Ariel VH 500 Dream

[olaf.suess]

Hello.
A friend of mine would like an Ariel VH 500. He already has a fragment of the engine. It's supposed to be model year 49-50. What kind of spare parts is available on the market? Is it worth it? It needs a frame, a cylinder with pistons and a cylinder head. Was the model also available as a double port?
Regards Ole

[Roger Gwynn]

Does your friend want a bike to ride or a project to play with? If the latter, the sensible answer is for your friend to buy a complete or nearly complete bike, get it into good condition, this will be a lot cheaper, easier and quicker. If he wants a project then still start with a more complete bike but perhaps with more missing parts. 30 years ago it was not difficult to find lots of parts to assemble an Ariel but they are becoming more difficult but 500 engine parts have always been difficult to find because everyone wants to convert their 350 or side vale into a 500. Parts for the 350 are a lot cheaper and easier to find and the bike is just as good. This only applies to the engine as the cycle parts for a particular year are all the same with a few exceptions so that if you are building from spares do not matter much. Twin ports were available from 1927 to 1951 but can be fitted to all years except s/arm. Bear in mind this doubles the cost of an exhaust system that isn't cheap.
What year or engine number is on the parts he has?

[dennis.t]

I agree with Roger. Having purchased a 1955 VH500 that was just a frame with no forks or wheels, a gearbox and bottom end with no cylinder head it cost me much more to buy the missing parts than it would have cost to buy a complete bike. The alloy head alone was £700 never mind forks, wheels, tanks, tin-ware and electrics. I do not regret the purchase as I now have a lovely bike but the reality is my money would have gone a lot further to refresh parts rather than buy them.
I see Ariels for sale quite often, not least in the club magazine, so they are out there.
Dennis

[Julian Murphy]

Dennis, but that is half the fun, rummaging around at autojumbles, chasing bits on ebay, spending hours in the workshop on the lathe or assembly bench, rubbing down making old paintwork ready for spraying...etc, etc.....isn't it?

[Roger Gwynn]

It is if that is what you like doing, each to their own and sometimes people think it is cheaper to buy all the parts separately. When I was at college a friend's dad ran a BL dealership and he had a price list of all the parts for a Mini, so of course, not having anything better to do, we totted up the cost of building a Mini from spares. I don't remember the figure but it was many time the cost of a new car, I think it was over £2000 when a new one was about £400

[tonyh]

Auto jumbles are not what they were 30 years ago before eBay and other modes of floging stuff. lots of folks selling sweets and cheap tools. Its a shame but best to start with a running bike and sorts it out if and when you want to.

[JohnnyBeckett]

hi, i think you can spend more time looking for parts than building a bike , but i think that is half the fun sometimes we waited along time to find parts for classic cars and motorcycles etc, before the internet came along

[nevhunter]

The best way to go about t his is to buy a whole lot of parts from an older collector, build your Bike using the best bits and then dispose of the excess parts. You CAN get complete bikes that are made of crook bits or a very worn bike or restored by someone who didn't know what they were doing IF you know what you are about a "Basket Case" is where you can see what you are getting and can sell for a lower price as it scares a lot off being in bits. Nev