Old Guys Simplex moto-peddle bike

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

What I've found Rick is that Villiers engines are reliable and darn near bulletproof so long as they are fed the oily petrol mix they like. 16:1 isn't exactly considered environmentally friendly these days, but that's what Villiers two stroke engine like to run on. I've found it's best to stick with old fashioned type oils too and not try feeding a Villiers engine synthetic oil.
The older engines with a cast iron piston never seem to suffer any bore wear, but of course they aren't exactly high performance engines either.

At one time second hand Villiers engines were very cheap because after Japanese bikes took over the world nobody wanted to be seen dead riding a Villiers engined bike. Now though they have become highly desirable and collectible and prices have climbed to the point where folk are asking too much money for rusty old junk.

I owned a 1956 Francis Barnett Falcon with a 197cc single banger engine and the dumbest thing I ever did was to sell it.

 

[Ludwig II]

Bonham's is a major international auction company. £19,000, multiply by 5/3 to get the dollars, over $30,000. For that kind of money, you can pay to have one built from scratch.

 

[indian22]

Anne that little Francis Barnett is so sweet. I've been a fan of the small Ducatti bikes of the 1950's & '60's and would have to say the 1956 F&B you shared with us is definitely an equal in style points. The Villiers engine always signified quality in my mind & I'm so glad you've had good experiences with, as well as retain a high regard for their motors. Rick C.

 

[Ludwig II]

I suppose time and distance may lend enchantment. In my teenage years, those old AMC 2 strokes had all the appeal of a tramp scratching himself.

 

[indian22]

Yes age is the filter through which we view the past. Takes away a bit of the pain & makes the rest a bit more bearable. Rick C.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

I suppose time and distance may lend enchantment. In my teenage years, those old AMC 2 strokes had all the appeal of a tramp scratching himself.

I don't know so much, I always liked my Fanny Bee even though there were some aspects of the cycleparts design that were a little infuriating to work on. The engine and transmission was fine and I never had any problems with them. Ok so it wasn't quite in the same class as my Matchless, but I always thought it had more going for it than most of the smaller Japanese bikes on offer at the time.

 

[indian22]

Just checked out Pat's baby blue Ford F-1 & it's a beauty. I built up 2 F-1 pickup over the last 2 years and still have one. The one shown has the Ford Racing Boss 302 4bolt short block crate motor in it, one of two identical engines I purchased at the same time. The other is in my 1985 Bronco 2 full custom desert truck. Both make fine bike haulers, but the Bronco has to utilize the trailer hitch to do it!

 

[indian22]

Finally had the shop almost empty of customer work & my hot rods last night and bent tubes for the Simplex stretched frame....6" lower tube stretch & 4" on the top tubes. Jigged it onto a 1/2" steel plate, trued all up & tacked in place before final welds were laid down. I now have a true & solid frame on which to mount all major components for the first mockup assembly. Camera died on me but I'll shoot a picture today of the first real progress made to date which is sad as only 4 hours total were involved last evening to get the frame ready, just been that busy on the other stuff. Oh yeah rat rod Chevy pickup won first in class at it's first car show not bad considering it was built as a daily driver! Rick C.

 

[sportscarpat]

Just checked out Pat's baby blue Ford F-1 & it's a beauty. I built up 2 F-1 pickup over the last 2 years and still have one. The one shown has the Ford Racing Boss 302 4bolt short block crate motor in it, one of two identical engines I purchased at the same time. The other is in my 1985 Bronco 2 full custom desert truck. Both make fine bike haulers, but the Bronco has to utilize the trailer hitch to do it!

Wow, nice truck!! I like the Cobra parts on the engine and did something similar on my F1. My engine is just a stock 302 with 4 barrel intake. My truck build is a 15 footer, or 30 mph. You know, looks good at 15 feet or when it's driving by at 30 mph. Not a show truck by any means, but like any F1 it carries a lifetime of cool. Keep up the cool thread. Lot's of interesting stuff going on here!
Pat

 

[indian22]

Thanks Pat & I feel the same about the F-1's, they evoke smiles from old & young alike. The red one which I sold a few months ago went to a guy living in New York who was just passing through my small home town & saw the little Ford parked at the local coffe shop & had to have it. It too was a basic 302 driver & not nearly as sweet as your baby blue. The white one is also just a driver though with a fairly potent engine & drive train to match...not a show truck either, but I can drive it without worries about scratching an expensive paint job!

