I really just bought the Raleigh as a project to restore rather than ride and that's exactly what happened. I enjoyed restoring it. I had it on a bench at shoulder height so no climbing under like a car and it took up little room. Nice easy therapeutic job. The side covers were missing but that didn't matter. Sold it on eBay.
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BSA Norton Triumph Ariel and miscellaneous motorbikes and trikes
- Thread starter mw0njm.
- Start date
I agree, I thought it was an excellent design with the dummy tank as a tool/storage box. I rode it quite a bit and it was fast enough for me, very smooth. They were criticized for the smoky exhaust but we British always over-oiled our two strokes compared with continental makes. The Leader/Arrow was recommended to have 16:1 petroil ratio. The engine, particularly, is a copy of the German Adler design which only needed 24:1 ratio and this is a good example of the practice. Maybe we were just 'playing safe ' but the Germans put much more development into the two stroke engine and produced some good designs.
Sounded great but went crap, weren't on long.My learning curve on two stroke engines was done on the 49cc Phillips moped I bought new when I was 16. I used to diligently decoke it regularly but it did need it with a 16:1 petroil ratio. I could tell it was ready for a decoke when it went quiet ( or quieter). I too, experimented with the silencer, reversing the perforated cones and then leaving them out altogether. I soon learned about the importance of exhaust port back pressure in a two stroke. The German Rex engine was a flat-top piston Schnurle scavenging two stroke in the single- speed Phillips moped but was slightly unusual. The primary reduction gears were built into the crankcase and so were lubricated by the two stroke petroil. I thought that was quite clever as no other lubrication is necessary. I did thousands of miles on that moped, including riding to Weston Super Mare from the Midlands and back for a weeks holiday. The engine never missed a beat or misfired. I had no back up and it was before the days of mobile phones, of course. Some would say it was a bit foolhardy and it probably was.
It's great. Not as old as me though.My latest Exhibit is a little Guzzino 2t, nearly original, imported from Italy in Jan 2026. Nice and light for transport. Works well, still not good with the hand change though. View attachment 228699
And it's as old as me.
I like that, will you renovate it or keep as is?My latest Exhibit is a little Guzzino 2t, nearly original, imported from Italy in Jan 2026. Nice and light for transport. Works well, still not good with the hand change though. View attachment 228699
And it's as old as me.
lancepar
proper brummie kid
To answer a couple of questions.
Keeping the condition as it is, it gets a oily rag wipe over the rusty parts now and then.
Regarding the ram air effect, If it does then I don't notice it at the speeds I ride it at on grass. I'll master 3rd gear one day. And although street legal I've not ventured on the black stuff yet.
Keeping the condition as it is, it gets a oily rag wipe over the rusty parts now and then.
Regarding the ram air effect, If it does then I don't notice it at the speeds I ride it at on grass. I'll master 3rd gear one day. And although street legal I've not ventured on the black stuff yet.
This is the 1960 Phillips Panda I restored in 2006 (only 20 yrs ago, seems longer than that). As a nostalgia project, it was identical to the new one I bought at the age of 16 mentioned in my earlier post.
Built in Bridge Street Smethwick, of course, it was all-British except for the German Rex engine.
Phillips Cycles were very old hands at making bicycle parts
Built in Bridge Street Smethwick, of course, it was all-British except for the German Rex engine.
Phillips Cycles were very old hands at making bicycle parts
Sorry, the thread disappeared as I was typing, I never was very good with touch screens.
Phillips Cycles were established in 1892 so were old hands at bicycle manufacture. The bike had Miller electrics including the flywheel magneto. Miller were based in Aston but I'm not sure just where. I eventually sold PCL 735 to a gentleman from the Wirral. I'm also including a photo of my original Panda with my brother on it, taken in Brean around 1961. Note the 'L' plates (mine not his).
Phillips Cycles were established in 1892 so were old hands at bicycle manufacture. The bike had Miller electrics including the flywheel magneto. Miller were based in Aston but I'm not sure just where. I eventually sold PCL 735 to a gentleman from the Wirral. I'm also including a photo of my original Panda with my brother on it, taken in Brean around 1961. Note the 'L' plates (mine not his).
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It interesting to me in how the design of these older motorised push bikes and mopeds has now come full circle. The modern high end eBikes are a very similar design. The trusty moped, which I now think it of as a hybrid would not look out of place with an electric motor.
Absolutely. Ridiculously underpowered bikes have always been an interest of mine, especially cyclemotors, i e. engine attachments for push bikes aka clip-ons. These were particularly popular in France where they were treated exactly the same as bicycles. I'm not sure what the current French legislation is regarding these vehicles. Here, we had (and still have) to have them registered as motor vehicles with number plates, insurance and (now) wear proper motorcycle helmets which seems ridiculous. However, In retrospect, it's not such a bad thing really with wayward cyclists ignoring the rules and the pressure to register bicycles and the complex rules on ebikes etc.
By coincidence, I am seriously considering purchasing an electric bike attachment kit for my push bike. I still ride it occasionally but at 82 I need a bit of assistance up hills and don't have the stamina I had when I was 20 when I would easily cycle 100 miles.
Fortunately for me, such kits (at the moment) are treated as bicycles if the motor is under 250 watts and limited to 15.5mph.
By coincidence, I am seriously considering purchasing an electric bike attachment kit for my push bike. I still ride it occasionally but at 82 I need a bit of assistance up hills and don't have the stamina I had when I was 20 when I would easily cycle 100 miles.
Fortunately for me, such kits (at the moment) are treated as bicycles if the motor is under 250 watts and limited to 15.5mph.
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What was also ridiculous in Britain at one time was that pedal -assisted mopeds of 49cc, max speed 23 mph in the case of the Panda, were then classed as motorcycles (group G I think it was) . After passing my (farcical) motorcycle test I could jump on to a 650cc Golden Flash or ,1000cc Ariel Square Four, Vincent Black Shadow etc. and still could legally!
I can't find any reference or information on the Birmingham auto electrics company Miller. All I can find is as an American company but oddly, the Miller logo I remember it, is there. As I recall, Miller of Aston, were a smaller competitor to Lucas and were eventually absorbed into the Lucas empire and the name disappeared.