Villiers attachment on 1950s Phillips

[Dockspa1]

Looks like a good fit to me Sianelle. By the way, if you need some dry carbide pellets, I have about a pound left from home made fireworks. I would imagine the seals are are shot in the lamp. I believe they were leather seals back then.
That engine looks heavy. I like the slanted fins.
Doc

 

[Sianelle]

Yes the engine is quite heavy Doc, - that cylinder barrel is cast iron afterall. Some engines have a beautifully fitted and finely machined cast iron piston too. Essentially the Villiers engine is a vintage design from the 1920s, the main bearings are long bronze sleeves with no seals and it's just the excellent machined fit of the shafts in those bronze bearings that keeps the gases in the crankcase. It is extremely rare to ever find a Villiers engine of this type with either a worn bore or sloppy main bearings, they are beautifully balanced and the materials used in their construction are top notch.
The downside of all that is of course that they are low reving engines and are not especially powerful, but they have excellent torque. Putting a tuned pipe on one of these Villiers engines is not really going to gain you very much 5-7HEAVEN because their porting and port design is very conservative indeed. I've owned Villiers powered motorcycles when I was younger, - Jemma would be familiar with 'Francis Barnetts', or 'Fanny Bees' as they were usually called. They felt very single cylinder 'thumper' to ride, not revvers at all and once the flywheel was wound up they'd cheerfully roll along on a wisp of throttle.

 

[antique-rider]

Sianelle, Thats a really cool engine, about the Whizzer rear sheave, from my experience it will be too small in diameter (to high gear ratio) if you go directly to the engine. it needs to be almost as large as the wheel rim itself. Whizzers are geared about 9.5 to 1 and thats after going through a counter shaft. and with a two stroke it will probably want to turn up higher rpm than the Whizzer. so mabey try for 15 to 1 ratio. some people haved used another rim for a sheave welded along side the wheel rim with good sucess.


....Bob

 

[Egor]

That is going to be a first rate looking motorbike when done. I can see you have an affinity for the classics, It is too bad they fetch such a large sum of cash these days. Nothing like a Greeves with a Villers engine, what a sound. Have fun Dave

 

[Sianelle]

That is going to be a first rate looking motorbike when done. I can see you have an affinity for the classics, It is too bad they fetch such a large sum of cash these days. Nothing like a Greeves with a Villers engine, what a sound. Have fun Dave

Thanks Dave. The Villiers engine in the second picture you posted is one I've been hunting for. It's similar to some I've already got, but it's fitted with a decompressor valve. I saw one recently in incomplete and grotty condition and it's owner was wanting far too much for it.
The motor in the old Villiers advert though, I've got one of those and an Albion handchange gearbox to go with it. It is being kept for a very special project

Antique-rider, - after much thinking about how to lay out a belt drive I'm going to do as you suggest and make use of a wheel rim to be my rear sheave. I did try to devise a way of rolling my own sheave from sheet steel, but really it's going to be an awful lot easier to make use of a narrow 26 inch rim and be done with it. I don't know if I'll weld the rim onto the wheel though. It would be better to devise six or so identical metal brackets and bolt the sheave-rim to the wheel rim as was done with this 1910 Shaw attachment. My brackets will need to be shorter of course, but the method will be the same.
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5761/1910sshawmotorbike1op8.jpg

 

[JemmaUK]

*huge pout*..

I would literally commit crimes for one of the old gate-box transmissions lol

and you are a bad influence on me ... its bad enough being able to name every vehicle in old films post about 1960... its worse to be able to recognise a Villiers stationary from the shape of the cowl plate and that double muffler exhaust... lol

hope your project is going well

Jemma xx

 

[Sianelle]

I was lucky with that engine and gearbox Jemma. A huge hairy biker person who'd thought it might make a fun project one day was cleaning out his garage and decided he had too many projects already. I was the only one to respond to the auction when it came up on Trademe.co.nz, but that may have been because the starting price was a wee bit high. I didn't care I just wanted the engine and gearbox because I'd been hunting for something like that for ages.
Ha ha - I don't worry about being thought a geek for being able to identify old iron from a long way off It's expertise in industrial archeology isn't it - or that's what I tell folk

 

[antique-rider]

It would be better to devise six or so identical metal brackets and bolt the sheave-rim to the wheel rim as was done with this 1910 Shaw attachment.

Yes Sianelle, that would be a much more authentic way of attaching the rim, mabey a 24" would work. By the way a friend of mine owns that Shaw, its really nice, but he won't ride it!! :???:

....Bob

 

[Sianelle]

Yes Sianelle, that would be a much more authentic way of attaching the rim, mabey a 24" would work. By the way a friend of mine owns that Shaw, its really nice, but he won't ride it!! :???:

....Bob

Why ever not! - that Shaw is an absolute honey and absolutely cries out to be ridden and enjoyed.

 

[Egor]

Sinelle - There are a set of planes for a bike that could be made today, it was published in the 50's PM magazine. It used a wheel rim for a drive sheave, the only thing you have to do is make the engine sheave larger or it will be low geared. your engine is rated at low HP so it might work out just rite. It would be a find if you could fetch an old rim with the short sides and wide, you could then possibly run a leather belt. In the article it said there was enough friction that the belt need not set in a tight grove, he just put a layer of rubber for traction. Have fun, Dave

PS: If you would like to see the article I think I can find the link.