EXCELSIOR UNIVERSAL
Once upon a time, simple two-strokes were appreciated for their light weight, easy manoeuvrability, reasonable running costs and affordable purchase price. It’s déjà vu all over again, says Steve Hodgson…
Once upon a time, simple two-strokes were appreciated for their light weight, easy manoeuvrability, reasonable running costs and affordable purchase price. It’s déjà vu all over again, says Steve Hodgson… Photos by Steve Hodgson
We have a saying around here that bikes find you, rather than the other way round. That’s what happened with my Excelsior Universal 150cc Villiers two-stroke – known as Wilf. Back in 2012, a pal who is also a devoted Italian tiddler fan happened to mention that a gentleman in the London area (yes, there are a few!) had an Excelsior tucked away in the midst of his scattered collection.
For some strange reason I have always been attracted to the wonders of Bayliss and Thomas, better known as Excelsior. This grand old company goes way back to 1874 in Victorian times and continued building bikes right up to its demise in 1964. My memories are only post-WW2, when Excelsior were one of the many small motorcycle manufacturers who concentrated on lightweights. There’s not much literature about this marque, but TJ Liversidge’s book, Excelsior: The Lost Pioneer, is a very informative and interesting read. ‘It’s in pieces,’ reported my friend. Oh dear, here we go again… I rang
the gentleman in London and he explained that it was a 1950s bike of unknown pedigree, and was more or less all there. Over the next few weeks he sent me photographs of the parts as he unearthed them. I became convinced that it would be worthwhile trying to save this unloved lightweight. My pal and I drove down from the sunny north-east to the deep south and, sure enough, there it was: the ultimate kit-form motorcycle. Both wheels had been re-spoked and their rims powder-coated deepest black. The rest of the bike wasn’t like that in the least, unfortunately, but the rebuilt wheels were a bonus when it came to saving money on the rebuild.
The Excelsior seemed to consist of what was obviously one set of cycle parts with a glut of engine and gearbox bits, broken down to their tiniest components. This looked like a case for Sherlock Holmes, but fortunately an up to date V5C came with the kit which advised that it was indeed an Excelsior Model U8, first registered in March 1959. ‘U’ stands for Universal and the ‘8’ referred to its 1958 build date. That was the last year of the older style cycle parts, and the U8 was the only model which used the Villiers 30C engine, and for just one year. Earlier 150 engines were Excelsior’s own and later engines were the Villiers 31C, a more modern 9E lookalike.
I decided to limit the cost of the rebuild by carrying out as much work as possible inhouse, including the painting, with the aim of transforming it into a tidy, practical, little bike suitable for classic events. My aim was to have it ready for the 155 mile Beamish Reliability Run on Father’s Day in June 2013. Strategy sorted, the task started.
After a quick assessment of the various engine and gearbox parts, I concluded that I had an original 30C 150cc engine along with the makings of a 6E 197cc engine, plus about three 3-speed gearboxes, clutches, etc. Since the 150cc engine matched the frame and model type, I decided to keep it original and resisted the temptation to uprate. The petrol tank looked in good fettle, all bright and shiny inside. The frame, mudguards, tool boxes and chainguard were very sound, so all the signs were good. The exhaust system was missing as was the seat, and all the electrics apart from the flywheel magneto and an assortment of flywheels. The wheels had cup and cone bearings which were not in the best order.
Although it is nice to retain the original bits and standard spec, this isn’t easy when you just can’t get those original parts. My mantra is to do the best you can when rebuilding. Where deviations are made, if they’re in keeping with the bike’s age or model development, then I feel justified in adopting some modifications in the name of progress. I’ve never been the type of person who would take years over a rebuild while trying to source a rare part. I prefer to get the bike back
on the road and retro- fit any missing original parts when they turn up. I set about loosely assembling what I thought the finished machine might look like. This wasn’t as easy as it seems, as photographs of these little bikes are few and far between. However, I became convinced that I had enough bits to build one whole bike. The 150 Universal fell neatly between the dinky 98cc Consort and the larger 250cc Talisman Twin, although it is physically nearer the size of the Talisman.
