100cc Villiers

Was getting my bikes out for the upcoming move. This bike hasnt seen the light of day for years. Thought I take a few pics. The build is basically finished, just a million little details. The Villiers is driving thru the bottom bracket directly to a clutch on the right side to a 3sp IGH.
I did something I have wanted to do but have never done, is to convert a coaster wheel to a front brake. Notice also where the rear brakes are. Should be a cool old school ride. Its a true 100cc. The old Villiers are smooth, torquey runners that dont rev overly high. The engine is an early 30s and the frame is a 36 Cleveland Welding step thru.This one may reach forty. Will be badly under braked at that speed, will keep it as an easy going 30ish cruiser.

 

[DAMIEN1307]

So the teething stage of the build is over.

That bike is STUNNING...Wow, really nice work.

 

[GW's Motorized]

What a beautiful bike. Was the bike rideable as a bicycle when you got it? If you wanted it to look a little more classic you could replace the fender support bolts with rivets or brass machine bolts. Overall an amazing bike and a tribute to a simpler time.

 

[Cannonball3]

Thanks for the kind comments!

I came to the conclusion on this build to just mix the old with the new. It makes a few concessions such as the newer carb, the Nexus hub and new fenders, but the heart of the build, the frame and engine have been left alone as much as possible. It came together well I think to represent a bygone era.

The frame is a work of art. The chain stays are flattened from round, and am guessing the joints are fillet brazed. The bottom bracket shows the frame must have been primered dipped as there is primer as far as can be seen into the tubing. It was built to last!
I never rode the frame to answer the question, but it certainly rides nicely as it is now. The engine was bought for the frame with a“it looks about right” decision, it looks like it was made for it. This one is a forever member of the stable.

 

[GW's Motorized]

Thanks for the kind comments!

I came to the conclusion on this build to just mix the old with the new. It makes a few concessions such as the newer carb, the Nexus hub and new fenders, but the heart of the build, the frame and engine have been left alone as much as possible. It came together well I think to represent a bygone era.

Mixing old parts with new parts just shows you've replaced some parts and the bike is cared for. It certainly looks better than if you took a set of banged up fender and slapped them on because "it's period correct," that would defeat the beauty of the rest of it

 

[Cannonball3]

Have finally gotten this one as near perfect as something like this can be. Its running great after a bit of finer carb development, making a better shift cable and a few other minor details. I finally arrived at what oil to run after reading a few publications from the UK. This applies to my Maytags as well.

The older engines rely on phosphor bronze bushings. Take away is a 20:1 mix of The Classic oils made for early engines. Didnt know they existed. These oils are zinc rich for the bushings. Im mixing 6oz of the 30wt with .5 oz synthetic blend 2stroke to hopefully help keep the ports clean.

I now see why all the info for oil mix ratios for the CG engines was for 20:1. The first CG engines I got 20 odd years ago were all bushing engines. Rollers on the rods big end only as I remember.
So any one running older engines like these might want to consider the old school approach to oils and ratios.

 

[Chainlube]

Have finally gotten this one as near perfect as something like this can be. Its running great after a bit of finer carb development, making a better shift cable and a few other minor details. I finally arrived at what oil to run after reading a few publications from the UK. This applies to my Maytags as well.

The older engines rely on phosphor bronze bushings. Take away is a 20:1 mix of The Classic oils made for early engines. Didnt know they existed. These oils are zinc rich for the bushings. Im mixing 6oz of the 30wt with .5 oz synthetic blend 2stroke to hopefully help keep the ports clean.

I now see why all the info for oil mix ratios for the CG engines was for 20:1. The first CG engines I got 20 odd years ago were all bushing engines. Rollers on the rods big end only as I remember.
So any one running older engines like these might want to consider the old school approach to oils and ratios.

I have an Evinrude Mate 2 and the recommended oil is 30w, 25:1.

 

[Cannonball3]

I have an Evinrude Mate 2 and the recommended oil is 30w, 25:1.

I would run what ever ratios specific instructions your engine maker indicates. However I had a early 60s Johnson V4 that indicated a similar ratio. The outboard dealer recommended 50:1 with a good outboard oil, which I ran for years with no issues. I think with the very early bushing engines, particularly with cast iron pistons, more oil is indicated. I have run the Maytags on various ratios and oils as lean as 40:1 with no seeming harm. I will run the 30 wt zinc oil from now on. It actually doesnt smoke like I thought once completely warmed up. I had a British Seagull outboard that ran 10:1! 12.8 oz per gallon! Also had an early EzGo that ran 128:1. Depends on how they are designed.

 

[Chainlube]

I would run what ever ratios specific instructions your engine maker indicates. However I had a early 60s Johnson V4 that indicated a similar ratio. The outboard dealer recommended 50:1 with a good outboard oil, which I ran for years with no issues. I think with the very early bushing engines, particularly with cast iron pistons, more oil is indicated. I have run the Maytags on various ratios and oils as lean as 40:1 with no seeming harm. I will run the 30 wt zinc oil from now on. It actually doesnt smoke like I thought once completely warmed up. I had a British Seagull outboard that ran 10:1! 12.8 oz per gallon! Also had an early EzGo that ran 128:1. Depends on how they are designed.

Yea, I was commenting more on your 30w for two cycles than the ratio, back in the day, that's all we had. There were no fancy 2t oils then. I don't remember ever seeing an oil related break down. Heck, I can even remember my dad putting oil from the car in, to run his chainsaw.

 

[Cannonball3]

Yep 30wt was commonly used. I used to drive Saab 2strokes. It was common to use 30wt except if you could find Saab oil which must have been concentrated as you used less of it. The main issue with using motor oil was coking of mufflers and exhaust ports. The Saabs coked the front muffler. You could tell as the car lacked power and was quieter than normal. Cure was to remove the muffler and set into to a charcoal fire for several hours. Then lightly beat it to loosen the burnt coke and shake it out. This worked with coked motorcycle mufflers also. Look at the Villiers ports in the earlier pics, almost totally shut. Thats my theory of adding some two stroke oil to the 30wt mix.