LOT 71

Offered from the estate of the late Dave Benson, former Life Vice President of the British Two-Stroke Club and its Villiers marque specialist 1961 Francis-Barnett 250cc Cruiser Twin 89 Registration no. 416 CXD Frame no. DH16156BW Engine no. 429D 12495

Sold for £1,495 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve

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Lot 71

Offered from the estate of the late Dave Benson, former Life Vice President of the British Two-Stroke Club and its Villiers marque specialist , 1961 Francis-Barnett 250cc Cruiser Twin 89

Motorcycles Online - The January Sale|27 January 2025, 13:10 GMT|Online, Milton Keynes

Offered from the estate of the late Dave Benson, former Life Vice President of the British Two-Stroke Club and its Villiers marque specialist
1961 Francis-Barnett 250cc Cruiser Twin 89
Registration no. 416 CXD
Frame no. DH16156BW
Engine no. 429D 12495

Post-WW2, Francis-Barnett concentrated on the production of lightweight two-strokes powered by Villiers engines at first, though from 1957 AMC's own engines were fitted to many models and by 1961 the home grown product - although now manufactured by Villiers - was used exclusively. Reviving a pre-war model name, the Cruiser was a new introduction for 1954 and initially used the Villiers 1H 225cc engine, which was housed in a new frame boasting a fabricated front 'down-tube', telescopic forks and swinging-arm rear suspension. The 249cc AMC engine was adopted on the Cruiser 80 in 1956 and then three years later a new variant arrived in the form of the Cruiser 84, the latter featuring a voluminous rear enclosure and leg shields. Newly introduced for the 1962 model year was the Cruiser Twin 89, which used the Villiers 2T 250cc twin-cylinder engine and (basically) the Cruiser 80 frame and cycle parts. Two alternative two-tone colour schemes were available: black over Dover White or Arden Green over Dover White, the latter featuring on the machine offered here.

Stored and not used for many years, this Cruiser 89 is offered for sympathetic re-commissioning/or restoration and is sold strictly as viewed (the engine turns over). The odometer reading is 33,007 miles, some of which Dave Benson clocked up during an eventful trip to Spain and back in 1980, the details of which are recounted in an interesting article by him on file ('Cruising to a Spanish Wedding'). Accompanying paperwork includes old/current V5/V5C documents; a quantity of expired MoTs; and some photographs of the machine taken at various events.
Offered with key

Footnotes

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