Hello ODK history lovers
When Pope entered the Lawnmower market in mid-1949, they
offered brilliant, modern designs for human-propelled reel push
mowers. These were the beautiful Wimbledons.

Within a short time, they were offering powered reel mowers –
The brilliant electric Centre Court of 1950, and then the first
petrol-powered reels in 1954.

Pope’s first petrol-powered engines were not made by Pope.
These were the Australian W. Will’s 2-strokes and then the British
JAP engines.

When Pope entered the rotary lawnmower market in 1957, they
offered an engine of their own manufacture. This was the 125cc
Rotary Valve 2-stroke.

This was a great design ...

[Linked Image]

What is a Rotary Valve 2-Stroke?
Pope was always a competitive company and it had a proud tradition
as a market leader in irrigation. If Merv Richardson and John Boundy
could make their own lawnmower engines, then Pope could too!

Pope claimed that the rotary valve design had a clear advantage
over the loop-scavenge designs used by Victa and Boundy engines.

A rotating valve in the crankcase would eliminate the drawbacks
(pun intended) of a piston acting as a valve for mixture intake.

Pope’s explanation is presented in the following gallery.

TO BE CONTINUED …


Attachments
pope_rotary_valve_02.jpg (370.06 KB, 112 downloads)
pope_rotary_valve_03.jpg (404.51 KB, 111 downloads)
pope_rotary_valve_04.jpg (348.53 KB, 110 downloads)