A former member has contacted me about his grandads VF31 which he'll never finish since raising a family took over. There's a photo of it from back in the day in the Black Ariels book. A price of 3,500 pounds is proposed.
Here are the details...
Currently, the bike is stored at a friend's house, all boxed up, but I will try to describe what we got:
Currently, the bike is very loosely assembled, that is I fitted the engine, fork, and mudguards to the frame to check for fit before sending it off for painting. So that is the state I left the project at.
This is a rough description of the project so far:
1) The engine and magneto were completely rebuilt by Merv Kendall.
2) The tank has been chrome plated and painted by Lewis Templeton (real quality job).
3) I bought a functioning correct gearbox.
4) Lots of new parts bought from Dragonfly including exhaust pipes, saddle, etc.
5) All stainless steel nuts and bolts from (Clay Jones).
6) I bought a front girder fork (in good condition, needs no work done).
7) The frame is straight and in good condition.
8) All new tin wear was done by Bruce Longman.
9) New wheel rims and spokes.
10) Think I got a new clutch as well.
11) I bought an original headlamp too in good condition, lamp rim to be chrome-plated, and I got the glass.
There are a number of missing parts, which from memory, include:
1) Handlebar levers and cables.
2) Headlamp stays/brackets.
3) Tyres.
4) Wiring loom.
5) The lug/screw fixing the fork spring to the girder fork.
6) Speedo.
As it has been quite a while, there may be other minor items missing, but these are the major items.
Comes with details and photos of the first owner as well as the purchase invoice from when my grandad bought it.
Here is a link to some photos:
https://pbase.com/saxlund/rebuilding
and a general link to the project and how the bike was before the restoration:
https://pbase.com/saxlund/ariel_motorcycle_project
All enquiries to Michael Saxlund michaelsaxlund@yahoo.co.uk
UPDATE : Michael now lives in Lucca, Tuscany and that is where the VF is currently located.
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