Whatsthisthen?

[NewcastleFalcon]

Vespa Casalini....Sulky

Is it a Gnat Tricycle?

Some excellent work there Dormouse/Mick, reckon I would have struggled had I been in to give it a go

Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

Vespa Casalini....Sulky

Is it a Gnat Tricycle?

Some excellent work there Dormouse/Mick, reckon I would have struggled had I been in to give it a go

Regards Neil

Don't believe Neil there Dormouse, He would have given us a run for our money had he not been galavanting all over Northumberland looking for coloured trimmed wheels among other things while his free power lasts!!

[mickthemaverick]

It's rather impressive that it can drive upside down on the ceiling Mick

That's how I interpreted your photo but then I'm still sky-high on a big dose of Endorphins from todays racing so I may well be seeing things that don't exist

A very special car that Jim!! Created after I had tried out a few more connotations of the recipe James and I were discussing here.

I saw your report on the bike thread, looks like a typical Wallace and Grommit job to me ....A Grand Day Out

[Dormouse]

Well, we all have a specialist trivia inside us somewhere. The Gnat holds a special place. My dad and I repaired the misbuilt gearbox overnight one friday after the engine for Aimers' prototype/demonstrator only had 3 gears. My dad worked for Norton Villiers and took me (as a teenager) to help carry his sandwiches, not. Turned out the gearbox had some Wolverhampton parts and some Indian parts and the timing marks were all wrong on the parts! 3 stripdowns finally produced a 4 speed gearbox and at 4.30am the green paint on the scratched engine mounts was covered in fresh paint. Hawick show here we come. It was scary fast on the level and even scarier in reverse where all 4 gears were also available! I know, I was one of the test drivers.

[mickthemaverick]

I used to have a Messerschmitt KR200 which was fitted with a Sachs 200cc 2 stroke timed at TDC. The ignition key had two levels, normal insert key and turn to start, and depressed insert key press whole centre in and then turn to start in reverse. That obviously also resulted in 4 reverse gears but on a tricycle with 2 at the front and 1 driven wheel at the back. Thus when started in reverse you had a front wheel drive death trap with twin rear wheel steering controlled by an aircraft style yoke which, using the clockface, only moved between twenty to two and ten to four with straight in the middle at a quarter to three. My mate Bob and I took it to Bovingdon airfield (decommissioned) and tried it on the runway. I got up to almost flat in reverse 3rd before bottling it which should have been around 45ish mph . Fast enough with that configuration By jove we did some dumb things in those days!!

[Dormouse]

yes. lots of scars to prove that! At that time I was restoring NSU Quicklies and scrambling Lambretta LD's. Long before MotoGP showed Riders shifting their weight to keep bikes upright to improve the contract patch I was doing that against mates with BSA's and James'. I couldn't beat them - more scared them to death.

[CitroJim]

yes. lots of scars to prove that! At that time I was restoring NSU Quicklies

I had an NSU Quickly when I was 16... My fist motorised two-wheeler! Now I power my two-wheelers myself

I saw your report on the bike thread, looks like a typical Wallace and Grommit job to me ....A Grand Day Out

It certainly was Mick

Loving your Messerschmitt adventures!

[xantia_v6]

I recognised the gnat right away. My dad used to repair the Siba electrics on them. There was a later version with a Honda motor.

I know someone who is restoring one, the proper tyres are unobtainium now, and after 50 years the originals are not in great condition.

[white exec]

Gosh, I had no idea an ICE could run backwards! - apart from being whacked by a starting handle more than once
I like the idea of four reverse gears, Mick: very Austin Champ.

[CitroJim]

Gosh, I had no idea an ICE could run backwards! - apart from being whacked by a starting handle more than once
I like the idea of four reverse gears, Mick: very Austin Champ.

2-stroke lawn mower and moped engines are all liable to Chris... It's rather 'interesting' when it happens on a moped

[white exec]

So could you bump start a 2-stroke scooter in reverse while in a fwd gear?

[Dormouse]

If a 2 stroke is TDC timed then running in reverse is perfectly possible.

[Dormouse]

Gnat tyres are no longer available but turf tyres for lawn tractors get pretty close. The Gnat turf tyres ran at 2 1/2 PSI for some applications. The cleated ones could usefully run bit harder - 7 1/2 PSI.

[mickthemaverick]

So could you bump start a 2-stroke scooter in reverse while in a fwd gear?

It would be fine as long as the timing is TDC. I wouldn't advise it though. Steering virtually impossible!!

[Dormouse]

Some ship's IC engines were designed to run in reverse. Saved the inefficiency and bulk of a gearbox. However, you needed 3 days and a doctor's line to go through the procedures for restarting some of them. They were never popular.