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VilliersTwoStrokeEngines

VILLIERS
TWOSTROKEMOTOR
CYCLEENGINES
HOWTOGETTHEBEST
RESULTSFROMTHEM

INSTRUCTIONS
forthegoodrunningandmaintenanceofVilliers
TwostrokeEnginesandtheirComponents.

LUBRICATION
CorrectLubricationofanEngineisoftheutmostimportance.
TheusefullifeandtheamountofgoodserviceyourVilliersEnginewillgive,dependsalmostentirely
uponthewayitislubricated,especiallyduringtheearlystagesofitslife.ThemodernVilliersEngine
isasreliableasengineeringskillcanmakeit,andtheonlyconstantattentionwhichtheownerisasked
togiveit,istokeepaplentifulsupplyofoil,andtoseethatthecorrectquantityisgiventotheengine
atalltimes.
PATENTCASTROLXLOIL,obtainableatallfirstclassgarages,hasbeenfoundtogivegood
resultsinVilliersEngines,andasitisadvisablealwaystouseoneparticularbrandofoilandnotto
changefromonetoanother,Villiersownersareadvisedtoadoptthisbrandregularly.

PetroilLubrication.
Onthe147c.c.EngineandonsomeotherVilliersEngines,petroillubricationisemployed.Thisis
averysimplemethodinwhichoilismixedwiththepetrolinproportionofhalfapinttothegallon,
whichis,onepartofoilto16partsofpetrol.Itisadvisabletomixthiswellbeforepouringintothe
tank,sothatthetwowillnotseparateout.Theriderisrelievedofallfurtherattentionuntilitis
necessaryagaintofillthefueltank,whentherequisiteproportionofoilmustbeadded.

AutomaticLubrication.
OnmanypresentdayVilliersEnginethepatentedAutomaticSystemisemployed.ThisAutomatic
Systemhasbeendesignedtoovercomethedisadvantagesofthemechanicaloilpump,andthehand
operatedDripFeedSystem.Amechanicalpumpdeliversoilonlyinproportiontotheenginespeed,
andahandpumpdependsentirelyuponthehumanelement,whereasactuallyoilshouldbefedtoan
engineinproportiontoitsload,andbeentirelyindependentofhumanforgetfulness.IntheVilliers
AutomaticSystem,variationsinthecrankcasepressureareutilisedtosupplyoildirecttoeach
bearing.Asthepressureinthecrankcasevariesaccordingtothethrottleopening,itwillberealised
thatthemorethethrottleisopened,andconsequentlytheheaviertheloadontheengine,thegreateris
theoilsupply.Referencetotheaccompanyingdiagram,togetherwiththefollowingdescriptionmakes
theoilcirculationofthisSystemquiteclear.

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Compressedairfromthecrankcasepassesalongthecentreoftheshaftstotheholes"J,"which
registerwithgroovesinthecrankcasebusheswhenthepistonisdescending.Theairpasseson
throughholesdrilledinthecrankcasetoaunionsituatedinfrontofthecrankcase.Fromthispointitis
conveyedthroughthepressurepipe"A"tothetopoftheoiltank,raisingthepressureinthis,and
Forcingoilupthepipe"B"inthesamewayassodawaterisforcedupthecentretubeofasoda
syphon.Theoilpassestheregulatingscrew"F,"andissuesintothecupofthesightfeedexceptinthe
MarkIIILubricatorwhereitpassesstraighttotheengine.Fromthistheoildescendstotheengine
throughaunion"D"onthefrontofthecylinderexceptincertainModelswhereitpassesstraightto
thecrankcaae.Heretheoildivides,partofitbeingsuckedthroughaholeinthecylinderwall
uncoveredbythepiston,andtherestpassingdowntothecrankcase,whereitisagaindividedbetween
thetwomainbearings.Groovesintheseregisterwithports"K"inthecrankshaftswhenthepistonis
ascending,andthesurplusoilissuckedthroughthedrilledoilway"E"tothebigend.Whenthe
enginestops,thepressureinthetankisreleasedviathemainbearingsoftheengine,butoilwould
continuetosyphonoutofthetankintotheengineifprovisionwerenotmadeforthis.Theventhole
"C"preventsthis,as,bypermittingairtopassintothesightfeedcupfromthetank,itenablestheoil
inthepipe"D"todraindowntotheenginewithoutsuckingfurtheroiluppipe"B."Thereisa
continuousflowofairthroughvent"C,"whiletheengineisrunning,andthispassesdowntothe
enginewiththeoil,keepingthesightfeedcupclear.Itisoftheutmostimportancethatthesizeof
theventholeshouldnotbealtered.
ThreetypesofVilliersLubricatorsaremade:

MarkI.Forusewhentheoiltankisitselfa

compartmentofthemainfueltank.

