Made for Motoball: The Koehler-Escoffier 350cc Special

If soccer is the “Beautiful Game,” Motoball — aka motorcycle polo — is it’s wilder, more uninhibited little sister.

The sport was played for the first time in the French town of Dijon in 1929; it would later spread to England, the rest of France and the former Soviet Union. Essentially soccer on motorcycles — like the adapted 1936 Koehler-Escoffier 350cc Special you see below — Motoball is played on a regular soccer field by two teams of five players using a 15-inch-diameter ball that weighs about two pounds.

Moto (3 images)

The steed of choice for a number of French championship Motoball teams, the nine-HP Koehler-Escoffier was capable of hitting 50 MPH, though this particular model can likely go faster after being restored with upgrades like 19-inch wheels and parallelogram-style forks by Hero Motors.

And if you want a quick lesson in just what the hell it’s intended for, you can find a quick history lesson below.

Meet your guide

Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”