Our Bike of the Month in April 2022 is truly a unique rarity:

Jean-Paul Charron, a carpenter by profession, had long dreamed of having his own motorbike, but could not afford one due to his financial means. 
So he decided to build one himself, simply using the material he knew inside out: Wood.
He chose walnut because it fulfilled the requirement of high strength and stability.

Equipped with a 500 cm³ Voisin engine and side valves, the wooden frame was completed with a solid metal tank and a Picard gearbox.

Small anecdote: in a collision with a legendary Renault 4CV, the wooden handlebar unfortunately broke off and had to be repaired with some metal parts and made roadworthy again.

The Charron was used daily until 1961, only when its owner no longer felt able to safely steer his self-built vehicle did he give the motorbike away to friends. 

It fills us with pride and joy to be able to offer this special motorbike a place of honour in our TOP Mountain Motorcycle Museum since March 2022 and thus make her accessible to our visitors from all over the world!