French Motorcycles

Today in Motorcycle History

Perfecta Motorcycles

A Brief History of the Marque

1899. Engines of this brand powered Liberator motorcycles which were sometimes referred to as Perfecta-Liberator.

The firm was created by Alexandre Darracq to build cycle parts after he sold Gladiator, at considerable profit, to the English. In 1902 he began building quadricycles, tricycles and bicycles, and built motorcycles using their own 200cc engines. They also often used De Dion engines.

These machines were built in the Darracq factories at Suresnes, Seine, near Paris.

Later, the main office of Liberator & Perfecta Co. was located at 47, rue Cartier-Bresson, Paris.

In 1912, the parent company of both Liberator and Perfecta was the French company Métropole, same address.

There was also a Perfecta in Switzerland, 1946-1950

Motocycles Perfecta. Ces motocycles sont très renommés en raison de leur qualité supérieure à tous égards : les pièces les composant sont faites de métaux de première résistance, et leur forme est déterminée à la suite de longs calculs et d’expériences rigoureuses. Ils sont construits par M. Darracq, le créateur de la célèbre marque de cycles Gladiator, à sa nouvelle usine de Suresnes. Les motocycles Perfecta sont les seuls qui puissent résister impunément aux efforts excessifs des moteurs de course : Buchet k deux cylindres, Soncin-Ouzou, de Dion, Aster, etc., réalésés, etc., employés par des recordmans tels que Baras, Béconnais, Osmont, Marcellin, Gasté, Vasseur, Bardin, parmi les plus célèbres rois de la route. Aussi la saison 1900 ne sera-t-elle qu’un long triomphe pour cette marque, en raison de sa construction remarquablement soignée, surtout au point de vue de la solidité des assemblages et de la sécurité qui en résulte.


Perfecta Motorcycles. These motorcycles are very famous because of their superior quality in all respects: the parts composing them are made of first resistance metals, and their shape is determined following long calculations and rigorous experiments. They are built by Mr. Darracq, the creator of the famous brand of Gladiator cycles, at his new factory in Suresnes. Perfecta motorcycles are the only ones which can resist with impunity the excessive efforts of racing engines: two-cylinder Buchet, Soncin-Ouzou, de Dion, Aster, etc., rebored, etc., employed by record holders such as Baras, Béconnais, Osmont, Marcellin, Gasté, Vasseur, Bardin, among the most famous kings of the road. Also the 1900 season will only be a long triumph for this brand, due to its remarkably careful construction, especially from the point of view of the solidity of the assemblies and the resulting safety.
Source: Graffigny Ch. VII pp 123-128

Sources: Bourdache (pp 88, 96, 97), OTTW


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