classic motorcycle forum

We've talked quite a lot about vintage Excelsiors here, so when I saw a "1914 Excelsior Junior" for sale on ebay UK (actually just spruiking its sale at an upcoming Iconic auction) I was interested. The bike has a 269 Villiers engine and a Burman 2-speed box with ks. Very pretty indeed. "Pioneer Certificate eligible (but not included)" they say.

The only problem is it's not 1914.

When the same bike was sold in 2014 by Bonhams it was a "c1920 Excelsior" and "Offered with V5C (incorrectly registered 1914) for its Warwickshire number."

When it was sold again by H&H in 2017 it had magically become "1914 Excelsior Junior", with "PLEASE NOTE: This motorcycle dates from 1914 and not as previously stated."

Sell it again in 2023 and it's a "1914 Excelsior Junior" and "Pioneer Certificate eligible (but not included)".

For the record, in March 1919 Excelsior's first post war model was an Excelsior Villiers, with a "flat" tank, and the Motor Cycle stated, "This is the first time an Excelsior has been marketed with a Villiers engine." At the end of 1919 Excelsior announced that their lightweights for 1920 would have sloping tanks. And a 269cc Villiers with a "B" prefix would be a Mk III, built in 1920-21?

Why is memory so short? Where has the expertise gone?  Who was the genius who ignored many clues to redate the bike at 1914? Nice bike, though.

Leon

Bonhams Autumn Stafford Sale, 19 Oct 2014: "c1920 Excelsior" "Offered with V5C (incorrectly registered 1914) for its Warwickshire number."
https://www.bonhams.com/auction/21898/lot/279/property-of-a-deceased-estatec1920-excelsior-269cc-frame-no-tba-engine-no-a4634/

H&H National Motor Museum Sale, 2 June 2017: "1914 Excelsior Junior" "PLEASE NOTE: This motorcycle dates from 1914 and not as previously stated."
https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-136---1914-excelsior-junior/?lot=15636&so=0&st=&sto=0&au=389&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=1&pp=48&pn=3&g=1

Iconic Auctioneers NEC Classic Motor Show Sale 12 Nov 2023: "1914 Excelsior Junior" "Pioneer Certificate eligible (but not included)"
https://www.iconicauctioneers.com/1914-excelsior-junior-rec12712-1-nec-1123?pn=1&el=21134&pp=50

I thought Sparkbrook made the rather distinctive frame set that was used in lots of Villiers-engined bikes in the early 1920s, but I wonder if I'm wrong.

Bikes like Spark, Bownian, Warrior in the UK and Torpedo in Australia were all Villiers-engined bikes that are so similar I doubt they could be identified without a name on the tank. The front fork - very like early Triumphs - is called the "Gosport", and I would have called the whole thing "the Spark set" if I hadn't bumped into a c1922 Bownian (cheap bike made by Bown) catalogue page that says: "Frame set manufactured by Villiers Engineering Co. Ltd. All steel fittings."

Villiers made the frame set? True or false?

Has anyone seen an advert for the frame set?

Leon

The folks doing the catalogue for Shannons Spring Auction have gone into overdrive on lot 58: https://www.shannons.com.au/auctions/2022-shannons-spring-timed-online-auction/B5TX191B2Q4F6VBD/

With engine number 351/42256 (Villiers 9D, presumably) and frame number C1268, isn't the bike likely to be a Acme built by Bennett & Wood in Sydney rather than a product of the Chell Motor Company Limited of Moorfield Road, Wolverhampton?

I think we decided that 351 was the Villiers code for their 9D Acme motors - is there a date? I think some Acmes had frame prefix B and others C, but I'm not an Acme expert.

"The only Chell with an Australian history, the bike must be one of the rarest and most unusual British lightweights in the country and a great addition to any collector."

A story explaining how the owner spent $16,000 on the restoration 12 years ago would be fascinating.

Chell, or Acme?

[Edit: I wonder if the "42" at the start of the engine number means 1942? I've seen a later Acme with engine number 351/1287...]

Leon

Help please!

Meadowcroft's in Hobart, Tasmania sold several shipments of Remington motorcycles between January 1926 and 1929. They were mostly 1 1/2 h.p. (150cc) two strokes, but one shipment included lightweight Remington JAPs. Two speed gearboxes (Albion, I suspect - one of the bikes was registered as a 'Remington Albion'), with kick starter. So far as I can see, Remingtons were not sold anywhere else in Australia (or England) and I have no clue where the name comes from.

The wobble forks - a lightweight Triumph knockoff - were used on a few lightweights in the 1920s (Warrior comes to mind) but I have no idea who built them.

The Remingtons were British made, and arrived as complete bikes. Any ideas who made them?

Thanks

Leon

Does anyone know the origin of these unusual registration plates? Trade plates of some kind? The first bike is a racing Douglas, just pre WW1, and the second a rather nice ABC from a couple of years later.

Thanks

Leon

On 5 March 1930 a team lead by Alan Bruce set records on the Melbourne-Geelong Road, which was temporarily closed to traffic. Electronically-timed two-way-average speeds for the flying quarter mile were 109.75 mph solo (Jimmy Wassall aboard) and 95.75 mph sidecar (Alan Bruce riding, and "Titch" in the chair) For the sidecar record there was no time to change gear ratios, so the runs were done in 3rd gear.

I know quite a lot about the Rudge engine/gearbox, which came from a racing Rudge imported by Tommy Rogers in Melbourne. I've only just learned from the writings of Alan Bruce in the 1980s that the cycle parts were those of Jimmy Wassall's 1928 Matchless 350 Sports Solo, which Alan had built for him the previous year to ride at the Motordrome, a concrete saucer track in Melbourne.

Anyway, I can see the Matchless frame (somewhat modified with a big curve in the front down tube, and well strutted), Rudge forks, and Rudge motor and gearbox.

Can anyone identify the clutch and petrol tank? The tank has twin filler caps, and might be a cut-down Rudge item. It doesn't look very Matchless.

The bottom end of the motor survives. Has anyone seen the frame? (No pressure, 33d6!)

Cheers

Leon

I've been sorting out my petrol taps. Most of my old bikes use lever taps, so I don't know much about the sliding type with cork seals. In what era were the HexagON type (i.e. push the hexagonal end to turn fuel on) introduced? Very clever idea. Some are labelled CMC and others are both CMC and Enots. Who were CMC?

Thanks

Leon

I've had the pleasure recently of recommissioning a 1902 New Hudson that has not run for many, many years. Perhaps not for 110 years.

Although the bike has had a coat of paint some time - say 1950s - the painter was careful to paint around the New Hudson transfers on the tank. The atmospheric-inlet-valve Minerva motor has New Hudson cast in the crankcase, so I'd guess at least a dozen were built. The motor is like new inside, and still has its original valves and spark plug as shown in 1902 Minerva literature. The fuel tank is also Minerva, and features the Minerva version of the surface carburettor and the original Nilmelior high tension coil, made from wood and ebonite. The fuel used is Shellite, required for its high volatility compared with petrol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OgpzB2hQzg

Great fun.

Leon