As one of the lists Herse fans, I thought I'd mention that Herse in perhaps his first catalog (late 40's?) shows a ladies bicycle with a pretty fancy motor built onto it. As I understand it, motorizing even a top-tier French touring type bike was in vogue at a certain time in the late 40's or perhaps 50's. If I recall a conversation I had with a French bicycle expert, the famous builder Daudon (I could be mistaken on the name of the builder here) basically phased out most regular bicycle building and took up exotic work on these strange bicycle/motorized contraptions.
As for me, the thought of imposing the smells of a 2 stroke engine and the noise on an otherwise tranquil spring morning makes no sense. Then again, for many folks the idea that someone would enjoy a brisk morning climb up a 2,000 foot mountain is equally silly. Mike "starring at the mountains in Boulder" Kone