1954‘ish VH

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SimonFletcher
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1954‘ish VH

Post by SimonFletcher »

I’ve been a bit hesitant to post anything regarding this new-to-me (March 2021) machine. I’m in complete awe of some of the work on view in the forum. I won’t be machining parts on a lathe, doing any home plating, elaborate leatherwork or such-like; but then the bike is already in a presentable state. Nevertheless it has a few issues that have prevented me just jumping on and riding it and I thought they might be of moderate interest… a bit of free time over the festive period, means I can put up a few posts on progress.

The dealer had got the bike on the road, but only just – more on this later… At some time it had been done-up, or more likely had been built up from parts.

The motor is a bit unusual in configuration, with an alloy head on the earlier barrel with chromed pushrod tubes. I’m hoping to receive a bit more info on this if anyone recognises it? As Will Curry has pointed out, a very similar motor featured on the cover of Cheval about 20 years ago (September 2002). Whether this is one-and-the-same is another question. John Mitchell has confirmed that former Ariel rider and member Howard Harty ran an identically configured engine. I guess at the end of the day it doesn’t matter too much, but the bike came with nearly zero history… It would be nice to know even a little bit about it’s past. If anyone knows anything about the motor, or better still, has a picture of Howards bike, I’d very much like to hear.

After asking a few questions on the forum, it emerged that the frame has been re-stamped with a different frame number presumably belonging to a defunct ’57 VH and registered it accordingly. The engine number doesn’t correspond etc. I’m sure it has been in use at some time previously, and covered miles, but then it has declined somewhat. I liked the look of it and took the plunge sight unseen, just on the basis of a few pics on eBay. What is it they say about fools and money?

After unloading it from the carriers van, it fired up second kick, and I took it for a spin along the lane. The first revelation was that although it would go… it wouldn’t stop. The brakes were almost non-existent. Anyway, having a working motor (and gearbox) seemed a promising start. The speedo needle was active, but ‘zeroed’ at around 27mph. I guess the temptation is not to bother too much with that, but I’m hoping to keep a bit of a log on what happens when, and wanted the trip counter (at least) to work.

The bike as it arrived:

IMG_1192.jpeg

Where it has resided since:

IMG_1265.jpeg

There was no centrestand, and the sidestand was barely adequate. While trying to do anything to it, I had the bike propped up on axle stands, but clearly needed to sort something out. A hydraulic lift would be nice, but not going to happen with the space available. Will Curry advised, and I contacted member Paul Jelbert, who supplied a very nicely made replica centre stand, which was duly painted in RAL3007 (which matches the rest almost perfectly) and mounted, with fittings from Acme Stainless.

More to follow…
Last edited by SimonFletcher on Mon Feb 13, 2023 10:29 pm, edited 3 times in total.
’54 VH,
‘72 BMW R60/5, ‘83 BMW R80RT
SimonFletcher
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Re: 1954 (ish) VH, re-registered ’57

Post by SimonFletcher »

Okay - now I can get on with a few other things…

IMG_2274.jpeg

Brakes:

With the wheels off, although cosmetically they looked pretty good, it was immediately apparent why it was having trouble stopping. Somewhere along the line, someone had pumped the hubs so full of grease that the ‘friction material’ had been transformed into something closer to teflon,…

With info gleaned from the forums here, I measured up shoes and drums, and sent the shoes off to Villiers Services. Quick turnaround. The hubs now have new sealed bearings from Draganfly and the shoes were lined with the oft recommended ‘woven’ material from Villiers. Initially it was surprising how little contact the shoes were making. I also found that my measurements were right at the outer limit – even with the fulcrum adjuster wound right out, I struggled to get the assembled brake plate and shoes into the drum. I started with a bit of hand sanding and then turned to a process that Simon Holyfield describes in his blog.

Here are a couple of general pics of my efforts, but for more definitive information, go here: https://ariel-square-four.blogspot.com/ ... rake.html

The drum was lined with sandpaper, I used 240 grit – quite a thin backed paper, and then with the wheel back in situ and the brake lightly engaged, the wheel is spun back-and-forth, with regular re-inspection, until the shoes show complete and uniform engagement. Its a bit of a faff taking the wheel in and out… (x2). It was surprising how minimal the initial shoe contact was, but my guess is that the backplate may well not be perfectly true with the drum; shoes might not have been perfectly radiused etc. etc.

I am anticipating the result achieved will still be a bit less than perfect because the paper effectively reduces the diameter of the drum slightly? However, I’m hoping it will be a lot better than it was. Maybe a bit of further tweaking with the fulcrum adjusters while bedding in will also get it closer. I do quite like to be able to stop when a hazard presents itself…

IMG_3559.jpeg

IMG_3560.jpeg

TBC…
’54 VH,
‘72 BMW R60/5, ‘83 BMW R80RT
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Re: 1954 (ish) VH, re-registered ’57

Post by JohnnyBeckett »

hi its nice a bad looking bike if it was me i would do the brakes change the oils and clean the sludge trap etc and get out there and riding and enjoying it, and not worrying about what parts may be wrong or leveling it sit in a garage :)
SimonFletcher
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Re: 1954 (ish) VH, re-registered ’57

Post by SimonFletcher »

Point taken. Brakes seemed like a useful thing to have though :lol: Still on the list:
  • I want to have a little look at the clutch because it’s heavy in operation, even with a new cable
    The valve lifter isn’t working properly — seems to be something at the actuation end, rather than the lever
I’ve done a few other things, which I’ll post. The bike won’t be going on the road til the spring, basically because I’m a wimp – or I’ve ridden through too many cold winters… one or the other!
Last edited by SimonFletcher on Sun Jan 02, 2022 11:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
’54 VH,
‘72 BMW R60/5, ‘83 BMW R80RT
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Re: 1954 (ish) VH, re-registered ’57

