classic motorcycle forum

Sorry R, the quote comes from the auction listing, and sorry again but the "no" was meant to indicate agreement with your comment! Clumsy...

My 1909 Lewis has the radiator in front of the fuel tank, but it's big and boxy and since the engine is only little (370cc-ish) it works ok. I've been on rallies with the WA bike (a 500) and I recall it was boiling a lot! Not sure if this was a design fault due to the small front area of the radiator, or whether it wasn't quite running well.

I'd be proud to own it, but have a shed full of Australian-made bikes already!

Leon

No, it's not an "Australian copy of FEB Bakers Precision Motor" but a motor built by F.E. Baker for Lewis. The motors were not branded Precision (they usually has Lewis cast into the crankcase, and were usually stamped "Made in England" - a posible clue), and the cylinders (even the air cooled ones) were different from those used by Precision: presumably this was a way of Lewis getting around the fact the A.G. Healing in Melbourne were the Australia-wide agents for Precision engines. The Lewis motors were shipped directly to Lewis in Adelaide.

Nice bike.

Leon

Edit: Should have added: the cycle parts (lugs, wheel hubs, forks, pedalling gear, brakes...) are British Chater Lea. Frames were brazed up and enameled at Lewis; plating was also done in house. The tanks were made my a local Adelaide tinsmith called Memmler. On this model, the whole affair where the tank usually goes comprises a water tank and radiator at the front, and the fuel tank is beneath the saddle. This necessitated a British B&B carb with a really long body to get the float bowl low enough so that the fuel could run into it. I've not seen this carb elsewhere, so like the engine it might have been a special build for Lewis.

AI has this to say -
The Albion HJR is the classic and well-known vintage mid-1930s middle-weight Albion gearbox featuring 3 forward speeds
and 1 reverse gear, commonly used in motorized three-wheel delivery carriers, light agricultural auto-trucks, and cyclecars.

I think I've seen one in a light car at a show someplace
Hence the reverse gear

If you pay them enough, someone is sure to take it off your hands  !!

Hello can someone tell me where this one was used?
And what is roughly the value of such a complete gearbox?
I am located in the Netherlands so if someone is interested….

Thank you for the response. I hope you diagnose the problem quickly.
I had a bit of a thing about lubrication of early valves and guides at one time and found it far more subtle than I expected. Looks simple but not so. The lubrication of inlet valves is entirely different from the exhaust. I'm talking single cylinder engines here.
A sticky inlet shows itself by ferociously sneezing back through the carb immediately before the engine stops as you've lost compression. Any lubricant introduced to solve the problem gets washed off by the incoming fuel so needs to be either continually applied (very messy with exposed valves) or be both a lubricant and fuel resistant (bloody nigh impossible). It took years to stumble upon high temperature silicone grease which combined with the basic design of my Matchless, (fixed head with valve caps and a simple penny in the slot valve cotter) made whipping out the valve for a quick grease every now and then an effortless doddle. Problem minimised if not entirely resolved.
The exhaust valve is different. As the engine has total loss lubrication via a Pilgrim pump and no oil control ring by design, (why do you need oil control when you keep pumping the stuff in anyway. An oil control ring doesn't help), you can appreciate that the exhaust valve has a constant light spray of oil coming past it. No lubrication worries there. Nevertheless I'd have these mysterious stoppages every now and then for which I could find no answer. By the time I rolled to a halt, got the bike off the road, took off my helmet, put it on its stand, blah, blah, blah it had cooled down enough to have compression back and start but immediately nip up again so the cycle repeated. It took a long time and repeatedly checking out possible fuel and ignition issues before the light finally dawned. A sticking exhaust valve. A quick clean of the valve stem and problem solved. And the occasional clean keeps it that way.

Same engine, same lubrication system, same valve set up, same everything but absolutely opposite problems. One valve hopelessly under lubricated and the other over lubricated.

No wonder I enjoy proper vintage motorcycles so much. So much challenge from such idiot simple components. They make you think.