Anglian little end

[Mike Norris]

Help please.
Finally got a new carb from Villiers services and hey presto the Anglian fires first kick each time. Went for a ride about 5 miles and was concerned about the knocking from top end.
When stripped down today the little end has a roller bearing and a spacer each side of the conrod between piston and conrod.
The bearing is completely shot.
Has anyone come across this?
The bore and piston both to be in good condition with no obvious wear to either.
Do I need a new conrod piston little end etc..
Thanks,
Mike

[dave higgins]

Hi mike, don`t know your specific rod assembly, but most caged needle roller bearings run in a pressed in sleeve in the conrod, as does the big end roller bearing.......

[Stan Nicholson]

If it is the knife edge, polished Alpha rod, the small end bearing is a crowded roller type, ie no cage. I have been using one of these rods in my Silverstone for 5 seasons of racing (at 4 races per year that is 20 race weekends). Unfortunately the rod broke at the transition between the big end diameter and the rod at the last race of this year. It must have been a fault in the rod as it has not been abused, but that's how things go sometimes. However, both top and bottom bearings were still in perfect condition but that may be because I run a 20:1 mix of Castrol R with race fuel in the bike.
I looks to me like the rollers run directly in the eye of the rod without a sleeve so if the gudgeon pin is unworn where the rollers run and the rod is not blued up it might be worth getting a new set of needle rollers and checking the clearance before replacing any other parts. These bearings come with an aluminium piece that holds the rollers in place while the gudgeon pin is pressed through the piston, pushing this piece out as the pin is pressed into place.
Villiers Services have taken over the sales of these rods from Simon so it might be worth seeing if they have replacement rollers. I am waiting for them to let me know when they have the complete rod kits in stock to rebuild my crank.

[John Wakefield]

The other option would be to make up a phosphor bronze bush (like in the original Villiers rod) This would be perfectly acceptable for a trials bike.

[Andy Z]

As far as I know, all the full-circle villiers cranks made by Simon Bateman used this small end arrangement. The Norton Villiers crank uses a caged roller. To make assembly with loose rollers easier, there is a special tool which is just like a very short gudgeon pin. If you need to borrow the tool, just let me know.
Replacement rollers are available from Simon/Villiers services.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Rob]

Andrew,

We had some fun and games putting Kim's piston back on the rod with all those little rollers! I made up a tool of sorts but what is the actual thing like? Thanks!

[Andy Z]

Andrew,

We had some fun and games putting Kim's piston back on the rod with all those little rollers! I made up a tool of sorts but what is the actual thing like? Thanks!

Hi Rob,

It's just a small piece of aluminium rod, same diameter as the gudgeon pin. It's length is the same as the width of the small end, plus the 2 washers. Still fiddly, but with a load of thick grease it all holds together!

For trials applications you're probably better off with a bush, as John says.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Mike Norris]

Anglian little end.

Hello all and thank you for your advice. I took the engine to pieces. It has a Norton Villiers full circle crank 'h' con rod with caged roller bearings at each end. My son spoke to Norton Villiers on Monday and has ordered replacement bearings for all except the big end in which there is no vertical movement and gudgeon pin. He will be back home at the weekend and will rebuild the engine then he says. It has a DMW electronic ignition and +80 DMW piston with no signs of wear to the barrel.
I am amazed how light the engine is. It would seem that someone has spent a lot of money on this bike.
It would not run despite having a good spark and petrol flooding out of the float bowl. Being fed-up I bought one of the new Amal premium carbs from Villiers Services
The bike fired up 2nd kick and ran well and kept starting 1st or 2nd kick.
I think that the old carb must need Rob's cleaning to enable the petrol to get to the engine.
Too much waffle for now will let you know how it goes back together.
Mike