MarkII.Forfittinginseparateoiltank.

MarkIII.Wherenosightfeedisrequired.

Theirdifferenceismerelyamatterofarrangement,andtheirprincipleispreciselythesame.Inthe
MarkIIandIIILubricatorstheventholeislargerindiameter,andthereshouldbeasmallpieceof
wirelooseinthishole.Itsobjectistokeeptheholequiteclearandpreventanoilfilmchokingit.

RunningInstructionsfortheVilliers
AutomaticLubricator.
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Alltheunions,bothatthelubricatorandengineendsoftheoilpipes,areofthesolderlesstype
eachnipplehasataperateitherend,andthereisacorrespondinginternalconeontheunionsandnuts.
Whenthenutsarescreweduptheysqueezeinthenipples,makingthemgriponthepipes.Itis
importanttokeeptheseunionsalwaystight.Iftheyaretakenapart,itmaybenecessarytofitnew
conicalnippleswhenreplacingtoensure,gettingagoodjointagain.
Fromthedescriptionaboveitwillbeseenthatthesystemworksonpressure,andthereforeitis
importantthatthisbealwaysmaintainedinthetank,consequentlytheunionsmustbetight,andthere
shouldbenoairleakfromtheoilcompartment.Specialattentionshouldbepaidtoscrewingthefiller
capdownfirmlyandmakingquitesurethatitseatsonitsleatherwasher.Theremustbenoventhole
inthefillercap.Acommoncauseofpressureleakageisduetoenamelonthethreadsofthefillercap
collar,preventingthecapfromscrewingdownfully.Asimilartroublecanarisefromthewasher
beingcreased.Itshouldalwaysliequiteflat.Theaveragepressureinthetankisabout4Ibs.per
squareinch,andthemaximumisonly6Ibs.,butthispressuremustbemaintained.
Failuretocomplywiththiswillresultinoveroilingatlowspeedsandshortageofoilatspeeds
over2530m.p.h.
Shouldthelubricatorcontinuetodeliveroilaftertheenginehasstopped,thisisduetosyphonic
actioncausedbytheventholebeingchoked.Theventhole,whichisverysmall,shouldbecleaned
withasinglestrandofBowdenwire.Ifthesightfeedbowlfillswithoil,thisisduetoanairleak
underthesightfeedglass.
TheventholeintheMarkILubricatorisinthesightfeedbowlitself.IntheMarkIIitisasshewn
inthediagram,whilstintheMarkIIILubricatortheventholeisintheannulargrooveunderthetop
washer.
Itisimportantthatallwashersarekeptingoodconditionasanyleakagewillinterferewiththe
correctworkingofthelubricatingsystem.

SettingtheOilSupply.
Theflowofoilvariesautomaticallyaccordingtotheengineloadandthrottleopening.The
adjustingscrew"F"isusuallysetwhenthemotorcycleissentouttosupplyrathermoreoilthanis
normallyrequired.Afterrunningabout400miles,thisshouldbescrewedinslightlytoreducetheoil
supply.Thecorrectsettinghasbeenobtainedwhenafaintbluehazeofsmokeissuesfromthe
exhaustpipe,asthemachineisrunningnormallyintopgearonalevelroad.Thesightfeedis
providedtoascertainifoilisflowing,andnottogaugethequantity.Inverycoldweatheritis
advisabletoincreasethissetting.

RunningInaNewEngine.
Whilstanengineisnew,greatcarethouldbetakentopreventitsabuse,andduringthefirst400or
500milesitshouldneverbedrivenataspeedexceeding30m.p.h.,andforthisperiodanextrasupply
ofoilshouldbegiven,eitherbymixinganadditionalquantitywiththepetrolforthepetroilsystemof
lubrication,orwiththeAutomaticLubricationSystem,byopeningtheregulatingscrewalittlemore
thanusual.Whentheengineisnew,donotletitscreamroundinalowgear,butatthesametimedo
notremainintopgearlongenoughtocausetheenginetolabourandsnatchatthetransmission.Itis
advisabletokeepthecarburettermixtureadjustmentalittleonthe"rich"side,ratherthantoo
weak.

