OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Engines Berini Push Bike engine, Bicycles & more

Scored this stuff today.

We went to an old push bike and mower repair place today, it was now just a run down shed.

I got lots of mower parts, like blades and carbies. Got some hubcaps to finish off my Special. And vintage push bikes of course! and a cool little thing to show people how the gears would work.

My favorite thing is this little push bike 2 stroke engine, it would sit above the back wheel and would power it instead of you peddling. I want to rebuild this, it would be my first non-mower restoration!

Sorry about bad pictures.






Another recent score is this Outboard I found in the scrap heap at my dads work yard.





A special shout out for all the members of my page Vintage Mowers: Buy Swap & Sell Australia! We just reached 700 members! I couldn't have done it without all of you guys!

Good score Kye, you must work hard at tracking all this stuff down

It all seams to come to me Norm! haha.

To find all that good oil stuff a few weeks ago all I had to do was sit there and listen to someone tell his wife he had a pace spanner lol!

We found this stuff while clearing trees, we got to take it all! We could have taken more but we just took the BMX's and mowers parts. I saw some stuff on the way out that I wish I grabbed. We got enough though.

It will defiantly be one of my best scores, that bike engine is awesome!

Bloody hell Kye, They're BMX's from the 80's. You sure know how to make a bloke feel old!
Those bike engines were apparently fairly common back in the day. Probably similar to how those Chinese bike engines can be had from eBay these days. Although I can't see any of those being around in 40+ years

old oil bottles would have been common back in the day too! yet some are worth heaps!

Maybe the cheap stuff today will be even rarer then the rare stuff today since everything brakes so easy! Maybe the Chonda's that you all seam to hate will become the new Victa Automatic!

I got told by a bloke that restores antique furniture that a lot of the antiques he sees are the crap from the day as all the good stuff was used and worn out whereas the crap seemed to get little use.

It would make sense Slash.
less of the bad stuff would be used so it would be put out the back and sold later on, or just kept there until a collector comes 50 years later and finds a Victa Automatic sitting in its original box lol!

Wouldn't that be a treat, still in box!
If anyones going to find that one Kye it's you.

I got told recently those plastic wheels on the BMX that we used to call "tuffs" are going for around $1000 a pair and from memory the "spin back" (non braked) rims were harder to come by. Legend has it that if the rims were buckled a day or two in mums freezer pulled them straight again.
What are the plans for the outboard leg? I reckon a Victa twin would look pretty flash on it.

It would kill me finding an Auto box with something inside Slash, what would I do?? open and damage the box to see whats inside, or look at the perfect box and wonder if I own a NOS Victa Automatic or a normal Model 4 Special.

Yes my dad has been talking to his friends about "Tuffs' tonight. $1000 for 2 wheels?? and I thought mower collectors were crazy!

I am not sure what to do with the outboard, either I try to fix the engine on it or I find a new one. I wouldn't mind a Villiers 7F outboard! Victa Twin would look good too!

I was thinking the same about the mower box. Would I open it open it or not? Would I try to open it from underneath so it still looks unmolestered? I reckon that outboard looks rebuildable if you were up for it, It'd probably be easier and more fun to splice another powerhead onto it though. A bloke at work was telling me about some nut jobs on a BMX forum getting all excited over bikes like you just scored and they were selling (yes some nut job handing over hard earned cash) tuffs for $1000. You never know, one might have grandads first model Pace he wants to off load on a deal for "some really cool bike parts"

I will probably put a new engine on the outboard, will have to make a converting thingy so it can fit another engine. Will be a cool challenge, worth a try though.

I think we might be selling later. Most of the mower parts I am keeping though.

I am missing the exhaust for the Berini Bike motor so if anyone has one please message me.

Kye would you mind posting a few more pics of the bike engine please? I'm quite curious about it. Thanks mate.

I will have to get some more.

I have already been offered a dirt bike for it...

Sounds like it might be a good swap, IF you want a dirt bike or can flip it for what you do want.

It would have been a good swap, but I am already thinking of plans for this engine.
I know where I can get an old bike for free, I want to fix up the bike and engine and put them together, then I can cruise around in style probably not legally though...

It will be good for the yearly dirt drags at Villeneuve though. After its all over lots of kids usually go out there on there push bikes and race, I will be able to beat them without peddling!

G'day Kye,

I'm with Slash. Feeling old. The bikes were the stuff we blasted around on and went to school on. Everyone rode to school on a pushy....and then to wherever after school. Our parents were always told we had ridden to the library to research an assignment or to a friends place to study. Did our parents really believe us?? Surely they weren't really that stupid.
Either way, I kinda wish my own kids had had the same level of freedom when growing up...but times have changed.

