Deciding on a suitable motored bike for myself.

[Sianelle]

At least one of those engines is bigger than a 98cc . Are they all free turning or is it a case of judicial hammering to free the engine off?

hope you are ok

Jemma xx

Yes, fortunately all my engines are free turning and are in good enough shape to be of use to me without too much work. I haven't gone so far as to run any rulers over my engines yet so with some of them their exact capacity is still a mystery.
I have one of these engines too - and a 3 speed Albion gearbox to go with it
http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/3152/advert7la9.jpg

 

[Sianelle]

I found this interesting picture from an old 'Mechanics Illustrated' magazine....

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6864/threewheelbicyclecarag5.jpg

Very much a touch of the steampunk airship chic methinks
I know this borders on the edge of velomobile/streamliner/velocar type design, but as a wet weather motored bicycle-car vehicle I think it would be a lot of fun.

 

[Dockspa1]

Sianelle,
The pics of the one with the motor on the front, it would seem to me that you would be inhaling a lot of fumes since the exhaust is on top of the wheel. I thik that it wouldn't take much to differ this to a lower spot. Could possibly save you from getting sleepy and wrecking. Just my thoughts.
Doc

 

[Sianelle]

Sianelle,
The pics of the one with the motor on the front, it would seem to me that you would be inhaling a lot of fumes since the exhaust is on top of the wheel. I thik that it wouldn't take much to differ this to a lower spot. Could possibly save you from getting sleepy and wrecking. Just my thoughts.
Doc

I must agree with you Doc. There were a lot of things that interested me about that conversion, but the position of the exhaust wasn't one of them. I'd drop a pipe down beside the front fork leg and turn the outlet away from the front tyre.

 

[Sianelle]

After thinking about it I decided it might be a good idea to setup a Villiers engine on a suitable bicycle to test out the whole idea. I spent this afternoon gathering together parts and assembling a good solid test bed bicycle and I'm reasonably happy with progress so far.
What I did was take this unfortunate 1976 DT-1 Raleigh bicycle that has a bent top frame tube due to being crashed by its previous owner.......

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/1344/anniesraleighki2.jpg

....... and swapped over the mudguards, wheels, handlebars etc etc to this very sound and solid 1950s Phillips roadster's frame and forks......

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3506/bwphillipsso1.jpg

The resulting Phillips-Raleigh hybrid is parked in my bedroom beside me at the moment while I'm typing this and with a leather Brooks saddle and a darn good clean and polish it's looking a lot nicer than the donor bikes from which it was constructed. The mudguards will need to be rubbed down, repainted and lined out at some stage and the Phillips frame and forks could do with a few spot repairs to paintwork, but overall I think I've got myself a good test bed bike. The rear hub is a Sturmey Archer 3 speed with coaster brake and as usual for my bikes the SA hub is fitted with two different sized sprockets for easy gear ratio tinkering. Rims are English Westwood 26 x 1&3/4 and those Cheng Shin 26 x 2 x 1&3/4 tyres should be perfect for a motored bicycle.
The next stage will be devising and building a mounting bracket/motor mount on the front forks to carry a Villiers engine. The Phillips roadster forks have a forged steel crown and they are well made from decent steel despite their spindly looks. I have a set of sprung roadster fork braces which I'll fit to these forks as well for additional security. Due to the weight of the engine I intend to mount up a decent stand so I can park the bike without it crashing over onto its side......

http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/4707/rearstandhl7.jpg

....... Fortunately I have this substantial stand spare from when I converted my Indian made Hercules roadster into a tricycle.

I only have an optical camera so I'll need to get film developed before I can post any actual progress pictures, but I promise not to leave you waiting too long.

 

[Sianelle]

A further update.

Ok...... after much checking and measuring outside in the courtyard in the Spring sunshine I came to the conclusion that the best solution for my needs is to copy the Wall Autowheel.......

http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/9805/wallautowheel2sh0.jpg

This might seem to be a decision that's completely at odds with my earlier postings, but it's actually a logical progression (Hey, I'm a woman I can do logic how I like.....).
I have a good number of elderly English bicycles and the Villiers engine is no lightweight to mount in a frame. Rather than having to 'hack about' aged steel and possibly end up getting set upon by a mob of outraged vintage bicycle fanciers, the notion of fixing a powered 3rd wheel close alongside one's very nice old bicycle has a lot to recommend it.

Over 90 years ago, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle claimed to be involved in the introduction of a device which has an "enormous future…"

In the 11th November 1913 issue of ‘Cycling’ magazine, he states that they will soon be in use by the "hundred thousand" and will "give a boom to the cycle trade", nor will it interfere with the motor cycle trade for "the young fellow who loves power and speed will still prefer the motor cycle and the Autowheel will be a kindergarten device".

He then goes onto suggest that dad (paterfamilias) can put it on his bike for business, mum (mater) can put it on hers for a spin on Saturday, and one of the boys can fit it on his for the summer holiday.

"In a year or so they will be everywhere, they are cheap, effective and meet a popular want!"

A motorized wheel that you can buy to add to your bicycle and turn it into an instant 3-wheeler!

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/7264/wallautowheel1914wy3.jpg

The great advantage of an autowheel type of attachment is that it can be readily attached to anything in the way of a lightweight vehicle which would make it perfect for attaching to a tricycle or velocar as well. I would much rather have an attachment that I know works well and don't have to worry about it snapping spokes or trying to get clearance with a drive chain or belt past a tyre or the frame stays. Perhaps the most important thing is that the engine is mounted low which keeps the centre of gravity at a useful place for someone like me who isn't always steady on my feet.
I shall keep you posted as to developments.

On the 'Heritage Lane' forum there is an excellent thread about the B&S Cyclecar which used a close cousin of the Wall Autowheel as its driving force. It's well worth looking at.

http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=6132&highlight=buckboard

 

[flailer]

Wow! As found on this site

Was running search, and found the attached pic referenced on this site.

Amazing!

i LOVE it!






the thread i found this in is here:
http://www.motoredbikes.com/archive/index.php?t-7575.html\


And another


.

 

[luke]

hello
the pic is of a wall autowheel original made in the USA but made underlicence worldwide.they were made for quite a number of years from the tens into the twenties.the engine was also used in lawnmowers but i can not find a pic to post of one.
regards luke