You still see these bikes at shows here, lovingly polished, and I've heard their owners speak of 'Jap Crap'. But the fact is, as a youngster, I never aspired to owning anything like this and I don't now. I'm not sure that they are better than walking!

I would point out though, that the first Jap two strokes were also pre-mix machines. My '64 Suzuki 80K11 was. Later K11 models got the 'posiforce' pumped system. I remember going to the service station and the attendant would pump a measure of oil into the tank before putting a gallon of gas in. I wish gas was the same price now. I could piss all over F. B. Cruisers on my Suzuki, despite the large capacity difference.

So I am left confused a bit for the write-up first of all refers to a 200cc then a 250cc, but also did refer to a 125cc.  At our shop & many of the Cdn m/c shop the James, Norman to Francis-Barnett were sold in 125cc to also 200cc form powered by Villiers power plants. 

Mind you of interest in the no automatic lubricating the same went to BSA Bantams basically 125cc & later 175cc along with Royal Enfield "Flying Flea" of 125cc only again with PRE-MIXING as we called it.  Of interest when you removed the fuel tank cap it carried a hollow metal container grooved around the middle.  So a full mix to an almost empty tank was fill up to the top, but if just half was only half full container.  Like all pre-mix bikes one shook the bike between your two legs flat on the ground.

All were easy bikes to ride with no problems other then the rider being a novice like the novice riders of to-day.  I use to buy the various Villiers powered "Fanny Bee" slanged Francis Barnett to Norman to James bikes, given up by the sons of parent---because said sons wanted a 350cc four stroke.  Ofen all that was needed was the bike to be washed & touched up with some paint to sometimes the engine had started to seize & so new piston & ring or honed out to do the same.  Rare occasions was a new big-end.  These were the bikes I used at our shop to scoot around town most often for the possible customer would then realize I had faith in these rebuilt Villiers powered bikes.

Now when you get into dirt comp of Observed Trials, to Scrambling now called Moto Cross, to Enduros this is were Fanny-B, Greeves to DOT with Villiers power plants of just 200cc did well, especially Greeves & DOT coming in second, when it came to sales.

Amazing thing is the late Brian Stonebride one a the Hawkstone in the 200cc class, the 350cc class, to the unlimited being mainly 500cc with the SAME Greeves prototype his uncle had designed with aluminium steering head & down alloy casting to leading link front suspension, so different to tele forks, with Brian Stonebridge standing 6'4" I think.

I probablay imported the first Greeves, in Canada, of "Hawkstone" 200cc Scramblers in crates of two bikes each along with the Greeves "Scottish" 250cc for Observed Trials. From my home in Banff National Park Alberta. None of these bikes failed if properly serviced.

Mind you it was not till around '61 that Villiers punched out a 250cc or where Greeves shone against 500cc four strokes in dirt competition.

Yet Villiers goes back to before the war, as was pointed out in the article by Frank Melling, for I purchased TWO '37 Coventy-Eagle Villiers powered bikes from a husband & wife couple, in '46, for basically nothing price as the bikes did not run.  One of the Villiers with 3-speeds, of those days, was popped into an all tubular scooter I had built, & then I worked on the two to build one that I could ride around town.

Of interest up untill the Villiers firm was abolished (I think in early 60s), I had no problems in purchasing parts for the power-plants of '34 to more modern in the late 40s to even in early 60s.  Such a difference these days to Jpn bikes that are a bit on the old side of where we suggest that said bike is a bit hard to obtain parts for in these days.

Post Edited (Smitty) : 10/13/2008 7:48:44 PM GMT