classic motorcycle forum

Deciphering the Albion gearbox numbering system is another thing altogether and isn't very helpful as you still have to deal with the slightly different versions of the same box which the numbering system doesn't seem to recognise.

OMG - I had a look at Albion gb numbers in the VMCC Register and quickly gave up. I could see no real pattern in the numbering, but I guess somewhere out there is/was someone who spent the time to figure it all out! Given Albion's involvement with bikes, mowers, and all manner of mechanical devices, I guess they made tens (hundreds?) of thousands of gearboxes in hundreds of different designs. But it certainly seems that the particular box we're discussing is indeed motorcycle, from the early 1930s.

Leon

Bit of a delay there... sorry about that.  Normal service will hopefully be resumed soon.....
(3 weeks of delay due to another project, and since then I've had health issues: currently working around a trapped nerve in my neck which is doing weird things to my left arm and hand).

However - I manage to struggle through a bit of workshop tinkering yesterday, after fixing the Flymo again (the choke butterfly had fallen off the pin, luckily the screw fell into the airbox instead of being ingested!)

I was trying to get the valve timing set correctly. 
After a bit of pissing about and accidentally completely $%^&&ing up the cam-wheel positioning while looking at the timing pinion I decided to be a bit more systematic about things.

Firstly I identified each keyway on the timing pinion

If you look closely at that photo, you'll see that what I id'd as "2", had a couple of punch-pin marks over it.  However, when I took the bike apart, it was set at position "1", so I can only assume that the pin punches marks were from a previous owner/build.

Just another photo of the camwheel.


The timing wheel again


The dial guages over the valves.


After MUCH tinkering:
- set timing pinion on key
- fit case
- tighten nut
- rotate and check valve-opening times
- repeat rotation
- remove nut
- carefully remove case to prevent cam-wheel jumping ship
and repeat....

I ended up with this information :


Moving the Camwheel one tooth forward or backward compared to the timing pinion gives an adjustment of approximately 17degrees, which I did on the 3rd and 5th keyways after seeing that the initial reading was quite a long way out. (Hence 2 sets of readings for those keyways)

Compared to the desired timings:


It looks like actually - position 5 gives the closest to the aggregated correct opening positions. : Exhaust somewhere between 70 and 65 before BDC, and inlet somewhere between 45 and 44 before TDC.

Once I'd found that "sweet spot".... I marked it!!


I then wanted to get the nut done up tight on the timing pinion, but was struggling to hold the crank while I did so.
So, I went furtling in the draw of odd tools.... and dug up this:


One of Dad's home-made contraptions.  an old primary drive chain cog with a bit of tube bolted loosely to it. It's far less usable than it looks....

So,  I set about improving it.
I figured it would work a lot better if the rod were fastened properly across the cog in 2 places, so set about drilling a new hole in the cog 180 degrees across from the original.

Explain this....



Making progress:


I went through a few of the smaller drills simple because the case-hardened cog was tough to get through with a cheap wood pillar drill!

Eventually I got to the point of drilling the second hole in the pipe - which went relatively smoothly.

Found some bolts (M6 coarse, from the box of metric oddments), and had a lot of fun (not) searching for a pair of nuts (I spent about 2 hours in all during the day furtling through the selection of metric nuts for different jobs).

The tool fitted - but the output shaft itself sticks out from the splines, so I needed to remove some material from the pipe where it crosses the cog.

I initially started drilling again, until the inevitable happened:


So I thought $%^&& it.


I don't like angle-grinders, but they are good for making a mess.

The finalised tool in situ:


Engagement of the splines is approx 90% - that's good enough for government work.


And the Timing pinion is TIGHT.
It's actually a left-hand thread as well, so theoretically, as long as the engine is "pushing", it should be doing itself up...



Next things are to re-adjust the valve clearances back to 0.002" and fully finish the timing chest fit-out. 
I think I left out a spacer on the cam-follower shaft, they're moving about too much and "clicking" as the crank rotates - I think it's just the missing spacer (friggin well hope so!), then properly fit the Timing case cover with it's gasket. I need to re-read my notes just to check the assembly.

I've decided to live with the slightly non-perfect push rods for now, but keep looking for replacements. They're relatively easy to replace and will just need the rocker-adjustments redoing to reset the clearances when replaced, ie it shouldn't affect the timing (I believe).

I'll probably also fit the other outer covers that need gaskets next, just so they're done, before mounting the Mag and setting the ignition timing.

Also used on the ultra-ultra cheap 98cc Villiers Midget powered machines brought out in 1931 to keep factories ticking over in the depths of the Great Depression. Excelsior were the first in April 1931 with their 14 guineas (!4 pound & 14 shillings) utility model 0, that's 0 for zero, not the letter O. When your normal range is all numbered models starting at Model 1 for the smallest, a 150cc bike, then how do you number the even smaller new 98cc model you're introducing? It becomes the Model 0.
Within weeks Coventry Eagle, Dot and Sun had also introduced their 98cc Midget powered bikes, all with the same 2-speed no kick starter box. Both Wolf and Gloria (name used by Triumph) followed on shortly afterwards. Reputedly it also sold in Continental Europe but I don't have any information on them.
The various road tests all emphasised how easy they were to start by just pushing off with your feet but very quickly the slightly more expensive kick start version of the same two speed box was offered as an extra.

So, that box could have come out of a number of makes until at least the middle 1930's. Information is sparse on all of them.

Deciphering the Albion gearbox numbering system is another thing altogether and isn't very helpful as you still have to deal with the slightly different versions of the same box which the numbering system doesn't seem to recognise.

Could be a “5”.

Does BF mean something?

Does anybody know where this gearbox (2 gears?) was used?

As it is not equipped with a kickstarter it might be a stationary engine.

Thanks!