March 30, 20215 yr Help needed to identify Villiers engined frame ,thought it might be Cheetah but after asking some Cheetah owners we don't think it is . Main frame looks similar but swinging arm and wheel adjuster are completely different , Any help would greatly appreciated in trying to identify what it is
March 31, 20215 yr Looks very Cheetah-esque, but enough details are different to suggest it's something else, or even an earlier/later Cheetah development. Maybe Mick Whitlock could be contacted to ask? Does it have a frame number?
March 31, 20215 yr greevesman is this the bike the cylinder came from that you are asking about here on TC? If it is post a photo of all the parts together including tank and exhaust, bit more to go on then. Interesting looking frame though. Edited March 31, 20215 yr by trialsrfun
March 31, 20215 yr Author 7 hours ago, trialsrfun said: greevesman is this the bike the cylinder came from that you are asking about here on TC? If it is post a photo of all the parts together including tank and exhaust, bit more to go on then. Interesting looking frame though. Hi yes same bike , cannot find number anywhere on frame ,some photos of parts that came with bike ,barrel,gearbox ,well rusty alpha crank ,concentric carb with unusual air filter setup ,exhaust silencer ,alloy tank looks BSA? no crank cases .
March 31, 20215 yr Did you find any markings on the barrel under the inlet? That's a Greeves flywheel cover to. The frame looks very well made but no idea but could it be a Kyffin Sapphire Red Rose Edited March 31, 20215 yr by greevesrob
April 1, 20215 yr Hi Greevesman, Well hopefully someone may yet come forward with details of the frame maker but either way you have an interesting bike that is well worth restoring. Crank cases can be found or are available from Villiers Services new or possibly s/h Villiers Services, The largest stock of Villiers spares in the World or Cotton Villiers cottonvilliersspares.co.uk The Alpha crank may well be serviceable also If you do not have a cylinder head one from any of the aftermarket alloy cylinders can be fitted as the stud spacing is the same for all of them Forks appear to be Ceriani rear hub possibly Triumph Cub but its difficult to tell from the photos which do not really show it, wild guess for the front hub which is barely visible Husqvarna??? Mudguard stay is very similar to the Greeves one fitted to some Anglian models with Ceriani forks or the Greeves alloy beam MX models as well as the Griffon. If it were my bike I would do a rolling rebuild just clean and tidy everything and up take the motor to one of the above for a rebore as well as all the bits needed.
April 1, 20215 yr Author Can't find frame number anywhere on bike.Couple of photos of hubs they are conical hubs and look the same. I have managed to get a completely rebuilt 37A engine with trials gearbox from friend and I have a Parkinson head coming and hopefully get it shaped to fit barrel.At the moment barrel is on +60 and needs rebore Villiers services do a +80 piston so might go that way. Will be selling the rest of parts to help fund new engine . Simon
April 1, 20215 yr Saw this for sale but you beat me to it! I thought it may be a Wasp? nicely made and in good nick, a good project. First time out at Priddy in June?
April 1, 20215 yr Author Hi Chesty , don't think it's a Wasp and it will not be ready for Priddy but I will be there on my Greeves 😃
April 3, 20215 yr Yup, me too on the AJS 37A-T, always a good weekend. doesn't help with identifying your frame though, that swing arm design is interesting, and the method of chain adjustment/clamping the spindle. Definitely not Cheetah, had one until recently, (it'll be at Priddy), Greevesrob suggested Kyffin Sapphire, I've never seen one in the flesh, only a picture from a sales brochure (on the Otter website I think?) but could be. Elstar built a few trials frame too I believe, again check out the Otter BSA website, lots of good info on there. Jeff
April 3, 20215 yr Author Jeff ,not a Kyffin Sapphire the brochure on Otter web site is one of many I sent to Charlie (my name is underneath the brochure ) . Looking forward to Priddy see you there and hopefully have a chat . Simon
May 12, 20215 yr Author Can now confirm the that this frame is a Villiers engine Burian built by John Banks BSA works rider in 1965, it was confirmed by Trevor Andrews who owned the bike in the early 70s and spoke to John this evening and he told me some history . The hubs are early Husqvarna and engine was Villiers with Challenger barrell. Doug Theobald road a bantam engined Burian and there is a photo of him on the bike in this forum by Deryk Wylde So it looks to be a rare bike not many made and I don't know if there are any around ( I'm sure there must be )
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