NOTESONDECARBONISING
DecarbonisingaTwostrokeEngineisquitestraightforward,becauseofthesimplicityofthistype
ofunit.Thefollowingpoints,however,areworthspecialattentioninconnectionwithVilliersUnits.
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Whenremovingandreplacingthecylinder,careshouldbetakennottotwistitroundthepistonit
shouldbepulledofforpushedonstraightsothattheringscannotcatchinanyoftheportsandbreak.
Allcarbonshouldberemovedfrominsidethepistonhead,aswellasfromthetopofthepistonand
fromthecylinderhead.Theportsinthecylinderparticularlytheexhaustport,shouldreceivecareful
attention,andshouldbekeptclean,butonnoaccountmustthesizeorshapeoftheseportsbealtered
byfiling.
Pistonringgroovesmustbekeptfreefromcarboninordertoleavetheringsquitefree.Pistonrings
shouldbebrightroundtheirsurfacewhichmakescontactwiththecylinderbore.Shouldwearcause
thepistonringgaptoexceed1/32in.wheninthecylinder,thepistonringshouldbereplaced.
Carbonwillformonthegudgeonpinateithersideofthesmallendbush,andthisshouldbe
carefullyremoved,otherwisedifficultywillbeexperiencedinremovingthepinfromthepiston.The
smallendbushandthepistonbossesshouldbekeptquitefreefromcarbon.
NowasherorgasketisusedbetweenthecylinderbarrelandheadonVilliersEngineswith
detachableCylinderheads.Aperfect,gastightjointismadebyscrewingdownthefourcylinderhead
boltstightly.andbygivingthemafinaltightenwhentheenginehascooleddownafteritsfirstrun.It
isnotnecessarytoputanyjointingcompoundorshellacbetwcenthecylinderandhead.
ItisoftheutmostimportancethatSilencersandExhaustPipesarekeptquitecleaninternally,and
thataheavydepositofcarbonisnotallowedtoaccumulate.Thiswouldcausebackpressureandloss
ofpower.

EXHAUSTPIPES&SILENCERS.
Attentiontothesepartsisprobablythemostimportantofall,andmanystrangedisappearancesof
powerinatwostrokeengineareattributabletothesecomponents.Athickcoatingofsootwillform
insidetheexhaustpipes,whichmustbethoroughlycleaned,andthesameattentionshouldbepaidto
theexpansionchamber.Itisimpossibletogivedetailsoftheproceduretoheadoptedineverycase.
becausemostmachineshaveadifferenttypeofsilencer,accordingtothemanufacturer'sowndesign,
butitmustbetakenasageneralrulethatthesemustbeclearandfreefrombackpressure.
IfasilencerisemployedwithinternalbaffleplateshavingsmallholesdrilledInthem.thecarbon
willtendtoformontheedgesoftheseholesandclosethemin.resultingintimeinonlyaverysmall
aperturethroughwhichthegasesmayescape.Thismusthecorrected.Ifthesilencerhasafilling,as
insomecases,Ofabundleofmetalturnings,thesootwilladheretothisinaremarkablemanner,and
itisalmostimpossibletoremove.insuchcases,itisadvisabletoreplacewithanewfilling,oromit
altogether,butinthelattercasetheenginemaybetoonoisy.
Afluebrushisaveryusefulthingforremovingsootfromlongexhaustpipes.Inanoldmachineto
whichprobablynoattentionhasbeenpaidforalongtimetotheexhaustpipe,thecarbonmaybevery
hardtoremove,andtheonlywaytotreatitistogetthepipeorsilencerhotinafireandthentapon
theoutsidetoloosenthecarbon.Thiswill,ofcourse,destroyanyenamelor,platingontheoutside,
butitiscertainlyworthwhile,fromthepointofviewoftheincreasedefficiencyobtained.The
silencercanalwaysbereenarnelledafterwards.

THEVILLIERSFLYWHEELMAGNETO.
OnallVilliersEnginestheMagneto,asitsnameimplies,isbuiltintotheflywheel,whichisan
arrangementgreatlysimplifyingtheconstructionoftheengine,andhelpingtolessentheweightofthe
completemachine.

