"Corgi" Is Latest Thing In British Motor Cycles

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVII, Issue 14788, 29 September 1948, Page 4

"Corgi" Is Latest Thing In British Motor Cycles

Adaption Of Wartime Weapon

Known By Paratroopers And Commandos

Perkily insinuating its diminutive frame through the roaring mass of traffic in London's Piccadilly Circus goes a newcomer to British motor-cycling, Lhe ''Corgi".

Onlookers'" smilingly watch the fascinating spectacle of its rider, a dignified, sombrely-dressed businessman, in a black bowler hat. nosing his way between two rod double-decker buses and vanishing down fashionable Piccadilly. For this 95 lb., 98 c.c. two-stroke engined runabout has definitely "caught oil" in Britain. Paratroopers and Commandos of the British Army knew it as the "Welbike". Designed in 1941 at a. secret establishment near Welwyn, Hertfordshire, it went into action on the Normandy beaches, in the invasion of North Africa, and to every war threatre. Now its make.—,. J. Brockhouse, Engineering (Southport) Ltd., Lancashire, have developed a machine for civil use. With folding handlebars and footrests and a telescopic seat tube, the "Corgi'' is. probably the most compact powered two-wheeler in the world. Folds Into Small Space Folded, it measures only 53 in. long, 20 in. high, and 13 in. wide. The wheelbase is 39 in.

It will fit, folded, into the back cf a car, and can be stored in any part of one's house. Its small size belies the fact that the "Corgi" is a thoroughly practical nictoi H -bikc designed and made for hard work. Its controls are extremely simple. A clutch lever is mounted on the left handlebar, a throttle control on the right, and a fingeroperated air strangler lever on the carburettor for use when starting from cold. It has two brakes, foot ■ pedal and hand-lever. A gentle push, during which the clutch lever is released, starts the machine.

Its single-cylinder engine, of 50 mm. bore and 50 mm. stroke, is an Excelsior-designed "Spryt," made by the Brockhouse company. ' A Miller or Wico-Pacy flywheel magneto-generator supply ignition and lighting; the carburettor is an Amal 25g.

Range Of 150 Miles Both wheels have 4 in. diameter Ferodo - lined internal - expanding brakes and its gravity feed fuel tank holds 11 gallons of mixed petrol and oil, giving a range cf 150 miles or more.

The machine has a centrally mounted stand for ease of parking, a 4-in. headlamp arranged to take a dry-battery parking light and an easily cleaned twin silencer exhaust system. Its rear mudguard is designed to serve as a parcel carrier. No gear changing is involved, for there is only one gear ratio. The machine's speed, which should not exceed 30 m.p.h., is controlled entirely by the engine throttle opening. The first "Corgi" models were produced solely for export in 1946. Since then, they have been sold in almost every country in the world, and were later released for the home market in Britain. The U.S.A. and Belgium are its biggest customers. "Corgi clubs" have been formed in many countries, so popular has it proved. At some seaside resorts on the ■Continent the "Corgi" can even be hired by the hour!