Simplex frame is not nearly complete but the photos show some progress & mockup with bars, wheels, fork, saddle, frame & engine are just a visual check of space, support and balance. Right now available time will hold up progress for at least a couple of weeks. Lower frame length was increased by 6" & now center of axle to axle measures 52". Fork rake is same as stock Simplex which is pretty agressive looking. Not much left of the original frame except the steering & upper 8" of the frame plus seat spring strap

. Rick C.

 

[silverbear]

Looks good, Rick.
SB

 

[butchl]

When you lengthened the LOWER tubes did the upper tubes line up at the drop outs.?

 

[racie35]

They shouldn't have,without a slight bend up

 

[butchl]

AND that changes the gas tank shape area. Correct?

 

[indian22]

Racie is correct about the dropouts as a small bend is necessary. How the correction is achieved can vary. I chose to make a gradual bend in the tubing along the entire length of the straight tube sections. I'll try to explain this process, but I'll throw this in first...another builder might well just add a slight kink to the tubing and call it good. I didn't want a sudden bend & we brought the tubing into position so gradually that there is no apparent bend at all.

Butch if you notice the frame photos, the original steering head, seat spring & a very small section of the both the upper and lower frame tubing of the original bike was utilized...they are white. I don't have an original tank, but it would fit precisely in this frame, as all stretching was done below the area that fits the tank. The head & upper tubes were undamaged & all my setup & measurements were keyed off them. As previously explained in an earlier post, I was very careful to true up an accurate & very solid jig to build on. The dropouts were the other frame component that was reused. I cut them off the old tubes and then bolted them together with all thread rod to hold the exact dimensions required.

The lower frame radius was bent to a 90 degree angle in the Huth hydraulic tube bender. The original tubes and the new tubes were sleeved with 6" solid rod. Each end of the joined tube was drilled & connected by 4 rosett welds.

The gradual bend of the straight tubing was accomplished in the jig through clamping one tube at a time and measuring/truing then tacking each section to the jig. This was repeated 6 times until tubes were perfectly squared to the dropouts, which were then stiched securely in place. There were 3 experienced fabricators, using a shop full of great equipment, working on this so don't think that I did it all in half a day! Rick C

 

[indian22]

Thought a few more photos with the engine positioned close to it's final frame location. I'll mock up engine & tank mounts from this. Rick C.

 

[racie35]

What engine is that?

 

[indian22]

Racie it's a CG-125 Taiwan clone...125cc/5-speed, Kick start. Rick C.

 

[indian22]

Mock up of my Cajun Gator is in the second stage, meaning "wax on wax off grasshopper" mount everthing then pull and change most previous work then remount... ad naseum. Good news all seems to be proceeding to a harmonius if slow out come.

 

[indian22]

After moving the motor into a level position & off set to riders right the chain lines up straight without the aid of a jackshaft. Jug sets off center of frame as I was informed by several informed CG 125 gurus that is proper. Weight seems to be a bit too far forward at this time. The temporary lower frame base is of course precisely where I need the lower engine motor mounts to be located. The brace is just tack welded so no big deal, it had to go eventually.
Relocating the engine will give me about 2" more clearance for the exhaust routing, but will probably cause some carb/air cleaner clearance issues.

Kick start lever and shift lever are well clear of the frame and don't pose a problem & moving the engine gives even more room for the 2 fuel tanks. Pedal bracket & rear triangle vertical support tubes as I'd envisioned them aren't going to work so I guess the supports will be located a couple of inches further aft.

Springing the back of the saddle is still a consideration as I have a 6" air shock/spring that would work quite well instead of the chrome hair pin springs or the traditional barrel springs. I'm really surprised to have found some time to work on the Simplex at this time of the year. Rick C.