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41
British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by cardan on May 24, 2026, 10:33:33 AM »
Quote from: cardan on May 22, 2026, 07:52:30 AM
... it mostly used the same remote lever in a tank-side gate as the horizontal "Gen 2" (mid 1915 to 1919).

It didn't, actually: the Gen 3 has a Gen 3 lever. But no matter...

Up until 1923 all Albion gearboxes were "lightweight", to suit motors like the 269 Villiers and the 293 JAP. For 1923 Albion introduced the "featherweight" box, a 2-speeder for engines with "Max 2 h.p." - 200cc. It looked just like BF436 (the subject of this thread), but had a remote lever, so no lug on the box for the lever. I think that came about 1925, but you could get plain, clutch, and clutch+ks versions from the beginning.

So there were Albion boxes that looked just like BF436 from about 1925.

Leon
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British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by cardan on May 22, 2026, 07:52:30 AM »
Yes the lubricator is a ripper, but I could imagine having a ritual where the oiler was filled before each ride and allowed to slowly drip in just to keep things topped up. Looking at period illustrations and survivors is seemed to last only for a couple of years after WW1.

Re the longevity of the boxes themselves, I call the model illustrated above "Gen 3": the first of the vertical boxes. It ran from early postwar (say 1919 but effectively 1920) to the end of 19221, and it mostly used the same remote lever in a tank-side gate as the horizontal "Gen 2" (mid 1915 to 1919). For 1922 there was an entirely new arrangement, with the gear change mechanism coming out of the front of the gb case rather than the end cover, with new change levers to suit.

Of course in Australia we often ran a bit behind the times. For example the 1922 models from Elliott Payneham here in Adelaide used the last of the 269 Villiers engines (Mk V) and the ageing horizontal "Gen 2" Albion gearbox. The gearbox was shown in their not-very-clear line drawing, listed in their parts list, and has survived on a couple of very original 1922 survivors. The saddle tank was pretty modern for 1922 though.

Leon
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British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by 33d6 on May 22, 2026, 03:07:43 AM »
I like the oil filling system shown on those ads. A hollow mounting bolt with a cycle lubricator on top. I wonder how long it took to fill the box through that.
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British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by R on May 21, 2026, 06:18:44 AM »
Offered for longer than that short period

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British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by cardan on May 21, 2026, 01:43:39 AM »
Thanks for all the info, 33d6. Fascinating. (Yeah, it's probably sad to be fascinated by Albion gearbox numbers.) I went back to the VMCC Register and I see less chaos now I get the B, BA, BAA thing. Boy they must have made a lot of gearboxes. Have you ever seen a guess at the total number?

Mixed in with the "usual" numbers there are prefixes like MON, but if you allow the possibility that (say) Monet Goyon might have been amongst the thousands of customers who used Albion gear boxes... it makes me worry less. I certainly don't intend to pursue the serial numbers further.

From my perspective, I'm specially interested in the veteran and early vintage end of things. I think I have the nailed the early progression, from the early "flat" boxes (with the main and lay shafts in the same plane) through to the first of the "vertical" boxes (with the shafts above one another), which seem to have started post WW1, and their various change lever configurations. I suspect the switch was pragmatic: the vertical boxes were shorter, and could be squeezed into frames designed as direct belt drive. At the Bendigo swap meet last year I saw a 2-speed Albion box that was labelled "Levis". I pointed out to the seller that the word Levis was not cast into the gearbox itself, but into an adaptor that sat atop the box to allow it to bolt straight into the single-speed Levis frame. Of course I had to get to the bottom of that puzzle when I got home - see below.

Cheers

Leon
46
British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by 33d6 on May 20, 2026, 07:23:21 AM »
It’s got a rocking pedal foot change on the other side. Pretty simple with a two speed box. No fancypositive stop arrangement needed. Push down as far as it will go at one end for low gear. Push the other end down as far as it will go for high gear. Let it flap around in the middle for neutral.
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British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by R on May 20, 2026, 06:19:58 AM »
I've been pondering what does that bike do for a gearchange ?

Can see the cute little (foot) brake pedal there....
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British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by 33d6 on May 20, 2026, 03:09:13 AM »
Yes, the awkward mudguards are a common mistake and so easily avoided.
The reason is obvious. The restorer has used a common aftermarket 'universal' 19" guard. These are generally made to suit heavier bikes with up to 3.50x19" tyres. These give a total diameter of 26" when fitted. On the other hand all these lightweights use 2.75x19" tyres (BSA Bantam size) giving a total fitted diameter of 24.25". Using a guard intended for the larger diameter is just wrong. The near 2" clumsy gap when installed is wildly obvious no matter what you do.
If you're not willing to spend money to get them right then using Bantam guards or some other lightweight guards as a foundation will give you a much better look than wrong size aftermarkets. They are at least made to suit the same size wheels.
There are other points that I'd comment on if I was a concours judge but overall I'm pleased the bike was restored at all. I'm grateful for his efforts.
I think it's too over restored for a bike whose great selling point was how cheap it was and why fit the fancy Francis Barnett only flywheel cover, but that's just me. 
49
British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by Rex on May 19, 2026, 10:13:53 AM »
The pretty little bike in the pic-
nothing worse than mudguards which don't follow the tyre properly, although I suppose the builder would argue that he couldn't get a better fitting 'guard at the time.
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British Bikes / Re: Albion gearbox BF436 - where used?
« Last post by 33d6 on May 19, 2026, 07:43:11 AM »
Well, two questions.
How many Model ! Excelsior do I have? One on the road and enough parts, frames, forks, tanks etc to build the full set with all engine and gearbox configurations. Over the years I've run the various combinations at one time or another and currently I have the i72cc Sport engine fitted with a 2 speed box. I have the 3 speed box but it isn't much of an improvement as it has the same ratios as the 2 speeder plus a lower first gear. This is only of use on the most desperate of hills. Of little practical value for normal road use. I have the internals of an early Albion 4 speed lightweight box but am still looking for the right casing. That should make things interesting. Hand change of course, got to keep things entertaining. The original plan was to have the full set on the road but other projects plus creaking bones and joints keep getting in the way.

Leon, the box id numbers seem to have have nothing to do with the year of manufacture. Being a proprietary item as with Villiers engines they didn't make annual changes and just kept making them whilst there was a viable market and in some cases seem to have stopped production and started again if sales picked up. I don't know all the subtleties of whether they avoided confusing letters such as O or I.
My info takes us a few steps further forward but there's still a long way to go. 
 
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