New Member

[D.Attwood]

Hi everyone,
New to the forum. My father was Charlie Attwood, a number of you may have known / heard of him. He was heavily involved with the Kent branch of the Ariel owners, and attended numerous rallies.
For those that knew him and have not heard from him for a while. I have sad news, Charlie died 18 months ago. Apologies for not letting people know earlier.

I have inherited an NH combination with a Monza mk1 sidecar and a number of spare parts, for a KH500 and other odds and ends (including a number of specialist tools and pullers)

I am warning you now, I may be a bit of a nuisance, picking your brains to help ID some of these parts.....Sorry in advance

The NH is a non runner at the moment....refurbishing the carb at the mo'...
Not certain if it is 6 or 12 volt...no battery ...which would have been a great clue. Haven't checked the bulbs for v rating....concerned that a 6v system could power 12v bulbs, although slightly dimmed, I think some people did this to avoid blowing the bulbs if the voltage spiked on a 6v system.
So please a simple way to identify voltage would be appreciated, Thank you.

David

[Roger Gwynn]

Hello David and welcome to the forum. I remember your dad but can't say I knew him well. He ceased to be a member of the club in 2012, should you wish to join you could have his old number of 765.

As standard your bike would have been 6 volt, negative earth up to about 1949, then positive earth. It may have been altered at some point and the best way to check is to look at the bulbs as you suggest. Polarity is a but more involved but if you remove the dynamo and connect one side of a battery the body whilst gently gripped in a vice (dynamo not battery) and connect the other battery lead to a wire linking the two terminals on the dynamo the dynamo should spin, quite quickly if in good order, slowly or not at all if in need of repair. Do not run it for long and you can use 6 or 12 volts. If the dynamo spins in the direction that it does when it is on the bike than whichever battery terminal you connected to the body is the earth terminal, if not it is the other one. Of course if the bike is running you can attach a DC volt meter to the link wire and earth and see which way the needle or digits move, again don't run for long like this. I would be stripping and cleaning the dynamo as a matter of course anyway, to be safe.

Using 12 volt bulbs on a 6 volt bike was a dodge to avoid blowing bulbs on bike s fitted with direct lighting such as Bantams with flywheel mags, nothing so crude on an Ariel!

[D.Attwood]

Thank you for the reply Roger,

Yes, Dad couldn't keep up anymore due to age, couldn't do the rallies, he loved so much...so let his membership lapse.


I thought the bulb 'dodge' were for all old 6v systems.....I stand corrected.
To be fair...I didn't even consider the polarity ..thanks for reminding me...not everything is negatively earthed !

Kind Regards
David

[Simon.Gardiner]

Dare I suggest that unless there's a modern electronic voltage regulator the electrics are almost certainly 6v?
If it's got an electronic regulator, which type is it and how is it wired? (The ones I've seen are pretty specific about their wiring combinations for different specifications.)

SG

[D.Attwood]

Thanks for the reply Simon,

Unfortunately the bike is stored at Dad's garage.40 odd miles away so can't just have a quick look. Will have to check in a week or so, but appreciate the help

[Julian Murphy]

Hello David and welcome.

Font of knowledge on this forum, so just ask away.

I might have known your dad. I hail from Kent (Man of Kent don't you know....East of the Medway ).

Where was your dad based?

[JohnnyBeckett]

hi David welcome to the forum i would join the AOMCC and keep your Dad's old membership number and you will get all you need to know from the forum and the club

[D.Attwood]

Hi Julian,
Dad was based in the Medway towns, Rainham, to be exact. Dave Godden was also a member and a good friend of Dad's. Sadly Dave died a number of years ago. Many years ago, Dad was into Arrows and Leaders...to the point that if Draganfly didn't have the spares they would refer people to Dad.Later Dad 'graduated' to 4 strokes, although He kept his beloved golden arrow for many years.

Regards David

[D.Attwood]

Hi Johnny,
Thank you for the welcome, agreed, it is a very nice idea to offer me Dad's membership number....brought a tear to my eye, must admit.

[D.Attwood]

Just wondering, I am getting a spark from the spark plug when kicking the NH over, currently it is without a battery.
On refitting the refurbed carb ...will it be ok and try and fire the old girl up, with out the battery...or could this cause problems with the charging system ?

Thanks