Autocycle ABC Autocycle ABC was originally published in monthly instalments on the NACC website during 1998 and 1999. The 21 articles have been gathered together here and updated to produce a boo let that gives an introduction to the history o! the British autocycle. "ast Anglian Cyclemotor Club #irst edition—January 2&&' (econd edition—August 2&&) Third edition—November 2&&) #ourth edition—June 2&1* 2 Contents 1: Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................................4 2: Aberdale.............................................................................................................................................................................6 3: ABJ........................................................................................................................................................................................8 4: Bown....................................................................................................................................................................................9 5: BSA....................................................................................................................................................................................10 6: Com ander....................................................................................................................................................................11 !: Co"entr#$%a&le..............................................................................................................................................................13 8: C#c$Auto..........................................................................................................................................................................14 9: Da#ton..............................................................................................................................................................................16 10: E(cel)ior.........................................................................................................................................................................1! 11: Franci)+Barnett...........................................................................................................................................................20 12: H%C..................................................................................................................................................................................23 13: Ja e)...............................................................................................................................................................................25 14: Jone)................................................................................................................................................................................28 15: Mal"ern Star.................................................................................................................................................................29 16: New Hud)on.................................................................................................................................................................31 1!: Nor an and Ra bler..............................................................................................................................................33 18: Ra#nal.............................................................................................................................................................................36 19: Rud&e..............................................................................................................................................................................38 20: Sun.................................................................................................................................................................................39 21: Three Spire)..................................................................................................................................................................41 3 1: Introduction The best way to start will be to de+,ne what an autocycle is... What is an autocycle? -n the pioneering days o! motor cycling the term ‘autocycle/ meant any powered two0wheeler and was1 there!ore1 synonymous with motor cycle. This early usage is perpetuated today in the name o! the Auto Cycle Union1 which is the governing body o! motor cycle sport in the U3. Between the two World Wars a utilitarian style o! motorcycle with pedals and a small engine1 o! between *5cc and 1&0cc capacity1 was developed and this the type o! machine these articles will consider. The term autocycle has also been applied to other types o! machine at various times. Bicycles powered by au6iliary engines became popular A!7er World War I-8 these were initially classi+,ed as autocycles until the term .cyclemotor/ was applied to them. Later1 purpose built under050cc machines were described as ‘light autocycles/ until the word ‘moped/ was imported from Germany in the mid 195&s. Neither o! these types is now thought o! as being an autocycle. Finally1 the V<lo(oleX must be mentioned> this machine is to all intents and purposes a cyclemotor but it has fre?uently been classi+,ed as an autocycle because it was only sold as a complete machine8 the engine could not be ‘clipped-on/ to any bicycle. Perhaps1 in reality1 it should be in a class by itsel!. To summarise1 what this boo let is about is the ‘British-style/ autocycle that began with the Cyc-Auto in 1934 and died out with the New Hudson in 19588 typi+,ed by the many mar?ues that used the Villiers Junior1 Junior De Lu6e and 2# engines as their power plant. A Brief History The story o! the autocycle begins with the Budget o! 1931 when a reduced annual ta6 rate o! 15/- [*5pF was introduced for motor cycles with engine capacities under 150cc. Machines o! the autocycle type were already popular on the European Continent and the aim o! this concession was to stimulate the British industry to produce something similar. At f,rst1 manu!acturers only too advantage o! this new taxation class by producing small capacity motor cycles1 or ‘pip-s?ueaks/ as they became nic named. When autocycles did appear it was1 probably1 inevitable that the nic name ‘Wil!red/ would be given to them1 derived from the title o! the popular Daily Mirror cartoon strip ‘@ip1 S?ueak and Wil!red/. This nic name was o!7en seen within the pages o! Motorcycling but whether its use e6tended far beyond that magHine/s readership is somewhat doubt!ul. 3il4red5) ear): t1e bad&e o4 t1e 3il4redian 6eague o4 7u&nunc). The f,rst real autocycle didn/t came onto the scene until 193A1 this was the Cyc0Auto. The Cyc-Auto was a somewhat peculiar design and never achieved great popularity8 it remained the sole e6ample o! an autocycle on the British mar et until E6celsior and Raynal both introduced their Villiers Junior powered autocycles in 193*. The ne6t step forward from the Cyc-Auto came in 193). This was a one-oJ! prototype designed by :eorge B Jones in conKunction with the Villiers Engine Company. In many ways1 it was similar to the Cyc0Auto> the frame was similarly proportioned and it used concentric shaf7s for the pedals and power drive. The design was taken up by Raynal but modi+,ed to make the machine cheaper to produce. The re-design altered the proportions o! the machine1 apparently much to Mr Jones/s annoyance1 to what was 4 to become a de facto standard for Villiers Junior e?uipped machines. It has been said that the Villiers Junior was designed speci+,cally for the Raynal but Villiers1 apprehensive that the Raynal would not achieve a high volume o! sales1 ‘leaked/ the design details to E6celsior to ensure a larger mar et for their new engine. #ollowing the introduction o! these two machines1 production o! autocycles blossomed with James1 Iudge1 Coventry0"agle1 FrancisLBarnett1 Norman1 Three Spires1 Dayton1 Sun and New Hudson all producing similar1 Junior0powered autocycles. @roduction o! these mar?ues continued to 1940, when most factories turned to doing war wor 1 to be resumed af7er the war. However1 a few manu!acturers continued in production. The autocycle was one o! the few types o! motor cycle that continued in production during World War I-. This is because autocycles were found to be e6tremely use!ul during the war1 providing transport for those engaged in essential services> district nurses1 AI@ wardens1 armament wor ers1 etc. The main impact o! the autocycle was that it brought motorised transport to people who could not afford to run a car and who would never have considered riding a ‘proper/ motor cycle. Women in particular enKoyed the freedom o! having their own transport which the autocycle gave them and which would not have been available to them otherwise. 5 2: Aberdale The Aberdale Cycle Co. Ltd.1 Bridport Road1 Edmonton1 London N18 announced its autocycle in Motorcycling in March 1947. The Aberdale was a typical autocycle o! the period1 being powered by a Villiers Junior de 9u6e engine. This 98cc1 single-speed engine was hung from a simple tubular frame with dropped top tube and no rear suspension. At the front was a basic blade girder for . Both wheels had small drum brakes and heavy0 duty 2)×1¾ bicycle rims and tyres. The petrol tan held about 1½ gallons o! fuel (1)>1 petrol/oil mi6ture) and f,tted into the space formed