Velosolex 330: the Solex that grew to 49 cc

The Velosolex 330, introduced in October 1953, was the first Solex to use a 49 cc engine. It kept the frame of the original 45 cc model but raised output from 0.4 to 0.5 hp, and it remained in production until the Velosolex 660 replaced it in 1955.

Velosolex 330 at a glance

The 330 has no Wikipedia article of its own: the model is covered in the model history of the English, French and German articles on the VéloSoleX, which this page follows.

History of the Velosolex 330

A bicycle with an engine on the front wheel

The first production Solex of 1946 was little more than a bicycle with a small engine mounted above the front wheel. The 45 cc unit produced 0.4 hp (0.30 kW) and had no clutch, so the engine had to be restarted every time the rider came to a stop. It drove the front tyre through a roller held against it by two strong springs, and a lever on the handlebar lifted the whole engine block clear so the machine could be pedalled like an ordinary bicycle. That arrangement stayed the same through the whole life of the marque.

October 1953: 49 cc

In October 1953 Solex enlarged the engine to 49 cc and quoted 0.5 hp (0.37 kW), a modest increase meant to give the little moped a little more pull in traffic. The 330 used the same frame as the 45, so the change was in the engine rather than in the cycle parts. By then the wheels had already shrunk from 26 to 24 inches, in June 1952, and a main stand had been fitted as standard since 1951.

How it was ridden

The engine had no ignition switch. The rider started it by pedalling or pushing with the decompression lever held on the handlebar, and stopped it by decompressing the cylinder again. There was no twist-grip throttle either: a deceleration lever on the right of the handlebar, with a locking catch, worked the carburettor through a steel rod. The fuel tank sat inside the engine block above the front wheel, together with the ignition and the headlamp, and the exhaust ran down alongside the front mudguard.

Two years in the range

The 330 was replaced in 1955 by the Velosolex 660, which brought a new dedicated frame while keeping the engine unchanged. Its real legacy was the 49 cc displacement, which every later Solex used until French production ended on 9 November 1988. In all, the marque built around seven to eight million mopeds and sold them in some seventy countries, and the 330 belongs to the years when the little machine became the everyday transport of French schoolchildren, students and factory workers.

Design and features

• 49 cc instead of 45: the first capacity increase in the model’s history, with 0.5 hp (0.37 kW).
• Roller drive: the engine turned a roller pressed against the front tyre and could be lifted off so the moped became a bicycle.
• No ignition key: starting was by pedals or a push, stopping by the decompression lever.
• Cheap running: about 1.4 litres of two-stroke mixture per 100 km and a weight of roughly 28 kg.

Velosolex 330 versions

• Velosolex 330 (1953–1955): 49 cc and 0.5 hp on the old pattern frame.
• Late 330s: built with the 24-inch wheels and the main stand that had become standard in 1951–1952.
• Licensed production: Solex-type mopeds were also assembled in Geneva by Hispano Suiza until the mid-1950s and in Spain by Orbea; the sources do not break these down by model.

The 330 was replaced by the Velosolex 660, which took over its 49 cc engine, and the engine was updated again in the Velosolex 1010 of 1957. More mopeds are in the Velosolex collection.

Video: 1954 Velosolex 330 V2

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• VéloSoleX, English Wikipedia: model timeline, 45 cc and 330 specifications
• VéloSoleX, French Wikipedia: roller drive, decompression, braking, production
• Vélosolex, German Wikipedia: 1953 model, frames, wheels, weight, fuel consumption