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Vale-Onslow barrel conversions

Before his prominence in the motorcycle industry, specifically with Norton Villiers Triumph (NVT), Mike Jackson successfully campaigned Greeves off road machines. He remembers the instant success of the Vale-Onslow (V-O) 250cc conversion kit, as featured in our August 2019 issue, page 88.

“From memory, the V-O 250cc barrel conversion, priced at £25, hit the market in the middle of the 1958 UK scrambles season. It was instantly popular because it was a straight ‘bolt on’ job which didn’t involve splitting the crankcases. The kit comprised a barrel, head and piston – I can’t remember if fasteners and gaskets were included. And its great appeal was its easy bolt-on factor to the Villiers engine bottom half and the ease of fit of the carburettor to barrel.

“I must state that the 250cc motocross market wasn’t a hotbed of technology at the time – most competitors’ machines were 197cc Villiers 6E or 8E powered, pitted against clapped out pre Second World War 250cc four-strokes, with the odd Jawa or Maico recently imported from mainland Europe thrown in. For the most part, Villiers engines resided in Barnetts, Dots or Jameses, and out of several hundred competitors across the UK there were but a few quick ones, including the Sharp brothers, John Clayton, Brian Leask and the odd Dot works entry. The market was crying out for more power.

“In April 1958, mind, F-B

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