Villiers beach cruiser

That's a difficult decision, one you'll probably have to make on your own in the end...when it comes to patina, nothing can compare to the real deal, but things look good with fresh paint too. There are several ways of looking at it...are you covering up history, pretending it's something it isn't, or finishing a job that was never really completed in the first place?
whatever the case and whatever you decide to do, it's a great looking bike.
 
Goldy said:
That's a difficult decision, one you'll probably have to make on your own in the end...when it comes to patina, nothing can compare to the real deal, but things look good with fresh paint too. There are several ways of looking at it...are you covering up history, pretending it's something it isn't, or finishing a job that was never really completed in the first place?
whatever the case and whatever you decide to do, it's a great looking bike.
Click to expand...

I didnt mean painting over anything...... i would leave the bike and tank as is (bare metal/slight rust) and paint tank graphics (maybe a Villiers logo) and then scuff them up to make them look aged.... much like you would see on ratrods
 
Wow, just spent 2 hours reading this thread, that's a great bike you have built.
I've got the same villiers, I pulled it from an old Atco mower and will hopefully have something to show shortly.
I'm having a bit of trouble getting the clutch off the crank, do you know how these fit on? I removed the nut that's on the end of the crank inside the clutch basket but can't get the actual basket off
 
Hi Atco, welcome to the forum, and good choice buying an Atco mower, im still on the lookout for them and just got outbid on another on EBay yesterday.

Im not sure which part you need removed, maybe pictures would help.... yours may be a little different to mine as mine only had an adaptor screwed to the crank that simply slid into the clutch. To remove this adaptor (not sure of the correct term) you may need to stick the flywheel in a big vice to stop it from spinning.

Either that or you may have a different clutch.... perhaps one of the ones that Camnz thought that other New Zealand builder uses on his Villiers bikes, that would be nice, id love to see pics
 
I was going to redo the atco on my tank, and put under it boardtrack edition,

The clutch should be on the taper on the crankshaft, should come off piece of cake with a set of pullers, don't advise hitting it with a hammer.

Cheers, Cam.
 
Hey Atco is this the thing you are tyring to remove? If so it should just unscrew, or do you mean you cannot get the clutch to disengage from this? Or do you have a different setup?

P3160133.jpg
 
Forgive me, yeah harrys right those are screw off ones, and can be a real bugger to get off if they have rusted on!

Cheers, Cam.
 
Well it finally happened.... i have been riding this thing daily and have clocked up a lot of miles..... but today i got pulled over by the fuzz.

I was riding a backstreet when i saw a cop coming the other way, i backed off the throttle and started pedalling, he ended up turning around and pulling me over. He had a smile on his face and seemed pretty cool.

He said the bike had to be under 200watts and i said it was, i said it was a 1/4HP (180ish watts) vintage motor, he seemed to go with that but said i should have some sort of certification of that, can anyone make a fake page saying 1/4HP for me?

He also claimed i cant ride my bike on any road with a median strip or full middle white line, not sure where he got this one from, but arguing the point aint going to help... but did go on to say i could ride it on the footpath with the motor going (if local council allow it) which seemed crazy dangerous to me..... so he said i can ride it on backstreets or footpaths (where allowed) but must kill the motor to cross or ride on main roads.

He also said id need a pedal chain guard and some sort of guard covering the wheel and sheave.

He didnt fine me but said if he seen me again riding on the main road, or im guessing without the extra guards (which im not keen on doing) he would fine me and possibly confiscate my bike. There are fines but no points are lost from my license.

So my day pretty much sucked, and now im a little worried to go for another ride, its only a matter of time before i run into him again..... i may have to look at electric bikes im afraid
 
Really sorry to hear about this. Is there any way to register it as a motorcycle, pay for insurance, etc.?
SB
 
No, theres no real way of registering it. It doesnt look good for my other builds either. Ill have to see how i feel if i want to keep risk riding it.

I could do what i have been thinking for a while, buy a vintage moped and register it, then cut it up and use the VIN and build a bike around that. I could even use a Honda clone, as long as it had the rego sticker and had lights, guards etc i doubt i would even get bothered again....
 
