Excited from Thundersley

[John Wakefield]

I thought you had it back in Essex? hence the trailer. Some nice country roads and green lanes in Essex. Put some petroil ( 25:1 mix) in the tank ad give it a go. The old Villiers engines are very resilient and it will probably run ok, dont go looking for problems if it aint broke dont fix it.

[Jon K]

Now that’s the kind of advice I like I was going to ask what the petrol ratio is.

I thought I’d probably need to empty the tank of the fuel that’s been sitting in it these last 14 (who knows, maybe more) years. I was intending to take the tank off and give it a proper drain, maybe clean it out with detergent before rinsing and drying. New fuel filters too. Do you think none of that’s necessary?

I was also imagining I need to, as a minimum, clean out the float bowl on the carb (surely it has one of those?) and flush it through with fresh fuel if not carb cleaner.

Then, I’d envisaged a needing new air filter. It does have a air filter, doesn’t it?

And finally, I thought a drain and refill of gearbox oil. No?

I have so many more questions…

Petrol - 95, 97 or 99 ron?

Whats the best oil to put in the petrol?

What’s the best oil for the gearbox, and what quantity?

How do I find TDC before kicking it?

I’ve put it in the lounge got now

[Jon K]

Sorry, another question already…

The gear lever is out of reach from the foot peg. I expect you know this.

Is there a modification I can do to bring it within reach?

Jon

[John Wakefield]

I cant believe you need to ask some these questions but here are some answers


Then, I’d envisaged a needing new air filter. It does have a air filter, doesn’t it? Yes just a wire gauze one which you can clean in petrol

And finally, I thought a drain and refill of gearbox oil. No? if oil looks clean it should be OK just top it up (se below)

I have so many more questions…

Petrol - 95, 97 or 99 ron? Standard 95

Whats the best oil to put in the petrol? Standard mineral 2 stroke oil @ 25:1 you can buy it at most garages.

What’s the best oil for the gearbox, and what quantity? EP80 fill it up to dipstick mark

How do I find TDC before kicking it? You dont need to its not a 4 stroke

[whitehillbillies]

Hi Jon.
Oils much better than the old days.
Cheap mineral oil 32.1
As suggested the air cleaner splits in half. Slot for screw driver. Wash in petrol. I then dip mine in 2st mix and let fuel evaporate. But a bit dusty in Aus.
Drain fuel tank and carby. New fuel and give it a run. Change gearbox and primary oil after giving it a run for a bit.
I run ATF in the chain case.

whitehillbilly

[Colin Sparrow]

Don't put EP90 in the chaincase. SAE 30 or ATF will be fine.

[Jon K]

Thank you, that’s all really helpful.

John - I’m sorry if my questions seem unnecessary to you. I genuinely don’t know these things. I guess sometimes knowing the question to ask is the difficult bit, like in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Normally I would be leaning on Google and YouTube for answers, but neither has much content relating to Greeves maintenance.

I’ve bought an engine service manual from Villiers Services now. I’ll have a read through that before asking any more questions, and I’ll ask future questions elsewhere on the forum.

Thank you.

Jon

[John Wakefield]

[QUOTE=whitehillbillies;n87944]Hi Jon.
Oils much better than the old days.
Cheap mineral oil 32.1
As suggested the air cleaner splits in half. Slot for screw driver. Wash in petrol. I then dip mine in 2st mix and let fuel evaporate. But a bit dusty in Aus.
Drain fuel tank and carby. New fuel and give it a run. Change gearbox and primary oil after giving it a run for a bit.
I run ATF in the chain case.


Cheap mineral oil 32.1 ? I would not recommend this low a ratio on mineral oil. Villiers recommended 20:1, but with modern oils 25:1 is OK. Dont use fully synthetic, they are for modern engines, the old Villiers like plenty of oil.

[Stuart Baskill]

Thank you, that’s all really helpful.

John - I’m sorry if my questions seem unnecessary to you. I genuinely don’t know these things. I guess sometimes knowing the question to ask is the difficult bit, like in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Normally I would be leaning on Google and YouTube for answers, but neither has much content relating to Greeves maintenance.

I’ve bought an engine service manual from Villiers Services now. I’ll have a read through that before asking any more questions, and I’ll ask future questions elsewhere on the forum.

Thank you.

Jon

Ask any questions you want.If we know the answer it makes us feel clever.And the answer was 42

[Jon K]

Ask any questions you want.If we know the answer it makes us feel clever.And the answer was 42

But what was the question? My favourite that the white mice came up with was ‘How many roads must a man walk down?’

Jon

[Colin Sparrow]

What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?

Deep thought: "I'll have to think about it"

After several million years of cogitation the answer was indeed 42

Next question: how's the thread got hijacked this far?

Sorry Jon K

[whitehillbillies]

Fired it up yet ????
whole day has passed.
'How many roads must a man walk down?’ You will find out now you own a Greeves Trials........

whitehillbilly

[Jon K]

What’s the best oil for the gearbox, and what quantity? EP80 fill it up to dipstick mark

How do I find TDC before kicking it? You dont need to its not a 4 stroke

Sorry, I know I’d said I’d post in more appropriate sections, but I need to directly question this.

I can’t find a dipstick. Where’s that then?

Among the very few Greeves videos on YouTube there are two purporting to show the starting procedure. Both say to ‘find TDC’. Having said that, neither mention the compression lever so I don’t know what that’s for either.

I’ve removed and emptied out the tank as best I could, removed and cleaned out the carb bowl, checked the air filter and fuel filter (both looked OK to me).

I see no reason not to fuel it up and try a kick. If it fires I can’t leave it running for any length of time, not knowing how much oil is in it. And I still won’t be able to try riding it until I can work out the correct chain tension and tyre pressures. And then I’ll need to get used to a gear shift lever that’s nowhere near the foot peg.

I wish there was more info online. It’s horrible being this lacking in knowledge

Still loving the bike though

Jon

[Jon K]

Fired it up yet ????
whole day has passed.
'How many roads must a man walk down?’ You will find out now you own a Greeves Trials........

whitehillbilly

I know, it’s like an itch that won’t scratched until the explosions start.

I do like a walk. Prefer it when not pushing a bike though, I mean you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist, but that’s just peanuts to pushing a Greeves.

Jon

[johnrunnacles]

Hi Jon. I'll help you more directly with your questions if I can. Probably best via Private Messaging, though. Try me ............

Incidentally, dipstick is probably absent because sensible owners remove it. Use the oil level plug at back (right hand side) of the gearbox casting instead.