Motorising a ladies frame???

Ah, the stand. Many traditional heavyweight roadster bicycles were originally fitted with a main stand of the type that pivots about the axle (or near to the axle) and raises (usually) the rear wheel clear of the ground.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/RearStand-1.jpg

It is my intention to equip this bicycle of mine with such a stand because they are just sooooooo good and have stood the test of time. They are extremely stable and one's bicycle simply cannot fall over.

Interestingly I am often mistaken for being Dutch due to my height and build. And to my great surprise I have even been asked by Dutch citizens if I am Dutch (I am in fact Irish/English). Apparently the way I speak has the hint of a Dutch accent to Dutch ears.
I am supremely confident that I will be able to start a Villiers engine without too much trouble as I have known and loved the wee beasts for many a year. Though I will confess that I have seen one of those clockspring starters in action and I must say I did like the concept. I can certainly see why your lady wife would be pleased to have one on the family motormower. Some of these wee Villiers engines have a crank handle starter which is much tidier and reduces the risk of accidently lashing an innocent passerby with the end of a starting cord. I shall have to have a hunt about and see what I can find.
 
So you do have a clutch of some sort, so that the thing won't run you down once it starts running (very undignified).This engine has what looks like about a 100 cc displacement and prob. oodles of torque but not exactly high revving.Which is fine.I read somewhere that in NZ duties on cars etc were ridiculously high,so all sorts of antiques were kept going,sort of like the Cuba syndrome.The Dutch typically speak English with a bit of an Irish lilt,I can spot them right away, spent some years in England as a child,beastly school uniforms,you're a marked sot &can't get away with anything.
 
A Villiers powermower engine in its natural habitat.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/VilliersPowermower.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/VilliersPowermower-2.jpg

Some of my engines have a nice robust centrifugal clutch, but otherwise I can just use the slipping drivebelt 'clutch' from the vintage sheep shearing machine engine baseplate. I have Villiers engines ranging from 63-98cc and all of them are low reving plodders which as you say is just perfect for what I want.
For a very long time NZ was home to all manner of aged motorcars due to new vehicle import regulations. The last car I owned until recently was a 1954 Morris Minor Series II that had been 3 times around the clock, but unfortunately massive imports of second hand cars from Japan in recent years have put huge numbers of older and much more interesting cars off the road. My Morrie went to a keen collector by the way and I only sold it with the greatest reluctance. (sigh)
 
This slipping belt type "clutch" was popular with early motorcycles in the US,they had no gears at all,can this work with a V belt?.You'll need some sort of actuator.The UK is full of old Moris Minors lurking around everywhere it seems.Apparently old Lord Nuffield absolutely hated it,would not go near one,odd to say the least.I visited an old friend there and got to talking about cars,and lo and behold, there was a MM sitting in his garage,a fairly late model with a one liter engine.He drives in on weekends,we took it out,handles&rides quite well for such a small car,not much power though but better behaved than my old swing axle,900cc rear engined Renault 4CV.He also had an ancient Austin 7,a comical, diminuitive vehicle,you had to sort of search for the engine under the bonnet.Just a year ago,I was staying with a cousin in Stratford and came to visit a friend of hers,a retired surgeon,he had a hobby restoring MM's,he was on his fourth! one,got quite proficient at it,had a big well equipped garage.Getting the body up to snuff was the hard part he said,the rest was relatively easy.
 
Hello Everyone and God+ bless.
nunny.gif


I've been very busy with church things and I just plain haven't had a chance to even think about bicycles for ages. However I had a wee spot of luck today and two somewhat down at heel Mixte 10 speeds have come my way for free (y)
After a great deal of time spent cutting and bending and measuring to get a Happytime into a traditional ladies bike frame I have to admit that I've had no success whatsoever. BUT with a Mixte frame it is quite a different story........
(this is NOT my bike btw)
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/MixteMotoredBike.jpg
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/MixteMotoredBike2.jpg

It is a tight fit, but fit it does and that means I can have a motored bicycle that I can ride while dressed in my Religious Sister's habit without getting myself either hopelessly tangled or immodestly revealed to the world :eek:

Now it's all the hard part. Rubbing down the frame and getting everything nicely painted, but at least now I'm onto a winner.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
srdavo said:
that's a tight fit, for sure.....but it looks like it "belongs" there.

nice job!!
Click to expand...

Yes exactly Dave :) Once I had discovered the Chinese puzzle sequence for getting the engine into place on one of my Mixte frames I was surprised by just how much it did look like it was made to fit.

(y)
 
Now that is a good looking bike. You gave me an incentive to find one for the misses. I went to a Catholic school and was taught by the Nun's there, I wish I had one that was a cool as you. I have to tell you a story. I was in the 7th grade and we had a Science fair, I decided to take my go Cart and use the engine to explain the workings of the internal combustion engine. With the head off I was rotating the engine over an showing the position of the valves and the movement of the piston. I then had this wonderful idea that I could show how the coil being passed by the magnet made current by having the class all hold hands and one holding the plug wire and the other touching the engine, Oh! I included Sister Helen Louise, bless her heart. I thought that It would diminish the affect of the current having so many people in the line, so I really gave it all the wally I had, and let her go. Well you should have been there, and I didn't get a bad grade ether. I wonder if I can still get into Heaven! LOL She later asked where I learned all that stuff, I told her that it was in our science book, I don't think she thought I was ever listening. I wish I could go back to that time I sure had fun. I have recently taken a large responsibility in a clergy leadership, So I too will be busy. Bless you for your dedication. Have fun, Dave
 

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