Re: the opening of the box? No point. The cat is always dead:). I hope y'all get that. If not Google Shrodinger's cat.

Keep up the good work Kye, and best of luck trying to choose between the engine and the dirt bike!

Cheers

Down here I know you can have a motor on a bike but it must be below 50CC. This is why it is common to buy the ebay 49cc bike engine (has 49cc cast into crankcase) and use the larger piston, barrel and carby.
Having said that it'd be poor form for a cop to give a young bloke a ticket for having some nostalgic style. From what my old man has told me of the old bike engines weren't fast but sure would make it easy to drag mowers home. Could even make a period style oiled timber trailer for bike.......

I have read that they were 26cc but became 32cc in 1951, so maybe it would be legal!

I doubt the cops would care, if they do I will just ride off road, they will have to chase me on foot, good luck haha! I live in a rural area though so it would take me a long time to get places, so I might just save the fun for the dirt drags. Not much fuel anyway, might run out half way and have to walk!
The trailer would be awesome! I wonder if the engine could cope with the extra weight.

26 or 32 is quite small for a young bloke, a bike, a trailer, a jerry can and a load of rusty gold.....could always have a play and end up rehoming a surplus Villiers on the back of that old bike and flip the bike motor?

Its only small, I want to just make a cool looking bike.

I will have to get the broken down old ride on next to the shed sorted to pick up local rusty gold. I will have to go door knocking! might find some old cans.

If a young bloke came up my driveway driving a ride on with his trailer and a cut lunch, tapped on the door and asked if he could poke around my old shed I'd have to let him in I reckon.
It sure would be a cool old nostalgic bike with the motor on it.

It's actually a power output limit, not engine capacity as such. Has to be 200W or less, to qualify as a legal 'power assisted bicycle'. And it's up to the rider to have proof of that. The rule in Queensland is that electric motors only are permitted; not as it is in Vic, where other motor types are OK up to the 200W total power limit.

This rule was brought in to stop those 50cc 'monkey bikes' being ridden on the street, so it is enforced.

It would be expensive to get done, too - no rego, no third party, unroadworthy and no motorcycle licence...

Looks like my bike will be braking a few laws.... will be a show only bike.
The ride on might be a better idea for picking, if the cops ask I am just mowing the grass!

I got the outboard today, its a Suzuki, might just be pulled apart and used for parts, its not in the best condition. If I do it up it will probably get a Victa.

Hi all

Kye, I love that spherical fuel tank!

240 Miles per gallon! that sounds pretty good, but I doubt the fuel tank could hold a Gallon.

Hi Kye

No, but it would be interesting to know the tank's capacity
to work out how far you could travel 'on a tank'.

--------------------
Jack

I would say about half a gallon Jack, maybe 120 miles if what the ad says is true.

Also in case you haven't realized Jack the Berini is a Rotary Valve, just like a Pope! I just did some research and the fuel tank is 1/2 Gallon

Hi Kye

No, I know nothing about these little motors, but what an amazing
part of Malvern Star history!

So, 120 miles on a tank. That would take you from Bris Vegas to the Gold Coast.
The engine would struggle when towing the caravan though ...

--------------------
Jack

I do not think these are made by Malvin Star, they are just being sold with Malvin stars in the ad. They were sold with all kinds of bikes and by them selves.


This little source I found has a report from back in the day that says it is more like 160 miles per gallon, so probably only 80 miles. Still pretty far for the little thing.

Hi Kye

No, not made by Malvern Star, but nonetheless important to
their history - because they were the importers.

http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/374641

I love the link to the 'cycle attachment engine'.

-----------------
Jack

Ahhh Didn't know that Jack!

That faded red bike with the skyways reminds me of a Kuwahara, wouldn't surprise me at all if you'd pulled one of them out of a shed Kye!

From what we have been told it is probably a Quick Silver.

Nice, got me back into looking for the old school bikes now and forgetting about mowers haha

Me and my dad are into them now as well!

Our plan is too keep the Quick Silver and another one, and do them up original, then do another one up like a hot rod, then have an old 50s style bike with the Berini! We have the gear shop show off thingy too which is pretty cool.

Quite a few of the older bikes are worth a pretty penny nowadays, countless time watching bmx bandits as young kids and always wishing we had enough money to get a cool bike like that one day, if the red one is a genuine quick silver, she'd be well worth saving, putting the time into and enjoying it

We have gotten told by bike collectors that it is we are very happy

Nice one mate! Good score then

Cheers mate! we were very happy with it!