Harry sounds like you have a cop who has done his homework ! . Yes both chain and belt gaurds are mandated by law Australia wide the old bloke who runs and ownes the local bike shop told me a few weeks back that one of his wholesalers had informed him that if sold a bike and allowed it to leave his shop without a chaingaurd fitted to it he was liable for a fine of 15 thou $ and because he is such a good custommer with one of the highest sales of bikes in Vic they sent him free of charge two large boxes ,500 plastic muti fit chaingaurds and 50 or so belt gaurds for the new style belt drive commuter bikes this was just pryor to last christmas ,,, wierd thing is hardly any of the new bikes these days have mudgaurds and the road traffic act clearly states that" any bicycle or tricycle which is to be used on a public highway must be fitted with a rear mudgaurd , said mudgaurd must extend downward to a point no higher than that of the rear wheel axle, the lower 150 mm of said mudgaurd must be painted or by other methoid coloured white "
 
It sounds like we need to follow a lot of the rules that motorcycles do, not happy about that as this is part of the reason I got into this hobby.... Now I may as well just modify a motorcycle or scooter.

I also commented when he said I needed guards over the wheels that i can go to the bikeshop and buy a bike with no guards, I don't think he believed me, but you can, in fact most bikes don't.
 
Im thinking for my next build to buy a vintage scooter and use a gx200 and either A) just stamp the vintage scooter VIN into a customframe or B) use the part of the frame with the VIN and build a frame around that.

I would make it like a BTR road versions you see with full guards and lights etc. Any thoughts on my plans????????
 
From what this policeman claims, even if i built bikes with full fenders, guards over chains and belts, i would still need to kill my engine and pedal any time i was on a main road (median strip or full white line), not to mention risking confiscation of my bike and fines if they choose to try and dyno my engine.... Not good at all IMO.

If i have to have full guards over wheels, belts and chains.... it kinda takes the fun out of it and i may as well try modifyfing a scooter, because if the rego says its vintage and IT HAS REGISTRATION i doubt cops would give me a second look.

Or i continue riding it and hope for the best, but like i said its just a matter of time before i cross paths with this policeman again
 
harry dont get dishartend open youre mind to a new way of looking at this,youre bike looks way cool and sort of old so why not let it morf once more back to the early 1900s ? have a look at "SMITHS AUTOCYCLES" web page and pics of some of the " Indians ,Harleys, and Excelcoirs" in the usa from the1901 to the late 1920s . A lot of these earlys had super cool looking gaurds with side skirts,some even had fancy presings in the chain guards much like is to be found on older full sized ladies bikes.....dont bite my head of let the idea perkulate in the back of youre mind for a while , a full paint job stripped and then wet rubbed back through to the red oxide primer inthe places where the paint would have worn eg the back side edges of the tank and thetop of the back mudgaurd and the top right quadrant of the chaingaurd near the crank spay it with matt esterpol to flattern and yellow it put an old style curly bugal horn on the handle bars (china repo about $7 at bike shop) and fit a "rego" plate on top of front gaurd lengthways singwriten with make and model ie 1908 1/4 hp roadwarrier ,hehehe now you have a way coooool "genuine" antique autocycle thats ?"leagal"? food for though ? would fool a lot if not the most avid of colectors, ken
 
Its not so much the guards that are bothering me, like Curtis said i could make something like Goldys BSA copy which i loved, or your autocycle...... its the having to kill the motor on any main road and only being able to ride it in back streets, as im 6"3 and this bike isnt very friendly to pedal.... maybe if i made another bike with a more upright seating position so pedalling is easier..... i will think it through though and see what i can come up with
 
Harry go to local RTA and get youre state regs for motorized pushbikes ! most states laws use the wording "public highway" when refering to roads or divided highway /freeway when refering to Major highways. Freeways are a no no for us but unless sign posted otherwise all other roads are ok in vic as long as you obey the road rules ken
 
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