Gillet-Herstal Supersport (1929)

illet    1929   “Sport”  498 cc OHV        frame & engine # 31835

The first Gillets –  built in  Herstal near Liege, Belgium – were designed by  Fernand Laguesse and brought out in 1920.
They  were  unit-design 300cc  two-strokes with belt drive.
The design was simple, rugged and reliable and soon the company was an established and successful motorcycle manufacturer.
Many long-distance runs were made and the two-strokes were very prominent in races.
From June to December 1926 two Frenchmen rode their Gillets for a distance of 25,000 kilometres and covered almost all continents of the world.
No real problems occurred with the machines and from December 1926 the venerable  two-stroke was named the “Tour du Monde”.
A  84 x 90 sporting 500 cc four-stroke, the “Sport”  was designed by  brother Armand Laguesse and presented  at the end of 1926.
In 1928 some models got saddle tanks and  a racing version of  the  “Sport” model  broke many world records at the Monthlery track in France.
Some new features  for  model year 1929 were saddle tanks for all models,  the enclosure of the pushrods and rockers and the  repositioning of the gear change rod to the nearside of the engine.
This  change necessitated  a cutaway in the oil tank. Various Belgian manufacturers choose the best of both worlds as far as proprietary parts were concerned.
That meant choosing Bosch for lighting and Amac for carburetion  with Gillet.
This Dutch-registered, purposeful looking Sport is fitted with Lucas   magneto, the  lighting  system is powered by the battery.
She’s been restored with care and goes very well.