Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

Hi all,

Well, time for a new rear tyre for the W/NG and a Dunlop Goldseal K70 as currently fitted. I can't see any arrows on the tyre indicating which way round to fit it, so am I right in assuming either way is o.k?

Also, it seems that the spindle bushes on the brake drum side are not quite right so what is going on here, certainly seems different to the drawing on the Draganfly website? I have two locknuts inside the brake drum, the outer one has a shoulder that the brake drum sits on.

Was working ok, but should I change it?

Mike

Your setup differs quite a lot from mine. In mine the nut inside the brake drum is the fixed nut
against which the inner of the taper roller bears - the adjustment for the taper rollers is at the other
side. The nut with the flange on mine fits on the outside and, annoyingly, clamps the brake plate
to the inner nut and thus the spindle. This makes reassembly of the rear wheel after replacing
the brake plate tricky. i have to get everything aligned and then tighten the nut with an open ended
spanner.

Assembled they way yours is I would expect the brake plate to be significantly further away from
the drum than mine and that your brake shoes would have a smaller contact area in the drum.

Another difference is in how the sprocket is bolted to the drum. Yours looks to have the rebate on
the outside. On mine this rebate is on the inside

As far as I know there's no difference between the Military machines and those made before and after for the rigid rear. The sprocket recess is inward and the nut locks the backing plate firmly as you don't want it to move, (tilt) particularly. There's a drawing of all the rear axle assy available. I've printed one out for garage use. Check the backing plate is not distorted near the Centre hole. Many are. Cams can get sloppy in the (quite) thin bush which can't be bushed. you'd have to weld a new one in or replace the floating version. Nev

New bushes are available from Draganfly, yes they have to be welded in place. The diagram on their website is correct as it is copied from an Ariel parts book.

Thanks everyone for the information,

Update on the Rear Wheel Spindle saga. I spent a couple of hours stripping the hub and cleaning everything down so I could see what I needed to order. In the end looking at all the parts I had it was the two spindle bushes n/s, plus wheel bearing abutment nut n/s, so good news. Bearings were perfect and felt washers had been fitted....................happy days. As always though, there are a couple more oddities. Rear sprocket is 48T which is one more than std so lower geared? The sprocket is fitted with the recess facing out. It will alter the chain line by 4mm if i turn it round. Was it done for a reason? e.g to rectify alignment at the gearbox end, and do I alter it? My feeling is to leave as is, as the chain is not rubbing anywhere and the sprocket shows no sign of side wear. I will some time in the near future be stripping the bike down for painting so I can sort any alignment issues then. Good plan? Mike

If it ain't broke, don't fix it is one of those trite maxims that is actually sound advice.
I notice that your brake plate is the later, as in post war, type with the bolt on fulcrum adjuster instead of the earleir riveted on one. Your shous are the W/NG sheet metal ones used instead of alloy ones so that more Spitfires could be built, allegedly. They are prone to being bent.

Thanks Roger,

Looking at Draganfly website it says bolt on fulcrum adjusters came in from 1942 which fits with the 1942 frame I have. Fortunately my shoes are in good condition. All stripped and cleaned up now. Mike

oops you are correct, I forgot wot I writ many years ago!