ARIEL VG500 Drawing

[Bert Z]

I would like to technically revise my ARIEL VG500 and make some optimizations, restorations.
Mainly sealing of the entire OEL pipe connections and repair of the OEL pressure gauge.
More detailed drawings and information (factory drawings, workshop drawings, assembly instructions, assembly drawings, exploded views..)
would be helpful, I have the schematics and drawings from the manual, but they don't show me the details I need.

Thanks for Help

Bert

[paul.jameson]

What year is the VG?

[Bert Z]

It's an ARIEL VG 500 from 1947

It's my first vintage bike and I've been looking for the right bike for me for a long time because it's the same motorbike my grandfather rode when he was young.
So the goal is to make the bike as true to the original as possible in a technically reliable way. I don't intend to restore the bike, I want it to stay the way it is.
I will optimize things step by step and probably have to learn a lot and am therefore grateful for support and tips and specialy for detaild dokumentations.

[Roger Gwynn]

I am glad to hear that you do not intend to restore the bike. What is 'OEL'?

All parts, fittings and complete pipes are available.
Oil pressure gauges are a specialist repair really, apart from basic cleaning.
Sealing the fittings is a matter of using plumber's PTFE tape or other thread sealant, Wellseal works well.

[Bert Z]

Thanks for your answer.

Yes PTFE is suitable for sealing all nuts and tubes, however I am looking for more details such as assembly drawings and assembly instructions for support and guidance. I have the Ariel workshop manual, but it doesn't contain all the details I need.

The best thing for me would be a workshop manual that they used in production.

[Roger Gwynn]

Such a thing is not available, the best is the owner's guide. and use later exploded views from parts books all available in the library.

[chris.shearwood]

Hello Bert,
Where are you located? If you join the Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club you might find that there are members living near you who could help. If your bike is in running order perhaps you could attend a club Branch meeting with it. Another good way to discover non-original fitments to your bike is by posting photos of it on this Forum. There are probably more than a few of us on here who would be happy to point out "incorrect" details!
Good luck and regards, Chris

[paul.jameson]

Hello Bert,

Knowing where you are, and what you mean by OEL would help us to help you.

For instance, if by OEL you mean oil, then the oil pressure gauge as fitted to your bike is something I can usually repair, but it isn't normally worthwhile to send it from (say) India to here in the UK for that purpose. Replacement oil pressure gauges in the original style are not available, but we do have a substitute.

The original Owners Guide or Ariel by C W Waller are good sources of information. So is the appropriate spare parts list and most of these are available from the AOMCC website. A copy of the Draganfly catalogue is very useful indeed because of the extra information it contains. As to drawings, we do not have a complete set because only some were rescued from the BSA factory at Small Heath before it was demolished with the remaining drawings burnt on the bonfire. As bikes have frequently been modified from the standard for the year they were made, photos of the bike help us to know what you have which is correct for the year and what has been changed. For example, if your bike was involved in a crash which bent the forks and sent to the factory for repair, I would expect the type of forks current at the time of repair to be fitted, not the original type. There is massive interchangeability of parts between different years on Ariels and it is all too easy to become confused as a result.

But you will find on this Forum free advice from the worldwide experts on Ariels so you have started asking in the right place.

[chris.shearwood]

This drawing is of a later VG from Roy Bacon's book "Ariel the Postwar Models".

[Bert Z]

In fact, OEL is just OIL in another language, sometimes I forget

I live in Widnau, Switzerland, close to the border with Austria.

Yes, my ARIEL is running and there is a chapter of old English motorcycles, the "MC Black Shadow" in my area, where I can discuss these topics and find support.
I'll keep you up to date on how it goes on and search the literature here and at Draganfly as well as in the book by Ariel by C W Waller.