| Villiers Handbook | |
Authors
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Introduction
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History
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Crankcases
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Crankshafts
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Pistons
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Primary Drive
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Gearbox
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Ignition
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Induction
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Exhaust
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Silencing
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About the authors
Rob Carrick
Having served his apprenticeship on a James K7 Captain, Rob Carrick formed a bond with the Villiers Engineering Co. that he has not been broken to this day. Despite a break when he went over to big four strokes, the Villiers product still found favour, which was rekindled with the purchase of a Greeves Scottish, that had to be rebuilt from scratch. Today the Villiers theme is still evident in his activities, racing an Invader engined 197 Greeves and an Alpha/Greeves/Villiers Special in classic events.John Wood
John Wood is a professional engineer, and started racing in 1977 on an air cooled Suzuki T20 and later an air cooled Yamaha, then a Yamaha 250 LC in the Marlboro championships of the early 1980's to top 5 positions. After a break from "modern racing" and a year on a 250cc Royal Enfield, today his allegiance definitely lies with the Villiers product. Racing a 9E powered Greeves Hawkstone with the VMCC, he won the 1993 Historic 250 cc championship using a Summerscales tuned 197cc motor. During the winter of 1993/94 a 250cc motor was developed in conjunction with Arthur Summerscales, and this broke the Cadwell Park long circuit lap record, Lydden lap record, won six consecutive races, and won the 1994 Historic championship. John also races an Invader engined Greeves Silverstone in the CRMC 200 cc class, and has had several CRMC class wins.Acknowledgements
Over the past three decades many famous names have added to the immortality of the 9E, but in latter years these experts have become fewer, due to the decrease in popularity of the marque. Now with the renewed interest in the classic scene, some have come out of hiding, and together with the new breed of two stroke experts, have contributed to a renewed lease of life for this venerable masterpiece of British engineering.It is to John Collard of the Greeves Riders Association, Barry Hickmott, Tom Thacker of Invader Engines, Brian Woolley of Classic Motorcycle and Australian journalist Derek Pickard, that we give thanks, for without their expertise and diligence the Villiers A and E range singles might have faded into obscurity.
The future of two-strokes in our society will be determined by those like Dr. Gordon Blair of Queens University Belfast, and others that we turn to for help and guidance. In their search for the acceptable future, they have uncovered a veritable mine of useful information which we can put to very good use.