Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

I don't trust my original Mk2 Sq4 brake, after it broke up 10 days ago! I looked at a few solutions, the best would have been a club 2LS front brake but these are not going to available until the end of the year at the earliest.
Next I dug out an old h**da twin leading shoe wheel, that was purchased many years ago... The rim was the wrong size WM1 18. By the time I had fettled the hub and put a new rim on, the summer would be over.
Hitchcock's had some 2ls Royal Enfield wheels for sale with WM2 19 rims. The wheels had been removed from bikes to be converted to disc brake. Price was good, £192 delivered to the door. Condition was as new, it looked like it had never been used.
I've just tried out the mark one conversion and I'm happy with the brake. I'm also happy with the look of the brake from the brake plate side, the other side will need more work.
I may move the brake plate 20 degrees clockwise to get a better line for the brake cable...
Although the idea isn't perfect it's the best solution I could find at short notice.
I have done this at my own risk and I would not encourage anyone to copy the idea.

That is a good looking solution.
is it possible to alter the position of the levers on the brake arms or are they fixed in one position?

That's a nice looking conversion. Please let us know how well the brake works, once it is bedded-in. I have an Enfield Bullet and the 2ls brake works well, but from what I've read on Enfield forums, it seems that there can be some some variability in the performance of these brakes from bike to bike.

You mention that the Club is making some 2ls brakes; I hadn't heard that.

Hello Allan, yes the club did but I am not aware of any new series coming up.
They are for the FWH models.
I had one in my HS MkIII :
I think this was a joint effort by Peter and Lester, but I could be mistaken..

Kevin
How did you deal with the brake-plate steady, and does the Ariel spindle fit without any mods?
All very interesting - thanks for posting.

SG

Vincent.vanGinneke wrote: ↑Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:00 pm That is a good looking solution.
is it possible to alter the position of the levers on the brake arms or are they fixed in one position?

The brake arms are splined, so it is possible to alter the position. My son has drawn me a new torque arm, which will rotate the brake plate by 20° clockwise. This will move the brake plate to a position that is closer to the original Royal Enfield position. This will give a better run for the brake cable. I'll post some photos when I get time to make the new torque arm.

Vincent.vanGinneke wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 8:40 am Hello Allan, yes the club did but I am not aware of any new series coming up.
They are for the FWH models.
I had one in my HS MkIII :

2LS front brake.JPG

I think this was a joint effort by Peter and Lester, but I could be mistaken..

Nice!

allan.walker wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 8:02 am That's a nice looking conversion. Please let us know how well the brake works, once it is bedded-in. I have an Enfield Bullet and the 2ls brake works well, but from what I've read on Enfield forums, it seems that there can be some some variability in the performance of these brakes from bike to bike.

You mention that the Club is making some 2ls brakes; I hadn't heard that.

I heard it through the grapevine about the possibility of a club brake but there is nothing concrete...
I went on a 80 mile run last week and brake performs well.

KevinOToole wrote: ↑Mon Jun 27, 2022 8:49 pm I heard it through the grapevine about the possibility of a club brake but there is nothing concrete...
I went on a 80 mile run last week and brake performs well.

Thanks Kevin.
I won't hold my breath for a Club front brake, then.

It's good to know that the Enfield brake is performing well. The one on my Bullet was awful when I bought the bike with about 500 miles on the clock. It had Hitchcock's UK brake shoes and cable fitted and proper adjustment made hardly any difference.
Once bedded-in, however, it works well. The self-servo effect of the 2ls set-up can be felt to work and braking power is good without the need of a white-knuckle grip on the lever.

Simon.Gardiner wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 10:30 pm Kevin
How did you deal with the brake-plate steady, and does the Ariel spindle fit without any mods?
All very interesting - thanks for posting.

SG

Simon
I had to make a new 17mm wheel spindle to suit the 6203 bearings, plus various spacers. Including one between the bearings in the wheel. I also had to make an aluminium torque arm with a key to match the slot in the RE brake. I then made a short steel torque arm to suit the position of the aluminium torque arm. It's not the final version! I already have a MK2 in progress. The Mk2 will give a better run for the cable and position the brake plate at a similar angle to the RE.

KO