Roy Workman continues his quest to track down classic bikes on the Continent. He's found another French motorcycle collection...

We recently enjoyed another week's stay at Liz and Graeme's holiday chalets at La Rosiere, near St Menehould, in north-eastern France. Graeme is a subscriber to RealClassic and he owns a 1955 Matchless trial bike, together with a couple of more modern machines, which he uses as everyday transport.

I am always asking Liz and Graeme whether or not they have found some new motorcycle museums for us to visit in the area. Apparently they had heard of one, but it was shut on the day that they had gone to visit it, and, to cap it all, by the time they were talking to us, they had forgotten which village it was in! 'Oh boy,' I thought. We decided to pop into the local Tourist Office to see if they could help. The young lady running the office didn't know of any motorcycle museums in the area; she recommended a car museum which had a small selection of motorcycles on show as well. She also gave us a tourist guide to the area.

Whilst enjoying a croissant and a beer in a local bar we studied the guide and we found details of a privately-owned museum in a town some miles away.

With this collection, as with other small ones in the area, you need to phone to make an appointment to visit. Our French not being up to the standard of technical phone calls, we went back to see the young lady in the Tourist Office and asked her to organise a visit for us, which she kindly did.

The next day saw us heading off to the town of Montmirail. My French was good enough, once in the town, to ask for instructions to the museum. As we were a little early we wandered up to the town square, where we sat in one of the bars by the fountain and watched the world go by for a while.

At 3pm, the time arranged for our visit, we arrived at the museum, run by a Monsieur and Madame Leboeuf. The collection is housed in an outbuilding behind their house. We made our introductions, telling them, as we do most French people that we meet, that we only speak very little French, which usually meets with broad smiles and a lot of hand-waving, together with copious use of our French dictionary.

Monsieur Leboeuf is 76 years old, and he restores motorcycles as a hobby, and he told us that all but two of the machines are in working order. On entering the museum we were first shown an article from a magazine, which was headed (in French); 'No, you will not have a motorcycle', which is apparently what Monsieur's father had told him when he was 18. I told him that my father had said exactly the same thing to me! This was quite a laugh, considering that his collection now numbers some 70 bikes, four sidecars and a mobile beer barrel. He has three rows of trophies on the wall, which he has won at classic concours events.

As you would expect, the collection includes many French machines. Monsieur Leboeuf talked a lot about the build quality of these bikes, and he lamented the passing of the French motorcycle industry, which collapsed after the arrival of Honda and other Japanese manufacturers.

His earliest machine is a Motobecane, made in 1923. He also has two Ratier motorcycles, 600cc, horizontally opposed twins, as per BMW. These were, in their time, popular Police motorcycles. At present one is without an engine, and he is having trouble getting the parts for it. The other bike works fine. When Ratier stopped production the Gendarmerie switched to using BMWs. He has four early Hondas, including a 450cc Black Bomber. There are also some British motorcycles, including a 1955 AJS and BSA C11, as well as others. There was also a very nice 1934 Dresch motorcycle and sidecar (or a 'Sid' as he calls sidecars!) and a 1943 BMW and sidecar, again in excellent condition. He has pictures of most the bikes he has acquired in their original state, so that you can get a good before-and-after effect. The sidecar attached to the BMW was originally a right mess.

1934 Dresch motorcycle and sidecar

One amusing tale he told us about the BMW and sidecar was that, in the Normandy 60th anniversary celebrations in 2004, he rode the outfit dressed as a German General, with his friend, also in German uniform, in the sidecar. They were photographed and the photo appeared in a newspaper with the caption 'German General captured by Americans'. In the photo there was a USA Jeep leading, and bringing up the rear there was an American truck. Madame Leboeuf came into the museum and helped to show us around. When we arrived Monsieur Leboeuf had told us that the only English he knew was 'Thank you very much'. By the time we left we had taught him 'shaft' and 'chain'. My wife, Chris, was doing much of the translation and her French was severely strained, especially when I tried to get her to explain side-valves. She gave up at that point! One of the machines that caught my eye was a 1953 Monet Goyon Starlette; this was an enclosed motorcycle with a hand-start, as per the early LE Velocettes. For his restoration work, of which he does a very nice job indeed, Monsieur Leboeuf has appeared on French TV. As a result of this TV appearance he was given a 1974 125cc twin, with only about 1000 miles on the clock, the make of which I cannot remember. Monsieur Leboeuf explained that he would like to restore a Vincent, but they are too expensive for him to buy. His old age pension will not stretch that far!

Random Sidecar Stuff on eBay.co.uk

He and his wife go away for long weekends to classic bike shows. On these occasions he tows a trailer behind the outfit. On the trailer there is a beer barrel, inside which there are containers of cognac, and red and white wine, all connected to taps. What an excellent arrangement!

We were there for nearly three hours. We finally left the museum and the interesting spectrum of machines it contains, which date from the 1920s to the 1980s. We were invited into the house for an aperitif (a very French custom, Liz and Graeme assure us). The Leboeufs and some friends own a field of vines in the area. Apparently for the last three years or so the vines have gone mad and there have been masses of grapes. We were therefore treated to a home-brew liqueur-type drink.

1953 Monet Goyon Starlette

Walking towards the house I spotted a wheel or two in a shed, so, being nosy, I wandered over and found myself in the workshop. The weather during our holiday had been excellent, and the thermometer showed a temperature of 44-degrees in the workshop itself. The wheels that I had spotted belonged to two early Goldwings. Monsieur Leboeuf showed me three mopeds that he hoped to be working on soon. There was also a newly-painted frame and various other bits suspended drying from the roof. He also showed me what he proposed to do with the petrol tank. Monsieur Leboeuf explained that he now has more interest in mopeds than he had previously, and he even has one that he uses to get to the local shops. He said that it is far easier than using his bicycle!!

We had a very enjoyable visit. His museum asks for a contribution of 3 euros per person (about £2 each). You have to ring to make an appointment, and the local Tourist Office did this for us. They seemed to be fairly busy with enthusiasts coming to their door, telling us that two visitors were booked for the next day, and a party of 12 were expected on the Saturday.

The museum is most certainly well worth a visit if you are in the area. There are some lovely biking roads in the vicinity, and although both Monsieur and Madame Leboeuf warned us of speed cameras, we did not see any at all during our holiday. However, there are more Police cars and bikes on the major roads than we tend to see at home. As it was warm the Police riders' protection gear did not seem to be top-class, as they were riding in short-sleeved shirts - not the best if you come off!

This museum is very worth a visit, and the enthusiasm of this delightful couple and their love for the machines certainly shines through.

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The Musée de la Moto of Michel Lebœuf is at 16 rue Notre-Dame, 51210 Montmirail. Tel 0326 426963.