classic motorcycle forum

I knew I had some info on Sturmey Archer engines somewhere and it has taken me a while to put my hands on it.
Each letter tells a story and identifies what manufacturer the engine was made for.
Your engine number is DPRO CE203.
The code is as follows,
First letter, identifies engine type & capacity. D = 496cc, b&s 79x101(inside flywheel).
Second letter, P=Pushrod (ohv)
Third letter R = rear mounted magneto
Fourth letter identifies lubrication type. O= Dry sump with internal double acting pump

In 1931 Sturmey Archer introduced a letter code to identify the user of the engine. CE = Coventry Eagle

Finally, Sturmey Archer started their engine numbers at 101 so by my reckoning this engine would appear to be a 1931 500ohv engine supplied to Coventry Eagle. I think you have a Coventry Eagle.
So far I have found that Sturmey Archer sold engines to Dunelt, Coventry Eagle, Cotton, Rex Acme anf Ransome Sims & Jeffries for lawn mowers!
Cheers,

Hi Don,
Pity you can't put any more pictures up.It looks to be an interesting bike.
I suspect your hand change is an early 30's footchange box as it appears to have an early positive stop arrangement built in to it. This sort of arrangement appeared on Sturmey Archer and other makes in the early 30's until the makers cleaned up their boxes and concealed the positive stop in a much neater fashion.
What I can see of the frame appears interesting as it seemss to be an all welded/brazed frame without the use of the usual cast lugs. About the only prewar bike I know of that did this was the SOS.
All in all it looks like it could be something really good. Can we have more photos please?
Cheers, Bob

Well, after all the discussion back and forth we all have some photos to look at.
It's very interesting isn't it.
I have no idea who made it but it has all the hallmarks of a one off special.
It looks like a DOHC arrangement but certainly nothing from any commercial manufacturer.
I think what you have is exactly what it says, a HRG and my deepest respects to the builder. I admire people who can build their own engines. So far my biggest effort in own engine building is a single cylinder three port two stroke and that was more sweat blood and tears than I care to remember. To build something like the HRG is monumental.
Cheers,  

It's a two stroke Triumph Junior, probably the first 225cc version. First brought out in 1914 (not a good time) and continued after WWI until 1923 when it was upgraded to a full 250 but fizzled out a few years later.
From the ladies dress I'd say an early model rather than later.
Where do you find these photos? As a rider of vintage bikes rather than 'classics' and moderns I really enjoy them. This one is so good I'd swear it was taken by a professional. It's far better than the usual Box Brownie snap shot isn't it.
Cheers, Bob

The prefix 364 on the engine denotes an engine supplied to Norman in the period 1946-48'
The usual book people refer to for this type of information is  Villiers Singles & Twins by Roy Bacon. It is very good but he makes it very clear he could not find a complete list of all Villiers identification numbers and this is one of those that is'nt in his book. In fact he even makes a small error claiming Norman used the prewar and wartime 9D prefix of AAA. Villiers stopped using AAA for their postwar 9D, and included them in their complicated postwar system which you need to read Bacon extensively to understand. Villiers didn't make identification of their engines an easy task!!
Luckily the Police in my home state in Australia erected their own list of engine numbers for their own mysterious policeman reasons. That list includes some of the Villiers numbers Mr Bacon couldn't find and I have a copy of it.
I'm pleased to tell you that your engine was supplied to Norman and that Normans did a bit of badge engineering and also sold the Norman out here as the Roamer. an identical bike except for the tank transfer.
It would appear you have a 46-48 Norman.
Best of luck with it.
Cheers,

This is a fun one. That 9D Villiers engine was extremely popular and was used by literally dozens of manufacturers in its day. It ran from 1935 to 1948 so we at least have a rough date for the bike.
Several makers favoured the backwards facing exhaust style in the late '30's including Wolf, Pride&Clarke and Excelsior. That particular style looks very much like that favoured by Excelsior as does the petrol tank, but as mentioned above , the frame is slightly different so who knows.
Could I suggest very carefully using some fine wet and dry paper on the tank to look for the makers transfer. Sometimes they leave a faint shadow that you can read if you slowly and carefully take off the surface rust. If you rub too hard you go straight through the shadow so gently does it. Otherwise how about finding the frame number and we see what we can work out from that.
Cheers,

I suspect its a Royal Enfield two stroke.
Royal Enfield made a very nice 225/250cc two stroke in the 20's and 30's. That one looks like one of the earlier two speed 225cc models from the early, mid 20's.
Cheers,