The Ole Bullet
What did you do during Coronavirus lockdown? Well, I decided to build a motorbike using only what I had lying about the shed on our old property near Beaudesert in Queensland.
Hanging on the wall of the shed for the last 25 years was a Phillips pushbike. JA Phillips had started building pushbikes in Birmingham in 1892, and they were built right through to 1970 when they became part of the Raleigh Group. By then they were also being made in Madras, India. By the mid-1950s, Phillips was also making a moped called a Gadabout, with telescopic front forks, 2-speed manual transmission and a pressed metal frame. They also built a more basic model with a tubular bicycle-style frame. This machine had a 49cc Rex engine, giving it 30mph and fuel consumption of 180-200 miles per gallon.
I’m not sure when my pushbike was built, but it was many moons ago going by the rod-and-crank system of the brakes, a lot of machining going into the setup, and all parts nickel-plated. I didn’t want to butcher the bike, so I made brackets using some boiler tube I had spare in the shed, with said brackets clamped onto the frame. Next I needed a large rear pulley for the right gearing – a smaller bike wheel was sacrificed for that. I would also need a light, thought I, for making my way home from the district pub after dark. I had a couple of carbide lights on the shelf, so selected the best one.
My ole Dad told me once that in his younger days in the 1920s, when coming come at night on a motorbike with carbide lights, he’d turn the water off about ¼ to ½ a mile from home – so when he put the bike in the shed, the light would go out. Otherwise the naked flame would be burning in the bike shed for some time. Higher up on the shelves in my shed I found an old hooter. All vehicles had to have horns ever since motor cars were invented – electric since the 1920s though BSA Bantams still had the old bulb-style horn in the 1950s. Next I needed a fuel tank. So from a half-dozen Seagull outboard motors in various stages of pulled-apart disarray I selected a petrol tank for mounting under the seat, to gravity feed to the old donk. I left said seat with its existing canvas-and-string repair job for effect.
Now to the old donk. A friend had given me two Villiers engines about 20 years ago. They’d come from Moreton Island where they had driven gen sets when there was no mains power on the island. One engine was seized, the other needed a valve grind and de-coke. I didn’t realise at the time it had no spark.
So the engine is a Villiers 1HP. The engine made in Ballarat, Victoria is an Mk10 with a bore of 50mm and swept volume of 98cc. It has a Villiers carburettor Type V. The belt appears to work all right, although is a tad out of belt line. I had to disconnect the rear brake to fit the belt. Once I get a spark to the donk, I’ll give it a go, with some bandages and pawpaw ointment at the ready, just in case. No throttle at this stage. The donk is governed, so will power up under load and I can short spark out via a brass lever beside the spark plug. So there we have it – my Coronavirus project, all made out of bits lying around the shed. That’s why every boy needs a shed. ■