The Majestic was one of the most iconic French motorcycles of the interwar period and a symbol of the Art Deco movement. It combined the qualities of an automobile, with the thrills of a motorcycle.
The funky and remarkable bike was the vision of French monsieur Georges Roy, whose expertise was formerly in knitting machines. Roy was a petrol head, and his entrepreneurial mindset spotted an opportunity to enhance conventional motorcycle frame design. Roy had noticed many failures in the tubular frames of the time – an unfortunate result of road conditions and a desire for more speed and power which was putting a strain on many conventional frames. A number of manufacturers were forced to beef up the skeletons of their motorcycles towards the end of the 1920s, but Roy had other ideas.
The venture started with the introduction of the “New Motorcycle”. This bike was quite unique and used a pressed steel monocoque chassis rather than a tubular frame, a concept that had more in common with automobiles than it did with bicycles. The technique involved hefty presses that would stamp out the chassis of the motorcycle, including the frame, forks and tank. The steel panels were then rivetted together into a monocoque chassis that doubled up as both the frame and the bodywork. The result was a semi-faired motorcycle that exposed some of the mechanical bits, but screened others. The process cut down on costs and sped up the assembly line. It helped kick start an automotive phenomenon, and other manufacturers soon followed suit, including BMW who produced a pressed steel monocoque chassis from 1930-1935.
The New Motorcycle was quite frankly a flop, mainly down to the fact that it was too advanced for many to get their heads around, and so Roy went back to the drawing board and returned with something even further from the mainstream, exhibiting a prototype called the Majestic at the Paris Motor Show in 1929. The radical bike was like something that had landed from Mars, but it was in fact more conventional under the skin than the New Motorcycle had been.
The chassis of the Majestic is constructed from two side rails of square section steel which are riveted up with cross members at the front and rear to create a rigid frame. These cross members form the basis of front and rear bulkheads. The structure is enclosed with a cosmetic shell that is created from pressed steel panels that gracefully sweep around the frame from front to rear. The Majestic looks like a substantial bike, however the weight is in fact comparatively low at around 160kg if fitted with a single-cylinder Chaise OHV motor.
The Majestic took inspiration from body-on-frame automobiles of the era, and had a low stance that was reminiscent of earlier motorcycles such as the Ner-A-Car. The body-on-frame principle was an coachbuilding practice seen on automobiles, and was the first time that it had been adopted on a motorcycle. The bonus – all of the oil and other fluids were contained within louvered panels. For anyone who rides an old bike with a total loss oil system, they will understand the benefits of this which would have been quite the luxury for riders at the time.
The riders position and viewpoint was quite the novelty. The instruments sat in a binnacle on the handlebars, which include a clock, speedo and multi-position light switch.
As with most bikes of this era, the Majestic featured a hand-change stick connected to a simple rotary device mounted on the right hand side of the machine. There was not a gate that most bikes had to select and hold the gear, but instead a round boss with Roman numerals to let the rider know whether he/ she was in first, second or third.
As common with most bikes of the era, there was no rear suspension on the Majestic, only a sprung saddle to make those long trips all the more comfortable. The front suspension involved a pair of sliding vertical pillars similar to the sprung-hub rear ends that would precede swinging arm arrangements.
The twists and turns were handled from the bars to a vertical steering column, which was then attached to a horizontal rod that acts upon a curved lever pivoting around the right suspension pillar. This rod connects into the front wheel hub which also served as the brake drum. The hub was a complex bit of kit and so it was manufactured in-house.
The Majestic could accommodate a variety of motors. The prototype was built with an American 4-cylinder Cleveland engine, but later down the line other motors filled the bay, including singles and twins from J.A.P and a flat twin from Gnome et Rhone. The most common engines however were those produced by French manufacturer Chaise. They were overhead valve, air-cooled singles available in 350cc and 500cc displacements. The engine bay was hidden but easily accessible by means of the turn of a few screws, as demonstrated in the above video. It is not very often you see a fan on a motorcycle engine!
The Majestic went on sale for a base price of 5200 Francs – quite a price in comparison to other motorcycles available on the market. The base model would get you a 350cc Chaise with final drive. There were options for other engines, a shaft drive, and even a “craquelure” paint option which was hand-applied by very skilled artisans of the Guild of Decorative Painters. This method was labour intensive and involved fast-drying the top paint layer over an incompatible base paint coat, so that as the top layer dries, it shrinks and cracks into an alligator-like skin.
The Majestic featured is a 1930 Type AB and was at the 2024 Vintage Revival in Montlhéry. It has a 350cc (4hp) Chaise motor and was first registered in the department of Seine. It was sold on September 19th 1937 to René Pajot, an aviation instructor and chief pilot at the Loudes aerodrome when he was only 21 years old. René Pajot was a resistance pilot during the Second World War, where he was captured and placed in the Neuengamme concentration camp. Pajot escaped and as the end of the war, was awarded with the Croix de Guerre in addition to many other medals.
Georges Roy and his Majestic really demonstrated forward thinking in a pre-war time when anything was possible. These quirky and fascination bikes are rare as rocking horse… well you know… and are heralded as a refined and beautiful machine from the experimental days of the automobile.
Thanks to the team at Montlhéry for having us along to this awesome event.
an article by The Girder Club
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