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Dismantling.
Removingthecoverwillexposetheflywheeltoview,andthelattermayberemovedbyundoing
thecentrenut.Thisnuthasaflangewhichdrawstheflywheelfromtheshaft,asitisunscrewed,and
thisobviatestheuseofaspecialextractingtool,andalsopreventsanydamagewhichmightbedone
totheflywheelifithadtobeleveredfromtheshaft.Asthisnutisnecessarilyverytight,itis
advisablenottouseanadjustablespanner,thejawsofwhichareapttoopenanddamagethecorners
ofthehexagon.
TheVilliersEngineeringCompanysupplyaspecialforging,knownasthe"HammerTight"
Spanner,andthepriceis3/6.
Thisnut,whichhasarighthandthread,isunscrewedinananticlockwisedirection,lookingatthe
faceoftheflywheel.Thespannershouldbeplacedonthenutandhammeredroundinthatdirection.
Afterabouttwoturnsitwillbefoundtotighten.Thisisbecausetheflangeisnowpullingagainstthe
faceoftheflywheel.Ifapieceofwoodisnowplacedagainstthefaceofthenutandhitsharplywitha
hammeritwillloosentheflywheelonthetaperoftheshaftandthenutcanbeunscrewedwiththe
fingerstilltheflywheeliscompletelyremoved.Whentakenoff,apieceofiron,suchasaspanner,
shouldbeplacedacrossthepoleshoes,topreventlossofmagneticflux.Thevariouscomponentsof
thearmatureplatearethenreadilyaccessible.Itshouldbenotedheretoo,thatthecontactbreaker
pointsarequiteaccessiblewithoutremovingtheflywheelwhichshouldneverbetakenoffunless
somethingmoreseriousrequiresattention,oritisnecessarytoremovethecompletemagnetoforany
reason.

TheArmaturePlate.
Onearlymodelsthisisheldinpositionbymeansofasplitsteelbush,whichiscontractedontothe
mainengineshaftbush,andascrewinthebossatthebackofthearmatureplateregulatesthetension
ofthisbush.
Inthecaseofmagnetoswithvariableignition,thescrewshouldbeadjustedbymeansofalong
handledscrewdriveruntiljustsufficienttensionisobtainedtoallowthearmatureplatetoberemoved
roundbyhand,butitshouldnotbesufficientlyloosetomovebyitself.Slackeningthescrewrightoff
willenablethearmatureplatetobedrawncompletelyfromtheengine,butinthecaseofthefixed
ignitionmagneto,thereisastrapconnectingthearmatureplatetooneofthecrankcasebolts,andthis
mustberemovedbeforethearmatureplatecanbetakenoff.
Onsomelatermodelsandoncertainindustrialenginesthearmatureplateisrigidlyfixedtothe
crankcasebymeansoftwoscrews,theheadsofwhichareinsidethemagneto.Withthistypeoffixing
itisnotofcourse,possibletoemployvariableignition.Thearmatureplateisremovedafterundoing
thetwoscrews.

RefittingandTimingtheFlywheel
Magneto.
Firstofallreplacethearmatureplate,andinthecaseofthefixedignitiontype,positionitbymeans
ofthestrapreferredtooverleaf.Beforefittingtheflywheel,wipethetaperoftheengineshaftandthe
correspondingtaperinsidethecamoftheflywheelperfectlycleananddry.Thenplacetheflywheelin
positionandscrewupthecentrenut.Beforethelatterisquitetight,settheflywheelsothatthearrow
stampedonitsfaceisinlinewith,andonthesamesideofthecentreas,thesmallmarkontheendof
theengineshaft.
Holdtheflywheelinthispositionandthentightenthecentrenut,lockingitfirmlyinpositionbya
fewsharpblowsontheendofthe"HammerTight"spanner.Ifthisisdoneaccurately,thetimingwill
automaticallybecorrect,becausethetwomarksaresoarrangedtomakethebreakingofthecontact
pointscoincidewiththesuitablepositionofthepiston.
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TIMINGMARKSTOCOlNCIDEASSHOWNONTOPSIDE

Wherevariableignitionisprovided,forgeneralrunningtheleveronthearmatureplateshouldbe
pulledbacktothe"advance"position.Whenthisleverisverticaltheignitionisfullyretarded.(See
paragraph(e)page29).

