EXCELSIOR

250 Villiers - 1924

Motorcycle pioneers

In the 1870s and 1880s, the partners Bayliss and Thomas pioneered the mass production of bicycles in Coventry, and built their first motorcycle in 1896, powered by a Belgian Minerva engine. They had used the name "Excelsior" in 1874. Although the company officially became the Excelsior Motor Company in 1910, they still used the "Bayliss-Thomas" name in export markets to avoid confusion with the American and German machines sold under the Excelsior name.

Variety of Engines

After Minerva, Bayliss and Thomas fitted French De Dion-Boutons engines and their license-built English copies made by MMC (including an 850cc single!).

Change of Ownership

Shortly after WWI, they sold the Excelsior company to Reginald Walker, who transferred the works from Coventry to the Birmingham suburb of Tyseley. Aided by his son Eric, Walker decided to promote the marque in competition and offered a large range which went from a lightweight 100cc machine to a 1000cc sidecar outfit. The lightweight bikes were powered by the new Villiers two-stroke singles, built by a marque founded in 1919 that took its name from its factory location on Villiers Street in Wolverhampton. The first Villiers engine was a 70x70mm 263cc single. It was joined in 1922 by a 150cc single, quickly followed by a 172cc unit. In 1930, as the Great Depression gripped Europe, Excelsior launched a utility model powered by a 147cc Villiers single.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 247cc (67x70mm) air-cooled single-cylinder; flywheel magneto ignition

Valves: two-stroke

Fuel System: Villiers carburetor

Transmission: Albion 2-speed, chain primary and belt final drive

Suspension: Druid girder forks (front); rigid (rear)

Brakes: rim (front); belt rim (rear)

Wheels: wire clincher (front & rear)

Weight: 161 lb

Maximum Speed: 42 mph

Simple and robust, the little Excelsior was powered by a 247cc Villiers two-stroke and was a typical economy lightweight of the 1920s.