Whatever happened to....

[SteveD]

...the Wooler? Some interesting concepts there, like frame integrated exhausts!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j_NjhYGZMc

[Sibbo]

Wow ! What a great bike ..... like an improved Velocette Valiant . I often wonder what would have happened had Velocette made the Valiant a 500 instead of a 200cc bike .

[Sibbo]

The marque disappeared after founder John Wooler died, in 1956.
http://cybermotorcycle.com/euro/wikig/W ... ng_Co.html

And a bloody pity that was too .I can do without the tankcumheadlight but the rest is brilliant .

[Garnet]

The "Beam engine" is the most bizarre part of the bike. I've got a pic of it at home that I took at Sammy Miler's. Ill post it tonight.

[Deleted User 62]

I love the "Flying Wrench" hood ornament!

[Sibbo]

About the 1953 500cc Wooler

Britain’s forgotten four

After Wooler achieved fame with its ‘Flying Banana’ twin in the Twenties, little was heard from the small London marque until the 1948 London Show. One of the sensations of that event was a prototype 500cc Wooler shaft-drive tourer with an extraordinary four-cylinder engine. Horizontally-opposed pistons were connected to its crankshaft via a single main connecting rod and a complex rocking-beam mechanism.

Although John Wooler was reluctant to admit it, his innovative engine was impractical. To salvage the project, his son Ronald designed a more orthodox horizontally-opposed four-cylinder power unit. The redesigned four has a compact all-alloy power unit with one carburettor for each pair of cylinders and overhead valves operated by pushrods from camshafts in the lower engine. Drive to the rear wheel from the single-plate clutch and four-speed gearbox is by a shaft and bevel gears. Maintaining Wooler’s ‘Flying Banana’ tradition, the fuel tank unit extends forward ahead of the steering stem and forms the headlamp nacelle. A toolbox is built into the top of the gearbox and an oil pressure gauge is located just ahead of it.

http://www.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co. ... ooler/115/

Predating Honda’s Gold Wing flat-four shaft drive tourer by 20 years, the Wooler set out to offer the highest levels of comfort, silence and ease of use. But its maker lacked the finance needed to develop and make a competitive product. As few as five machines are thought to have been assembled before John Wooler died and his marque folded in 1956.

SPECIFICATION

Engine: 498cc (50 x 63.5mm) overhead valve flat four, two 26mm Solex carburettors, coil ignition

Transmission: Single-plate clutch, four-speed gearbox, shaft final drive

Chassis: Tubular frame, telescopic fork front suspension, plunger rear suspension, drum brakes.

Wheels: 19in front and rear

Power 32bhp at 6,000rpm Weight 352lb (160kg) Top speed 85mph

[Deleted User 62]

Here's another that always facinated me, the 1950 Imme, single sided forks and swingarm, with the swingarm also serving as the exhaust pipe. Note how the engine pivots in frame. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QAxxs5A7pE

[Sibbo]

Singles sided ? That's pretty amazing from the 50s .

How about the BSA Beagle ? 1964.75cc, OHV .An excellent little bit of gear, I wonder why it didn't sell like Hondas ?





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9tUZyPVwIY

[Zombie Master]

I wish my projects went together that easily.

Hilarious!

[Major Softie]

How about the BSA Beagle ? 1964.75cc, OHV .An excellent little bit of gear, I wonder why it didn't sell like Hondas ?

Just guessing: price and reliability.

Edit: after looking at the specs, I'm thinking performance as well. Beagle had 4 hp, went 40 mph. 64 Honda Super 90 had 8 hp and was supposed to be able to do 65. My guess is that the far superior performance of the Honda was available for the same or less money.

Second Edit:

"The Beagle had roller main bearings, geared primary drive and a four speed gearbox, but a weak top end let it down, along with its many oil leaks. Handling was poor, and if worked hard the engines would often give up at well under 10,000 miles.

But these days we rise to the challenge of riding a bike that was a failure in its day. Most cyclemotors suffered from the same essential issue – which is that they were not in production for long enough for the various problems to be solved.

Though influenced by Edward Turner (famous for the Ariel Square Four and Triumph Speed Twin), it had been rushed out by BSA to try and compete in a market they were losing to imports. Italian lightweight motorcycles had excellent reputations and the revolutionary Honda 4 stroke mopeds had just started to arrive. But, with inherent engine problems, most Beagles soon ended up back in the shops that had sold them. My mechanic worked on them when he first started as an apprentice. He told me that BSA refused to honour the guarantees, so shops had to bear the costs themselves."
http://buyvintage1.wordpress.com/page-2 ... ine-600cc/

So, I guess there were PLENTY of reasons.