The front forks were in a bad state, so I had to remanufacture the fork sliders, bushes and replace the springs. Fortunately they are a simple ‘upside down’ design and, since they came to me in stripped down form, it was not difficult to fathom out how they went back together. They are undamped and the lubrication is, apparently, done manually using an oil can.
The most difficult task was replacing the bottom sliding legs as the original tubes were well and truly sweated into the fork lugs. I cut the original tube 50mm above the lug and made a spigot which was shrunk inside the bottom section. I then fitted a new tube
over the protruding section and the joint was brazed up. The final assembly was put into my trusty Myford and the excess brazing was trued up parallel with the new fork leg. New phosphor bronze bushes were made and replacement springs were provided to my pattern at a very reasonable cost by Active Springs (01527 854932).
The steering head ball races were just about reusable, but would need replacing eventually. A range of small diameter taper roller bearings have appeared on the market so I will look at those in due course. The frame on this bike is very substantial and I guess it has more in common with the 197 and 250 models. The rear swinging arm pivot bushes are rubber metalastic type and, after a bit of detective work, I found that Ford Capri suspension bushes fitted. With the rear end sorted, the frame was quickly reassembled.
The next job was to obtain an exhaust system. I had no details of the original so my artistic licence kicked in. I scanned through Roy Bacon’s Villiers data, looking at other manufacturers of that period who fitted the Villiers 30C engine. Francis-Barnett came to the top of the pile with their Kestrel, and Armours could provide me with the pipe and a pattern universal silencer. This fitted the bill and went straight on with a bit of modification to the rear brake pedal. The overall effect is fine in my eyes. The seat was next, and is a pattern BSA C15-type from eBay. It fits reasonably well with the lines of the bike and has supported my bulk many times on 100 mile-plus rides.
The cycle parts were painted mainly in black acrylic using trusty rattle cans, but the tank finish is a different story. The tank arrived with a very poor black powdercoated finish which I decided to remove. As I laboured away, scraping and scratching at the stubborn paintwork, my next door neighbour popped his head around my workshop door to ask what on earth I was doing. I explained, and he suggested I gave it to him as he had a friend in ‘the business’ who owed him a favour. Taken aback, I explained that this tank may be the only one in the world and I was reluctant to let it out of my sight. But I finally relented and he took the tank away.
To my surprise, a few days later I was asked to go to see the paint sprayer, and to take a sample of the frame colour. I hot-footed it down to see the man and walked into their premises, not knowing what to expect . The firm is a well-known vehicle refinishers in Darlington called Auto Spray, a longestablished family firm who specialise in high class car finishes and restoration. My humble petrol tank had ended up amongst the Mercs, Porches and Jaguars!
Over a couple of weeks the tank was transformed. They insisted that I fitted the transfers and lining prior to lacquering, so I did have a hand in the finished article (and I know where my mistakes are!). The professional paintwork and lacquering are exceptional and much admired. Excelsior U8s of this period were finished in bronze green, so my black with blue tank panel demonstrates yet more artistic licence, reflecting a hint of a pre-WW2 Excelsior influence.
Apart missing a few nuts and bolts, the engine and gearbox were sound, so I had the cylinder rebored and fitted a new piston and rings. The magneto was checked over and a ‘modern’ Villiers Services coil installed. All systems were go! Reassembling a lightweight is not a difficult task but, as always, there’s some head scratching to do. The headlamp was not original and the fork-mounted quadrant-type speedo was missing. So I used a period speedo fitted into a Wipac bowl, a Lucas insert with an original but slightly battered Miller rim, and a Lucas switch. It looks OK and some day I might see the right one…
I installed my own version of battery lighting using a Burlen gel battery, the popular black block rectifier and importantly a regulator from Rex Caunt which limits the charging voltage to the battery. The system has worked well for four years now and the battery is as good as new.
The bike fired up and ran well, so we made the 155 mile Beamish Reliability Run in 2013, and together we received the ‘Newcomers Award’ and a silver medal. We’ve now