Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

Hi,
can anyone help please.
I have been reading posts on the forum re: suzuki pistons and while they sound the answer to my problem I have read that there may be some grinding off of the bottom of the piston needed to match ariel pistons.
This is not mentioned on drags site, has anybody had experience of this or are suzuki pistons the right size to fit without problems.
I only have one piston for my bike and am not certain that it is right for my ariel leader, so am not able to check suzuki against original.
cheers
Paul

These pistons are a direct replacement but like any 2 stroke piston it is a good idea to check that the ports on the cylinder match the piston. They also benefit from having an oil hole drilled into the gudgeon pin bosses, details included with pistons I believe.

Hello Paul, Suzuki X7 pistons have been used for many years on the two strokes and have proved to be as good if not better than the Ariel original pistons. They are slightly different than the original pistons on size and alter the engine performance characteristics slight. Perhaps more suited to the lighter Arrow than the heavier Leader because they allow the engine to rev more but loose a little on low down torque. Keith Harding uses them on the engines he builds and finds them very good, I think he uses IMD pistons. Brian H.

Attached Ariel and Suzuki x7 pistons, you can see the difference in length especially on the rear skirt and lower top but slightly steeer dome.

Just to confuse things the Suzuki will fit ok BUT if you intend on opening up the port windows to tune the barrel, the skirts on the suzuki piston are slightly narrower, so check first. Yamaha ones also fit, as they have a bore size of 53.98mm.
With regard to the top profile, you can machine the profile of the new piston head a little to replicate the shape of the original and pack out the barrel base a bit to compensate. Really depends what you want from the engine, torque or revs.

Hi Roger, Brian and Trev
Thanks for all your help, I will go for the X7 suzuki pistons from drags
Cheers
Paul

Make sure you get the small end bearing conversion sleeve, and circlips with the kit!

will do thanks

Hi Paul, One more item to be aware of, some time ago some rider were experiencing small end bushes tightening up or siezing with the thicker bushes used on the Suzuki pistons. The cure was to make sure the holes in the top/small end of the conrod line up with those in the bush and if possible make an annular groove in the bush where the holes are. Brian H.