they use freewheels and not cassettes so from the start of it I knew it would work out for me., so I used a solid axle from the parts box for now and managed to fit a 6 speed cluster as well.

Fenders, I'll need to order some VO or Honjo's, for now I'm using some stainless 650A versions from a Skyway, I bought them on ebay last year for about 15 bucks shipped so it was a no brainer for me

motogeek 

Glad to see this thread is still active. I removed the Blumels from my Le Champion today. They had a kink in them and would not stay straight, rubbing the front tire even tho I had both sets of stays mounted. Really liked the way the white Blumels coordinated with the white seat panels/lugs.

Picked up a rather ratty black with red panels/lugs from the same year a couple weeks ago in my size. Not sure what to do with it yet but am allocating parts from the spare parts box for a future build.

MeatloafOvadose

Im hoping to find a Motobecane in black with red accents myself. At the time my bike was at the local bike shop for sale, They just sold a 76 or so Super Mirage, which was completely stock, I think it sold for 130, which honestly I would pay that too. Id be happy just buying Motobecanes forever lol.

Bummer to hear about the fenders, as that was a key piece to the look your bike had, which reminded me of the 50's clubman bikes. I got a bunch of fenders, I might think about trying a white/cream color paint on them.

I have not posted my Grand Record in a while so here she sits with the fenders and wheelset the Le Champion had in the photos above.

(my GR is a bit too big for me on the top tube when my back isnt hurting me lol)
Motobecane Grand Record by Ryan Silva, on Flickr

noobinsf 

Very curious to see the new pics with 650b and the 650a fenders. I love the look of it so far!

Also glad to see the Grand Record updated. I have a GR that I'm trying to finish for the spring season, and I've enjoyed watching the evolution.

MeatloafOvadose

Thanks! the GR has been fun, it is my first serious bike. I plan to pull off the shimano 600 derailleurs and crank and put the sugino nuovo record copy back on along with a longer RD and a suntour 32t 5speed freewheel.

I'll get better photos on a slightly warmer day than today, Im gonna stick with these fenders for a month or so, Im not sold on the look since they have barely any wrap. fenderline can be tweaked a little on front, but they work at keeping debris and most water off me

Most important thing was no fender rubs at all and some good clearance for rocks and broken quahog shells to spit out from.Im still ordering better fenders in a month or so with much more french looks.

650b with temporary fenders by Ryan Silva, on Flickr
650b with temporary fenders by Ryan Silva, on Flickr
650b with temporary fenders by Ryan Silva, on Flickr

SJX426 

Although mine is labeled a 73 on my Flickr account, it is a 72. Note the Head badge. I know the date because I bought it in 1973 and it was a year old.
[IMG]LC_FrntCrnr_02, on Flickr[/IMG]