Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

Hello Bevan,
You haven't mentioned how you or your repair person cleaned the brushes. You might be able to resurrect the original brushes if you try cleaning them with Ebbe Hoffner's method which you will find at the bottom of this message he submitted to the e-mail chat group back in 2009 (I hope Ebbe doesn't mind my reproducing his message here):

Thanks Chris, that is very interesting. I wll give it a go, it would be handy to have a functional pair for backup.

Well, you were certainly right Chris. When hit with a propane torch, they bubbled, smoked, then caught fire briefly ! Didn't manage to capture the flame, but you can get the idea from the picture.
Cheers, Bevan.