Steve McQueen, 24 hours VeloSoleX-driver spills it.

"When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting." - Steve McQueen, Le Mans (1971)



With this memorable quote, the king of cool sets things straight in the cruel world of 24 hours racing. Even though the film is mostly about Porsches and Ferraris, the famous line goes beyond racing with gas pedals, seat belts and four wheels.

McQueen, a reknown motorcyclist, was riding some quality French gear during the filming of Le Mans, as seen on these pictures:

Giant Centipedes don't take lightly on an endorsement from racing icon #1, hence our banner at the top of this site.

"When you're grinding, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting." - Giant Centipedes, 2009

Pimp My SoleX, Superman!

Danish superhero 'Duksedrengen' is here seen riding his supercharged silver sparkle VéloSoleX whilst bashing Copenhagen scum:


The tv series Duksedrengen set Danish tv sets afire in the late 80’s featuring a fast SoleX and signature good guy/bad punk dichotomy whose like had not been seen since WWII.

In 2002, the series inspired a Comic book telling the tale of French moped superiority to a much younger generation:

We are yet to see Warner Bros. picking up on the idea and presenting Christian Bale with a BatSoleX 5000 in 2011.

"Duksedrengen. Bringing SoleX to the masses since 1989."

VéloSoleX-touring: Siblings-in-Arms attempt to cross the world!

We are both glad and mad to see that there is serious Vélo-touring competition in the world. French Ophelie and Paul-Henri Vanthournout are right now taking on an immense journey, planning to visit more than 20 countries on their fierce 3800's:

A picture taken of the two globetrotters in Spain before they leave for South America:

Their site avelosolex.com is available in French, Spanish and English and, as far as their English posts go, they're now hitting the roads of Chile.

Crossing the Andes supposedly was a hassle with less than one Hp and a fine selection of heavy spare parts and outdoor equipment!

We salute these French siblings and will keep this site updated with news from the world-touring grindermen.

Endorser of the SoleX turns 75!

On the 28th of September, French actor, model and mopedist Brigitte Bardot turned 75.

Giant Centipedes salute her and her sound choice of transportation with these pictures:

Royal means of transportation

With great power comes great responsibility. That also goes for the Danish prince consort, Prince Henri - the Danish/French equivalent to Queen Victoria's spouse, Prince Albert. Here he is seen heading out for a match of tennis on his original 3800 near the Royal summer resort.

Giant Centipedes never miss a chance to celebrate and honour the Royal Family. During preparations for the Scandinavian Tour in '08, the black velo was fitted with a portrait of the Crown Prince, his Australian wife-to-be and their son all dressed up in traditional greenlandic clothes:

The idyllic nature of the portrait has, however, after a few thousand kilometres, somehow faded:

More pictures of the royal 3800 follow on this link.