Post by nevhunter »

If you can reduce the contact area of the trailing shoe lining it will allow the other to have more pressure on the drum. When you could buy the linings and rivets the trailing shoe was smaller and of softer material. You can make that particular brake work quite well but like all drum brakes if you use it hard enough for long enough it will overheat, The adjuster method and the iron drum made it better than most comparable brakes of that style at the time. Nev
SimonFletcher
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Re: 1954 (ish) VH, re-registered ’57

Post by SimonFletcher »

Thanks Nev, that’s useful info which I’d never have thought of… that could be done by just cutting away some material at the adjuster end of the trailing shoe?
’54 VH,
‘72 BMW R60/5, ‘83 BMW R80RT
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Re: 1954(ish) VH, re-registered ’57

Post by simon.holyfield »

Bike looks great Simon, and it sounds like you are having fun with it.

As I (probably, can't remember!) wrote in my blog, those brakes work pretty well once they are set up. Either the woven linings weren't available or I didn't know about them when I rebuilt the last ones I've done, so I just used the softest linings Villiers had - I'll be interested to see what you think of the woven ones.

Good choice on the wheel bearings too - when I was learning how to adjust Ariel brakes, I got my front brake hot enough to melt the grease out of the hub with predictable results when using the standard bearings!
cheers

Simes

'51 Square Four,
'58 Huntmaster,
'42 W/NG,
'30 Model A
https://ariel-square-four.blogspot.com
SimonFletcher
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Re: 1954(ish) VH, re-registered ’57

Post by SimonFletcher »

Thanks Simon, I have referred to your blog a number of times and picked up some very useful info. Shows just how valuable these online resources are…
Yes, I am having fun with it. More stuff to come. Getting on the road with it is not far off…
Last edited by SimonFletcher on Mon Jan 03, 2022 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
’54 VH,
‘72 BMW R60/5, ‘83 BMW R80RT
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Re: 1954(ish) VH, re-registered ’57

Post by JohnnyBeckett »

hi i mest up my HN brakes years ago by over greasing the old type bearings now i fit the one piece bearing that are sealed for life and no leaking or re greasing :D :D
SimonFletcher
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Re: 1954(ish) VH, re-registered ’57

Post by SimonFletcher »

The Speedo, as I have mentioned before, did show some signs of life during my brief ride along the lane, but I wanted to get it fully operational, if for no other reason than being able to log what happens when, after the bike goes on the road.

The speedo and top yoke had been subjected to some corrosive substance being spilled over them (and likely the front mudguard too). Fortunately when I removed the speedo, although the glass was a little etched, and the brass bezel similarly damaged, because it was inset into the yoke, it had otherwise escaped attack. Unfortunately the trip knob shaft had also been snapped off and gone AWOL.

In addition to this, the steering head was loose, so I decided to overhaul that, remove the top yoke and repaint it, and tackle the speedometer as a package. One job inevitably seems to roll into another…

Because the speedo kind of worked, I decided an overhaul and resetting the needle was all that was needed, and with some trepidation, decided to have a go myself. There is a great article here on the task in hand: http://www.hells-confetti.com/Technical ... erhaul.pdf

Removing the bezel is a potential challenge and I struggled for a bit with various ideas – strap wrench, for example. No joy! I eventually went a little further than even the article suggests. After applying graphite penetrating oil to the underside of the bezel and having let it soak for a couple of days, I ultimately had to set the speedo face down in a bowl with about an inch of near boiling water for a minute or so. I found that with a pair of rubber gloves on, I was finally able to get the wretched thing to turn and removed it. Whatever was originally used to seal the glass (rubber washers?), had disintegrated/disolved and turned into a really thick, sticky glue, effectively gumming the whole thing up.

IMG_2702.jpeg
IMG_2704.jpeg

I don’t think it had ever been apart before, the original paper gaskets were still in place. The needle and keeper were carefully removed as per the instructions, then the two retaining screws were removed and away came the face. New ones are available, but this one cleaned up okay – soap and water only… I used cotton buds. A bit of wax polish afterwards. Apparently the numerals etc are easily removed with anything of a solvent nature.

IMG_2706.jpeg

With a suitable bit inserted, I was able to ‘drive’ the speedo with a cordless drill (in reverse). It seemed to work fine, albeit in the fashion of chronometric speedos, which operate in a very different way to magnetic ones, counting revolutions every ¾ of a second…

Because it was working okay, I didn’t have to disassemble the movement – I think that would have been a whole different ballgame. Instead, I was just able to remove the movement as a unit (couple of screws). I soaked it in petrol to remove all old and gummy oil, waited for it to dry and then re-lubricated it using a fine paintbrush and sewing machine oil, just dabbing oil on the bearing points of moving parts.

IMG_2705.jpeg

Reassembly was pretty straightforward. With the unit mostly assembled, but not yet back in the case, I was able to employ the drill again to reset the needle. The resting point for the needle is at the 5mph mark… When using the drill/driver, in order to get the speedo to settle back at resting point, you have to slowly reduce speed, mimicking road speed, not just shut it off quickly. Anyway, a bit of fiddling and I was able to determine the point at which the mechanism comes to rest, and replace the needle.

I could have zeroed both the counters, but chose to keep the recorded mileage, though in truth, I have no idea what that represents!

I fitted a new bezel and glass from Draganfly and was able to carefully attach a new trip knob from them, although I shortened it to a couple of inches. The one they sell is, I think, for the later NH/VH with nacelle, and is on a rod about 9” long.

IMG_2794.jpeg
Last edited by SimonFletcher on Tue Jan 04, 2022 12:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
’54 VH,
‘72 BMW R60/5, ‘83 BMW R80RT
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