classic motorcycle forum
Motorcycle Discussions => Identify these bikes! => Topic started by: R on July 19, 2026, 07:46:45 AM
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OK, whatizit ?
Looks a bit Waratah, but doesn't have the gearchange through the petrol tank.
And the forks look chunkier ?
Coming up for auction next month ?, so may be more details then.
Enough missing to keep the new owner awake at night ....
https://scontent.fbne5-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/748568222_1796919814999970_838114587227374269_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_tt6&cstp=mx2048x1537&ctp=s960x960&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=946e27&_nc_ohc=hnAfGCHmubYQ7kNvwH1FWNH&_nc_oc=AdrBsc8nGpxvg45271Ats07ehamqEF7w9WnYFBDWnC35VFmd76WSt4S9ttJf2Fj-zHk&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.fbne5-1.fna&_nc_gid=i98g2pvOTsLEitBXwkCJRw&_nc_ss=7b289&oh=00_AQAG6z-H2xGx6mrjqCG21_NkfOEULAvJB9j0eGGUxO1l4Q&oe=6A623580
A good tank clean may discern some remnants of a decal ??
Obviously been used for possum spotting !
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That tank decal looks to be Waratah.
So what year/model could that be ?
https://scontent.fbne5-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/740271888_1790259692332649_3312247724373031733_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_tt6&cstp=mx1537x2048&ctp=s960x960&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=946e27&_nc_ohc=kJQxXcJtFoUQ7kNvwH8uF5T&_nc_oc=AdofLX6NK3hWDvVLAjACoCBPj-BvovfkVgqOY22OIokNN5ZpHIP5_UWYEQCrAhoRAyI&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.fbne5-1.fna&_nc_gid=WIC_VlECCqNMaqjinRboCA&_nc_ss=7b289&oh=00_AQCIBQxBlIXEt4urO54Ivs6MFufhp1uL-brNhQ9Uhv8lew&oe=6A63556C
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Presumably the bike is in Australia?
The transfer on the right side of the tank looks to be Waratah, and the engine/gear unit seems to be Villiers 8D/9D... Waratah first had these bikes in mid-1937, and got them back after the war in mid-1946. Post war Excelsiors had the gear change through the tank, as did Waratahs that we know about.
Let's guess late 1930s, or 1946. Looking at the headlamp, I might lean towards 1946. But, as 33d6 has taught us, the numbers will tell!
Leon
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Apparently its coming up for auction - NSW
These are some pre-auction publicity.
Hopefully all will be revealed.
I'd opt for prewar, not sure that external gear lever was ever postwar on Waratahs ?
Anything is possible after 80+ years though.
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Just pre-war or just post-war is often a difficult call. There's a "1914" single cylinder, shaft drive FN current for sale here in South Australia - it's a lovely bike but I strongly suspect it's actually 1920-build. For FN the war was pretty clear cut: Liege was overrun, the FN factory was taken over for German war work and there were no motorcycles made from 1914 until 1920. The first bikes of 1920 were pretty-much 1914 models.
Not sure what happened at Excelsior, but they did manage to build 5000+ Welbikes during the war. The Excelsior/Waratah in question has some pre-war-ish features, like the gear change and the bolt-on rear subframe, but a hint of postwar with the headlamp and (maybe) the front fork. The other well-known Australian bike of the era was the Acme (much more Australian-made than the Waratah), and it used the Sackville pressed-steel fork pre-war and the Webb post-war, so maybe there is an element of that here. Some Acmes for the early war years (1940-ish) used the "modern" "bullet" Villiers headlamp rather than the old "tobacco tin".
So very hard indeed to spot differences between a 1939 model bike and the first bikes delivered in 1946, when getting stuff out the door was more important than adhering to a catalogue specification. The 1946 Waratahs and the 1946 Excelsiors may have differed: if there were left-over pre-war parts in the factory I know where I'd send them! Numbers will give more clues.
Leon
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Hmmm, not a whole lot more info !
https://australia.hibid.com/lot/312716531/original-waratah-barn-find--rare-sydney-made-bike
Lotta minor details are different to my 1945/46
Not sure its even worth that $500 opening bid.
But mabbe being 'rare' will make it worth it ?