I've got something called a Le Champion from Motoconfort dated to the 1970s which, aside from the different decals, is indistinguishable to me from Le Champion models from that era from Motobecane (going by the pictures thereof I can find on the Internet)-- however, I am in no way an expert in either old bikes or French bikes; Are Motoconfort bikes just a re-badging of typical Motobecane models from that era, or is there some tangible difference between the two marques? i.e. is a Motoconfort Le Champion from year n exactly the same as a Motobecane Le Champion from year n?
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Aside comment, even if it is a knockoff, its a gorgeous knockoff!– Criggie ♦Jul 31, 2016 at 20:27
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1It's certainly not a "knockoff" in the typical sense, as Motoconfort is definitely attributed to Motobécane/MBK Industrie (albeit there mostly only being mentioned in regards to scooters/motorbikes) and there seems to be some recognition of the marque on bikeforums.net. Still, I'm not sure if this a "real" Le Champion like so many people covet...– errantlinguistJul 31, 2016 at 20:31
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P.S. in all my editing, I forgot the simple word "thanks"!– errantlinguistAug 1, 2016 at 7:08
2 Answers
She's such a cutie.
Motoconfort is absolutely not a ripoff or a knockoff from a Motobécane. For some time there was an overlap between the brands until the mid 70s but the factories were the same.
So to tell it shortly, if it's a Motoconfort Le Champion it's exactly the same bike as a Motobécane Le Champion even in terms of factory equipments or frame quality.
She's real as they come, and that's coming from a Motobécane hardcore lover that owns five of them (even the tiny but heavy foldable one).
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Are you able to source any catalogs from that era? -- I found some on the web but couldn't find any mentioning "Le Champion", but my French is le plus horrible... Apr 19, 2017 at 19:44
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From a styling point of vue, I'd say the year is between 70 and 75 but Mobtobécane catalogs are a quite messy. If the wheels are the original ones you can date them from the hub or from the wheel itself it could help you narrow the year. Apr 20, 2017 at 6:15
For anyone still following this thread... there is actually quite a lot of difference between the 1970s Motobècane Le Champion (for USA export) and the bike with the same model name produced under the Motoconfort brand, I believe for sale just in Europe though not sure. Motoconfort and Motobècane were dvisions of the same French company. The Motobècane Le Champion was a high end road/racing bike with a hand made frame and fork of Reynolds 531 chromoly steel and came with much higher level components (Stronglight chain rings and cranks, Campagnolo derailleurs, Brooks professional leather saddle, etc.). The Montoconfort pictured above is a lovely touring bike but definitely not the same animal.
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Welcome to the site! New answers to an old question are never a problem. One of the goals of the site is to be a repository of information, not just for the one person who wanted to know about the difference between Motoconfort and Motobècane in July 2016, but also for anyone else who wants to know that in the future. So, as long as you have something new to say (which you certainly did in this case), please do go ahead and answer any question you want -- new or old! Oct 23, 2018 at 17:45