Here is the James in the completed state a few months later. It still needs an air filter.

As on many of the two strokes of the era there are mixing instructions for the oil and gas engraved on the cap. If you invert the cap there is a cup to measure the correct amount of oil. A good sloshing of the tank afterwards is recommended to mix it all together. These decals are printed on my home computer on special decal or water slide paper, then coated with acrylic to waterproof. When I first heard of the possibility of doing this I was overjoyed as many period decals are impossible to find. However , if you search long enough almost every graphic is somewhere on the web and with photoshop manipulation can be resized or otherwise fixed in some way to render it usable to print . The finished product is not distinguishable from a commercial product. Moreover they costs just a few cents apiece!

I really like the patina of the seat and decided to leave as is. A cylindrical toolbox should mount on the opposite side rear upper frame tube. After watching ebay for months I finally found one and will install when I get the time. All in all, I am pleased with the way it turned out, considering the starting point! I wonder if anyone recognizes the bike in the background. The period Earles front forks should be a clue. At one time one of the largest German makers of motorbikes.

Here"s a pic of the other side of the Motobecane D45. The exposed flywheel spinning nearly against your foot is a bit unnerving. Probably not a good idea to wear a long scarf while riding.

This is a 47 James ML, These were the bikes that were used on the Normandy beachheads to ferry messages,etc. They were referred to as the Clockwork Mouse for their mechanical reliability. This one appears to have spent the intervening 50+ years out in the open , rusting away!

The engine is a Villiers 125cc unit, again with an exposed flywheel in brass. I guess the safety standards were a bit  lax back in the day. This engine amazingly was not seized and the rings and bore seemed good. Needed a head and gasket though. The clutch also needed new corks. I cut them from wine bottle corks. The trick is to find corks that  are actual cork (not plastic) and also not made of pressed together bits of cork. My wife works in a resort that sees many bottles of wine opened and a request for them produced sacks and sacks. After sorting I found a sufficient quantity for the job. After cutting they must be heated in boiling water and pressed into place. Later I sanded them to a uniform thickness. Hard to believe but they work just fine.The engine is a twin exhaust port single cylinder two stroke. Interesting that they empty into the canister in front before continuing on the the smallish muffler.

The gas tank is very heavy steel, way heavier than I am used to. Very rusted but a few days in a dip tank and it cleaned up beautifully. This girder fork has a central spring with no damping but a bit better than the rubber band suspension used on the contemporary Royal Enfield Flying Flea. Actually the Flea's got a great ride but the rubber bands seem to deteriorate pretty quickly. The scooter in the background is a CZ Cezeta project that was underway at the time. Also with a great nickname " The Pig" due to the long nose with gas tank in it. Not the best for a head on collision, I think!

This is a Moto Guzzi Zigilo, probably mid 50's. Notice the really cool friction dampers in the rear. Surprisingly it runs well in as found condition. Time for a bit of paint and polish. I'll post a pic of it completed when I find one. For those that don't know it is 98cc and a two stroke. This is an early one as the later ones were red and with a somewhat larger engine.

This started as an bare engine of unknown origin that I purchased from a farmer in Iowa. It had been converted to stationary farm use. A bit of research unveiled that it was a Motobecane D45 probably 1949. It is a 4 stroke side valve of 125cc. Having nothing but the engine I fabricated a bike that was pretty faithful to the original with bits drawn from many small European bikes of the same era. Runs great! Notice the hand shifter and the unusual fact that it has both a hand and foot clutch. Kind of necessary when the shifter is in the left side. Makes it impossible to both pull in the hand clutch and shift at the same time! A fun little project.