Spotted on eBay, this is a really unusual and rare little lightweight machine. It’s a 1951 Bond Minibyke, which uses a 98cc Villiers two stroke engine.
These
were designed and made by The Bond Aircraft & Engineering Company Ltd.
Towneley Works, Longridge, near Preston, the same firm who produced the Bond mini cars, Bond bugs,
and the Bond Equipe amongst other things.
The
man behind this firm had an aviation design background and wanted to produce
something lightweight and unusual in design. The body is therefore entirely
made of alloy.
This
one has been fully restored, a task made easier because all parts and spares
for Villiers engines / electrics are still freely available.
These
little machines were unique and unusual in their day. They appear to have been
produced between 1949 and 1953 and approx. 520 of this type were made in total
during that period.
Survival
rate has been low and there are perhaps a few dozen left in existence or
possibly less.
Later
on they used a 125cc JAP engine, which is apparently easy to fit as an upgrade should
you require a little extra horsepower.
(From eBay)
Wow, someone put a lot of time into restoring that. Thanks for sharing, I'd never heard of them before.
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