South Australian Motor Cycle Club Easter Carnival held at Kadina. B.T. Carroll riding an Elliott-Villiers, who came second in the 100 mile event.
Manufactured 1912-1935 by Elliott Garage & Cycle Factory, Payneham, with showroom at 91 Flinders Street Adelaide by Laurie A. Elliott and Bertrand Elliott. [1]
Early models used Precision, Velocette and JAP engines, mounted in a Chater Lea chassis. Later they also used Sun frames. Most had Elliott Payneham displayed on the fuel tank.
In 1917 the Elliott Bros. exhibited bicycles and motorcycles at the Adelaide Royal Show to considerable acclaim, with the result that many country dealers began to sell their products, including Elliott-Villiers two-strokes.
Registrations - a sampling:
An advertisement from 1922 announced that the Automobile Association was using these machines.
It is thought that they may have rebadged Wolf motorcycles in the late 1920s until 1935.
Elliott's sold other marques, for instance Raleigh in 1927-1931, Panther in 1931-34, Calthorpe in 1927-1934, and Singer cars in 1938. [2]
Ted Warren became a test rider for Elliott's motorcycles in 1917, and competed in the lightweight class, gaining many laurels. He endured a serious accident in 1923.
The Gawler Place business in Adelaide employed Jack Wise and Frank Duckett who both became international speedway riders.
Victor Elliott, the younger brother of Bertrand Elliott, became a partner in the new location at 63 Pirie Street, Adelaide. Victor was already quite well known in the motorcycle field and held several records. He also became a cycling champion.
In 1928 Elliott Bros ceased selling motorcycles to concentrate on bicycles.
Birdwood Mill has two of these motorcycles, a 1926 Villiers 172cc and a 1923 300cc JAP.
Sources: Simon Fleming's Australian Motorcycles, Trove NLA, aussievelos.net, et al.
Reliable Elliott Villiers.
The Elliott Villiers 1¾ h.p. motor cycle was the lowest powered machine in the competition at Sellick Beach recently, and was only allowed three seconds start on a 2½ h.p. machine. The handicappers of the Motor Cycle Club evidently hold a high opinion of the Elliott featherweight motor cycles. It is gratifying to see that these low powered machines have sufficient speed to get into first and second place in their heats and fourth and fifth in the final of the under 600 class. It was the first time that S. N. Rowe had ridden in a competition.
Trove NLA: News (Adelaide, SA), Mon 6 Apr 1925, Page 8.
ELLIOTTS GARAGE, PAYNEHAM.
Elliott's Garage, Payneham, have a fine display of motor cycles, including Australian-built motor cycles, manufactured at their factory. This firm claims to be the oldest motor and cycle firm exhibiting and its display is always interesting.
The smallest machine shown is a 1 ½ h.p. Elliott Villiers, complete with electric light and 3 speed Sturmey Archer gearbox, clutch and kick-starter, all-chain drive. girder forks, and 26 by 2.75 tyres. A 1 ¼ h.p. of the same make is practically a duplicate of above, except for the engine which has a double port exhaust. A 3 h.p. Elliott Villiers is a fine example of a two-stroke motor cycle, having a twin port exhaust, detachable alloy head and piston, special heavy forks, large tyres, all-chain drive, automatic lubrication, and internal expanding brakes, front and rear.
In Raleigh machines the firm is showing a little 1 ¾ h.p. two-speed gear unit, which is very compact and has plenty of power. The electric light equipment is very neat, power being drawn from the magneto. A 2 ¾ h.p. Raleigh is an excellent example of English engineering. Mechanical lubrication, 27 by 2.75 wired On tyres, well sprung- forks, and the design of the frame make this an ideal touring mount, very easy to handle, and comfortable under all conations. The single 488 c.c. is practically a much larger and heavier production of the 2 ¾ h.p. model. This model has been designed to fill a long-felt want, the power developed is sufficient to draw the heaviest sidecar and passenger through the hills. A specially heavy gearbox has been designed for this particular model, with extra heavy clutch. The lubrication is by mechanical pump, which is enclosed in the timing box, the only external portion being the regulating lever.
The Calthorpes shown are three of the finest looking machines in the exhibit, being the 348 c.c. overhead valve sports, the overhead valve super sports of the same capacity, and the latest addition to the Calthorpe range, the 498cc. overhead camshaft. The sports and super sports are very much the same in outward appearance, the frames, forks, handlebars, and saddle being the same. The super has larger tyres of the wired-on type, slightly higher compression ratio engine with dual and return valve springs, and separate oil tank with hand pump. The lubrication on both models is by mechanical sight feed. The overhead valve cam shaft is one of the most up-to-date machines in Australia.
Accessibility, comfort, and ease of control have been the governing factors in the design of this machine. The cam gear and shaft is very neatly enclosed. The head can be removed without interfering with the cam gear or timing. The heavy gearbox and clutch, 26 by 3.25 wired-on tyres, adjustable bars and footrests (which are standard on all Calthorpes), shock absorbers in forks and saddle make this an ideal machine for heavy, rough, and fast work, and yet at the same time it is surprising how easily it can be handled in traffic or bad going.
Trove NLA: The Advertiser, Tue 27 Sep 1927 Page 29. The Spring Show of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society
Laurie Elliott, who in 1905 opened a cycle shop in Payneham, had been trained as a market gardener and shoe repairer, but he was not afraid to try something new, learning as he worked. At first he repaired and hired out bicycles, then began to make his own behind the shop. After 1910 he diversified into motor-cycles and soon started making them as well.
By 1914 he was selling his own 3½ h.p. models using Precision, Veloce and J.A.P. engines. More powerful engines were put into machines intended to carry a sidecar.
Late in 1916 the business became Elliotts' Garage, as the founder was joined by his brother, B. J. Elliott. About this time, a rugged 100-mile race around Yorke Peninsula showed the equally rugged quality of Elliott machines, as C. Lawrence on a 2½ h.p. Elliott won the event against all sizes in 2½ hours. B. J. and L. A. Elliott came in fourth and fifth. In 1922 their machines again did well in this testing road race, when riders on the popular Elliott Villiers 2-stroke gained second, seventh and eighth places. About that time, the Elliott Villiers 1½ h.p. model with two-speed gear could be had for £40, while the 3 h.p. model with three-speed gear and capable of pulling a sidecar cost £69.10s. However, the locally made machines could not compete with the sophisticated British machines...
From Page 105 of what appears to be a history of Payneham, posted to FB.
Notes
1. In 1920 things got complicated when a dispute caused a division of the partnership, with the result that there were two separate "Elliott" businesses. See aussievelos.net.
2. Dates refer to verified sources, e.g. newspaper advertisements - marques listed were probably sold in other years.
3. In 1904 Elliott of Islington, London sold Bradbury-engined motorcycles.
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