Go
to the Archive index7 Maxwell Drive, Papatoetoe,
New Zealand.
Dear Andrew,
Smith Motor Wheel
I enclose a photo of my newly completed Smith Motor Wheel (Milwaukee, USA), 150cc automatic inlet valve, 1916. It runs very well but is a devil of a thing to start due to the 8:1 reduction gearing of the road wheel, mounted direct on the end of the cam shaft. There is a 4-lobed cam on this camshaft. I wonder if there are any examples of this in the UK.
Also recently acquired is a 1950 Victoria 38cc clip-on (German) two-speed, chain drive to a 48T sprocket on the back hub. It’s not on the road yet so I can’t comment on it. I do not recall seeing one mentioned in Buzzing.
Yours sincerely,
Pat Wood
First published: October 1999
7 Maxwell Drive, Papatoetoe,
New Zealand.
Dear Andrew,
I have a Wall Auto Wheel, which runs very well and I am sometimes asked to lend it to museums to put on display. It was originally designed by Mr A W Wall. Who was the Mr Wall, its inventor? Does anybody out there have any details of his life? And what was his connection with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?
I have an old motor cycle book that shows Arthur Conan Doyle, complete
with deerstalker hat, knickerbockers & motor cycle costume of the
period. He is holding an early motor cycle of unknown make, possibly
a prototype of a Roc motor cycle. Are there any clues on this? Did he
have shares in this? Sherlock Holmes would know; he would have found in
elementary!
I would be interested to hear of any responses relating to Mr Wall.
I also have a Smith Motor Wheel, made in Milwaukee, USA in 1916. It has a 150cc AIV engine and has been restored at great expense. It has very similar characteristics to the Wall but, of the two, I much prefer the Wall. The Smith is too hard to start; there is an 8-to-1 reduction between the engine and the road wheel. Once under way, it packs a might punch and, having no neutral, cam be quite dangerous unless ridden with caution.
Yours sincerely,
Patrick Wood
Another of Pat's machines: a Victoria
First published: February 2000