Ducommun

We start the new year with a new find.  A reader from Belgium points out that the Ducommun motorcycle from Alsace looks very similar to the 1901 Royal Enfield,

In the recreation of the 1901 Enfield model it was discovered that the engine was not a Minerva engine as usually claimed, but a Ducommun. The company was established in 1834 in Mulhouse, which changed hands between France and Germany throughout the years, manufacturing rolls for printing fabric and later electrical equipment. In 1900 they produced a bicycle engine that attached to the front wheel. There is not much information out there about the company at the time, and the experiment appears short-lived, venturing quickly into producing cars for a while.

Incredibly, their Paris depot, in 18 Blvd. Magenta, is now a Kawasaki Dealer. There is an unrelated American company of the same name.