Neat lines are followed in the new 2 3/4 h.p. three-speed Rex-Acme.
NEW THREE-SPEED LIGHTWEIGHT.
FROM all indications next year will be a lightweight year from the soloist's point of view, anyhow. The 350 c.c. machine with a three-speed gear and all-chain drive, is now a true go-anywhere mount ; and realisation of this fact has led the makers of the Rex-Acme to expend much thought on a model of this type to sell at a very competitive price.
In appearance the new lightweight suggests a de luxe specification, and it would be difficult to point out any feature, either in design or finish, which could reasonably be improved were price a matter of much less consideration.
Outside Flywheel Engine.
The power unit is a 2¾ h.p. Blackburne engine, and the method of almost wholly enclosing the primary chain a difficult matter with an outside flywheel is very neat. Either a two-speed or a lightweight three-speed Sturmey-Archer gear box may be fitted at option, and a transmission shock absorber is dispensed with by using a Brampton spring link chain for the final drive.
The brakework is simple, neat, and efficient dummy belt rim on both wheels. The rear brake pedal is conveniently placed, and the band-operated front brake is smooth and powerful. Illustrating the careful detail design, the footrest bars are independently screwed into a special lug, and the mudguard bridge on the rear stays is shaped to conform with the special section of the 6 in. guard. Equally extensive is the front guard.
Refined Equipment.
Brampton forks, with double vertical springs, are standard, as is a neat, flat handle-bar.
Finished in Royal blue, the tank has unusually good fittings, including the "most visible" type of Best and Lloyd drip-feed, with a flat, circular glass, and large, secure filler caps. It holds about one and a half gallon of petrol.
Another model, which resembles the one under review at a first glance, differs in power unit (a 292 c.c. J.A.P.) and transmission (chain-cum-belt via a two-speed gear box). There are also detail differences in the mudguarding, control levers, and spring fork.
Sturdy and clean design as exemplified on the new 550 c.c. dual-purpose Rex-Acme
Dual-purpose and Two-stroke Machines under a Combination of Two Well-known Names.
FOR some time now a 4 h.p. Rex-Acme and sidecar has been distinguishing itself in the most important Midland reliability trials; and this severe testing ground has materially helped to evolve the most business-like dual-purpose mount which will be offered to the public for 1922. Experimental machines of this model have proved successful where others of nearly double the capacity have failed, including a sidecar ascent of the notorious Screw Road in North Wales.
A slightly modified 550 c.c. J.A.P. engine and a three-speed Sturmey gear box are standard components, while the frame design is notable for its solidity. The final drive is by chain to a Rex-Acme shock absorber in the rear sprocket and light guards only are fitted to both chains.
Mudguarding is efficiently and cleanly carried out, and the 26x2½ in. tyres should prove well up to carrying the quite moderate weight of the machine. Compensating brakes act in dummy belt rims on both wheels, and the pedal for the rear brake provides great leverage, being over 6in. long. The rear stand is of very light but strong girder design. Footboard, handle-bar, and saddle locations afford a comfortable riding position, while Brampton forks attend to the elimination of vibration from the front wheel. An M-L magneto, Amac carburetter, and Best and Lloyd drip feed are standard.
A handsome sidecar, well sprung fore and aft by the one pair of springs, has been designed for attachment to this model.
Last year's big twin sidecar outfit has been little altered. A J.A.P. or Blackburne engine and chain or belt final drive are optional. A sidecar taxi, however, will be marketed in conjunction with the makers of the Willowbrook sidecars.
The 2¾ h.p. lightweights have been already described in The Motor Cycle, but a novelty for this firm is the introduction of a two-stroke lightweight, obtainable with or without a gear box. Standard components are used.
Excepting the big twin models, which will embody the well-known spring seat-pillar fitted for some time now to both the Rex and the Acme machines, a Lycett "spring nose" saddle is a standard fitment throughout the range. This saddle has after a thorough trial, proved most comfortable in action.
The Motor Cycle, November 24th, 1921. p664.
