Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

To everyone who has helped with advice along the way, I’m trying to post a video (let’s see if I can!) showing the end result.

I am SO happy and grateful to you all for the help. There will be ‘shakedown’ issues I’m sure (like that pesky oil leak on the right engine case), and few nuts to retighten, but what a pretty machine and it sounds wonderful!

Well done

What was the fix for the cutting out issue?

Not a fan of starting bikes on the centre stand by the way, seen too many distorted stands and wouldn't fancy fixing one post restoration

When's the road test?

Regards Mick

Hey. well done. Its a credit to you. Looks nice, sounds good.

But also, what Mick D said about the centre stand.

Hi Mick

I agree - won’t use the mainstand again. I had no real idea if it’d start and don’t fancy holding it up with one leg while pounding up and down with the other.

When it starts reliably first gentle kick, I’ll be doing that though.

Ashamed to say the fix to the conking out was:
1) pilot air screw was about 6 full turns out. Screwed it right in and backed it out by 1-1.25 full turns richened it up nicely.
2) I checked the float height - all was spot on there but…

And this is the shameful biggie

3) when I undid the bottom main jet cover, the main jet fell out.

I, umm, maybe forgot to actually screw it in or tighten it. Either way a weak mixture to start (momentarily enriched by the tickler) soon ran out to thin air. And any attempt to rev it would’ve received some rather odd/non existent main jet fuel/air gulps. None of which helped!

Once that was done - as you saw - off it went quite happily.

So - bit of fettling left - bit of throttle stop/pilot jet fiddling, that darned oil leak is annoying and needs sorting, I’ll strobe the timing although it seems pretty good, make sure the 6v spark box has lots of sparks, the brakes are as close to working as possible (I suspect I need to think ahead for each bend by a little more distance than my GSA) - and a test ride is imminent.

Love that main jet story. My W/NG packed up one day with a blocked jet - then again a few days later, because I didn't screw it in properly!

Set off for work one day in the early 1990s on the 1937 VB. After about a mile it was obvious that the main jet had blocked. So I stopped, took it out and promptly dropped it into the long grass of the verge. After fruitlessly trying to find it for a while, I put the carb back together and rode the bike back home, working on the basis that the size of the main jet only matters at full throttle. I did manage to ride home, just, but I couldn't have done so anywhere other then the flat lands of Lincolnshire.

You'd have little chance of finding a main jet in grass, I usually remove the lot needle jet included. You can just as easily look through it and blow it out. Nev

The main jet will not affect the running of the bike until the throttle opening is about ¾. To demonstrate this at a recent rally, I removed the main jet from the carb of my 49VH, handed it to another rider and rode the bike from Berry, to Wandandian NSW, a distance of 28 miles, at a speed of 60mph, and I was 2 up. The only restriction was getting up to speed because if the throttle was opened too wide the bike would immediately faulter. There is no problem holding 60mph with a VH at less than ¾ throttle provided there are no hills. Try it.
David

congratulations, great job, the bike looks very good

Thank you Karol

That’s a real compliment coming from you! I’ve watched your square four posts with increasing amazement at the brilliant job you are doing on that. I wish I could offer some answers to the questions you ask, but you are WAY ahead of anything I can do as an engineer! Keep going and keep posting!

Martin