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A 1939 Malvern Star.
Brian Guthrie has kindly added the following coments:
"I would suggest that this machine is post WW2. There were a few
versions, some had pedal assistance. This one appears to have Villiers
98 cc with 2 speed gearbox. These machines were made by the manufacturers
of the bicycles of same name. At that time that would probably be Bruce
Small, trainer of Hubert Opperman, and later in life Mayor of The Gold
Coast ,Queensland. At one stage, the same firm, through its chain of shops
sold Jawas, (mid to late 50s). The Malvern Star name lives on, having
changed hands umpteen times, currently the name graces bicycles from.....
yes, you guessed it....China. A friend of mine had one of the models as
per your photo, the front forks collapsed lowering him to the roadway,
fortunately without injury. I bought the wretched thing from him minus
engine, for 5 bob, I paid too much I think. Dreadful contraption really,
overall, although the 2speed power unit was reliable enough,looked after.
I'd estimate that the machine was made 1948 to 1950., and as you will
probably have guessed was Australian produced. That engine came out around
1948 I think. along with 10D and 6E Villiers models."
Toby also adds "I also have one of these brought
of the nephew of the original owner. as to the year, that is most likely
correct for the eng. it is a villers junior deluxe and was used in the
corgi paratrooper bikes of ww2. theses eng where apprently sold of by
villers very cheaply post war. malvern star also made a 125cc machine
with a villiers eng. as a bike of history bruce small made a trip from
melbourne to brisbane (Australia) on one of these in the mid 1950's."
And finally, Bob McGrath of Oz says:
"I can say with extreme confidence that it is a 1951 model. It cannot
be a 1939 for several reasons, not the least of which is that the power
plant is a 98cc, 2 speed Villiers 1F(intended for lightweight motorcycles,
not autocycles) that was introduced in 1949. Villiers stopped production
of the Junior de Luxe in 1948 in favour of the new 1F and 2F engines.
The 2F was the single speed unit intended for autocycles and the 1F was
the 2 speed unit intended for light motorcycles. The James Comet is probably
the best known model that used the 1F. To use this engine this bike must
be at most a 1949 model. Ten years younger than the claimed age. Further
to this the Malvern Star is a local product made in my home town of Melbourne,
Victoria. Victorian Police records on Malvern Stars are about as accurate
and impartial as you can get. As in England autocycles had to be registered
(road taxed) and insured for road use. Registration was a police function
for many years. I have in front of me a copy of a large Victoria State
Police book titled "Data for Registration Purposes". In pre
computer days copies of this book were issued to every police station
across the State and it was the Bible used by every policeman to check
that your machine details were acceptable. In this book the Malvern Star
is shown as being produced from 1940 to 1951. No Victorian Policeman would
register a 1939 Malvern Star, they didn't exist. Plus the only year the
1F powered Malvern Star as shown in your picture appears in the Police
Bible is for the last year of production, 1951. Autocycles were fading
fast by the early 50's. By then there were much better alternatives to
do the same job."
So 1951 it is then!
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