classic motorcycle forum

You may think it better to fit the alternative 250cc Villiers engine Cov Eagle used that year in the same machine.
Just a thought.

While this might be a 'simple' solution, it entails shock horror gasp FINDING another engine, and PAYING for another engine. !!
And also ditching the original engine. Shock horror gasp again, etc etc.

And if all ?  that is missing is a couple of manifold studs, then this sounds to be well in hand.
Maybe ?

Vintage motorcycle chaps are well known for being a stubborn tenacious lot, so look forward to progress reports.
Cheers !

If 1/4in bsc is too slack try 9/32 bsf  .It is still 26tpi and just a 32nd bigger . I have used this size to repair a fair few 1/4 bsf  ,also 26tpi . the tricky bit is getting hold of good 9/32 taps and dies Geoff

You don't have the old studs to work off  ?
A thread gauge is near indispensable for this.

What happens when you try these sizes ?
They nearly have to be bsw or bsc   in 1/4".

Some marques (in the 1920s) were famous for 'developing' their own sizes.
Douglas for example used some 27 tpi.
But that was more the 1920s.

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.