AdjustingtheContactPoints.
Theaccurateadjustmentofthesepointsisofimportancefortheefficientrunningoftheengine,
Adjustmentisonlyoccasionallycalledfor,butthissettingwilloftenmakeallthedifferencebetween
poorresultsandagoodperformance.Twospannersaredesirableonetoholdeachofthenutsonthe
adjustablepoint.
Firstofall,theflywheelshouldbeturnedroundsothattherockerarmisliftedtoitshighest
positiononthecam.Thenthelocknut(bottomone)shouldbeloosenedandtheothernutturneduntil
thefacesofcontactpointsareexactly1/64in,apart.Thescrewedpointshouldbecarefullyheldinthis
positionwhilethelocknutisthentightenedsecurely.Foraccuratesettingthereisagaugefittedon
thecontactbreakerspannersuppliedbytheVilliersEngineeringCompany,atthepriceof3d.each.
Thecontactpointgapshouldbesettothethicknessofthisgauge.Ifthepointsaresettooclose,itwill
resultindifficultstarting.Ifthepointsmakealmostcontinualcontact,startingwillbealmost
impossibleorspasmodicbackfiringinthesilencerwilloccur.Itiswisetokeepthecontactpoints
quiteclean,andtheyshouldoccasionallybewipedwithapetrolsoakedragtoremoveanydustor
Foreignmatterwhichmaycollect.Donoteverfilethecontactpoints.

RetardedIgnition.
Oftenobscureenginetroublesmaybetracedtoaloosearmatureplatewhichmaycausethe
adjustmentofthepointstovary,andmayresultalsointheignitionautomaticallyretardingitself.
Suchanoccurrencewillmaketheenginerunhotandinanerraticmanner.Theremedyistotighten
thearmatureplatesecurely.
Ignitiontroublesarerareif,forinstance,difficultyisexperiencedinstartingtheengine,
investigationsshouldfirstbemadetoascertainthattheengineisreceivingasupplyofpetrol.Press
the"tickler"onthecarburetter,andifpetrolflows,thatmaybetakenascorrect.Thensuspectthe
sparkingplugunscrewitfromthecylinderandlayitonthetopfinswiththehightensioncable
connectedtoitintheusualway,butdonotletthecableterminaltouchthecylinder.Thenrotatethe
enginewiththekickstarterorbyturningroundtheflywheel.Ifnosparkingisnoticeablebetweenthe
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sparkingplugpoints,itwillshowthattheplugisthecauseofyourdifficulty.Itshouldbedismantled
andcarefullycleaned,allsootbeingremovedfromitsinsulation,becausethisisprobablycausingthe
currenttoshortcircuitinsteadofjumpingthepointsandcreatingasparkReassemblethesparking
plugandcarefullyadjustthepointssothatadistanceofnotmorethan.025in.separatesthem.
resumingthatwhentestedthereisasatisfactorysparkattheplugpoints,andtheenginestillrefusesto
fire,examinethehightensioncablefromthemagnetotothesparkingplug.Thismayhavebeen
touchingthecylinder,withtheresultthattherubbercoveringhasburned,andtheinnerwirewas
touchingametalpartofthemachine,thuscausingashortcircuit.Theonlysatisfactoryremedythenis
tofitanewcable.Anotherpointatwhichtroublemayoccur,butthisisveryunusual,isatthe"pick
up"springinsidethemagneto.Atthemagnetoendofthehightensioncableisavulcaniteterminal.
Thisterminalshouldbetakenout,anditwillbeseentocontainasmallspringwhichmakescontact
withtheignitioncoil.Thisspringshouldbequitestraight,sothatwhentheterminalisinposition,its
padtouchesthesmallcontactpointonthecoil,immediatelyunderneathit.Shouldthespringshow
signsofhavingbeenbentsideways,ithasprobablynotmadepropercontact,andyourtroublelies
there.
Anotherpossiblecauseofdifficultstartingistheformationthroughoxidisationofafilmonthe
contactpointoftheignitioncoil,andthiscanbescrapedcleanwithapenknife.
TypesofMagnetos.
TherearevarioustypesandpatternsofVilliersflywheelmagnetos,buttheforegoingparticulars
applytoallingeneralanditwillservenousefulpurposetogiveadescriptionoftheconstructionof
eachpattern.

AFinalWordaboutSparkingPlugs
Themanufacturers,whocarryoutextensiveandprolongedtests,reallydoknowthetypeof
sparkingplugbestsuitedtoeachparticularengine,andtherefore,ifoccasionarisestofitanew
sparkingplugitshouldalwaysbeofthesamemakeandtypeastheoriginalone.Itisoftenacostly
mattertoexperimentwithdifferentsparkingplugs,becauseaverycheaponecanquiteeasilydo
considerabledamage,althoughthisisnotappreciatedbymanyusers.
InsistonhavinggenuineVillierssparepartsonlyforyourengineforsatisfactoryresults.

BacktoBIKESpage

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