Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?

[Albion EJ]

Does anybody know where this gearbox (2 gears?) was used?

As it is not equipped with a kickstarter it might be a stationary engine.

Thanks!

[R]

i see BF456  ?

Not that it makes much difference in identifying them by number from the gazillions of types ....

[Albion EJ]

Could be a “5”.

Does BF mean something?

[cardan]

There were many variants of Albion boxes! This is the 2-speed + clutch variant. In the 1931 catalogue for "Albion Midget Gear Boxes" this model (identical?) was referred to as the BJ. I know nothing, but maybe BF was an earlier model, say 1927?? In 1931 the EJ gave 3 speeds + clutch + ks.

Anyway, no reason it couldn't go into a bike from the 1920s, although Australian made stuff (for example, I'm thinking Waratah) tended to offer 2-speed no-clutch for a base model, or fancy 3-speed + clutch + ks. Although by 1927 maybe even the basic 2-speeder needed a clutch.

Also, chain final drive was taking over from belt around 1927.

Leon

[33d6]

Also used on the ultra-ultra cheap 98cc Villiers Midget powered machines brought out in 1931 to keep factories ticking over in the depths of the Great Depression. Excelsior were the first in April 1931 with their 14 guineas (!4 pound & 14 shillings) utility model 0, that's 0 for zero, not the letter O. When your normal range is all numbered models starting at Model 1 for the smallest, a 150cc bike, then how do you number the even smaller new 98cc model you're introducing? It becomes the Model 0.
Within weeks Coventry Eagle, Dot and Sun had also introduced their 98cc Midget powered bikes, all with the same 2-speed no kick starter box. Both Wolf and Gloria (name used by Triumph) followed on shortly afterwards. Reputedly it also sold in Continental Europe but I don't have any information on them.
The various road tests all emphasised how easy they were to start by just pushing off with your feet but very quickly the slightly more expensive kick start version of the same two speed box was offered as an extra.

So, that box could have come out of a number of makes until at least the middle 1930's. Information is sparse on all of them.

Deciphering the Albion gearbox numbering system is another thing altogether and isn't very helpful as you still have to deal with the slightly different versions of the same box which the numbering system doesn't seem to recognise.

[R]

This one has been shown here before
Gosh that gearbox is tiny !



Leon commented then on how shiny it was, and on the curvature of that front guard...

[cardan]

Gosh that gearbox is tiny !

Not just tiny... officially "midget"!!

I'd not realised the Excelsior version used foot change, something usually seen only on Isle of Man racers at the time! When hand change was used, there was a simple lever pivoting between the main shaft and the clutch cable boss - no external gate as used during the 1920s. Cheap and cheerful.

Edit: Here's a less shiny one https://www.andybuysbikes.com/archivehtml/6625exc.html# - foot change below

Leon

[cardan]

Deciphering the Albion gearbox numbering system is another thing altogether and isn't very helpful as you still have to deal with the slightly different versions of the same box which the numbering system doesn't seem to recognise.

OMG - I had a look at Albion gb numbers in the VMCC Register and quickly gave up. I could see no real pattern in the numbering, but I guess somewhere out there is/was someone who spent the time to figure it all out! Given Albion's involvement with bikes, mowers, and all manner of mechanical devices, I guess they made tens (hundreds?) of thousands of gearboxes in hundreds of different designs. But it certainly seems that the particular box we're discussing is indeed motorcycle, from the early 1930s.

Leon

[33d6]

The numbering is actually quite simple. It just doesn't necessarily give you the information you seek.
Rule of thumb is as follows. The first letter usually broadly identifies the type of box. I'll use an imaginary Type "A" box, possibly even the second letter so you might have an "AB" box.  Albion then used a batch numbering system so their boxes were numbered in batches of 999 using an alphanumeric system. The first batch would be AA 001 to AA 999. The second batch would be AB 001 to AB 999, third batch AC 001 to AC 999 and so on finally up to AZ 001 to AZ 999 whereupon they would just add another letter, now AAA and start again, AAA 001 to AAA 999 then AAB 001 to AAB 999, AAC 001 to AAC 999. Finally when they arrived at AAZ they would start again at ABA to ABZ then ACA to ACZ and on it goes.
This is more of a factory internal numbering system so they could keep track of internal production than an individual box identifier. As minor variations seem to have been carried out within each batch to suit various buyers it's not necessarily much help for outsiders to identify exactly what bike an individual box was made for. Albion knew and the original buyer knew but our chances of finding out 90 years later are slim.
I found all this out with my 1929 2 speed Excelsior Model 1. The original box was badly cracked so I found an identical replacement and restored that. When I came to fit it I found the identical top mounting arrangements were actually 1/4" further away from the centreline than the original. The primary chain alignment was 1/4" out. It was an entertaining exercise safely moving everything to suit.
Any questions?
 

[R]

Any questions?
 

Just how many of these little beasties do you have !



In this neck of the woods there used to be an annual 2 stroke (only) rally.
Sounds like you could supply half the participants ...

[cardan]

Any questions?
 

Brilliant! I have questions!

Do you have a spreadsheet? I love a good spreadsheet.

So take 1931 for example. Here's p1 and p2/3 of the spare parts list for 1931-on Midget gearboxes. They call the non-ks model "B.J.", and the model with ks "C.J.". The part numbers are like BJ1/BJ2 and CJ1/CJ2 for the cases.

Was the first number for 1931 BJ001, or BA001? I assume BJ001?

In which case, were there 9000 "B model" gearboxes built before 1931 - numbered BA001 to BI001? (From my BTH magneto spreadsheet I found that BTH skipped the letter "I" in their dating codes, to avoid confusion with the number "1". Maybe Albion skipped I, too.)

Cheers

Leon