ARROW RACE/PARADE PROJECT

[geoffbark]

Hi to all,
Firstly can i please intoduce myself, my name is Geoff, and now in my sixties, in past years i have owned various ariel bikes, on two seperate occaisions i owned arrow cafe racers, i now find myself with time on my hands and would like to build a true arrow racer from scratch, i have various ideas of what i would like the bike to be, i.e. engine mods/brake upgrades etc etc, i know there are two arrows on ebay at present, one ex racer and one cafe racer, both i feel are a bit expensive, considering what i would wish to achieve, hence the wish to build from scratch, basically i would like to source a bike needing full restoration or just parts, obviously tinware is not required as these would be repaced anyway, my question is are there any other sources other than ebay where i may find what i need, maybe someone on here may know, thanks in anticipation, Geoff.

[adrie.degraaff]

a true arrow racer

Hello Geoff, welcom to this site.

What would you do to the engine wich isn't tried before? beside putting a Yamaha RD 250 engine under the frame.

[Roger James]

Hello Geoff,
Welcome to the forum, sorry for not replying earlier but have been away last weekend at Castle Combe circuit - Parade riding my Ariel Arrow.
What a pleasant surprise to read your message as I've been trying to encourage someone to get involved in at least Parade riding the Arrow, I would love to have the company of another rider on their Arrow Parade riding on track.
Wow, where to start in replying to your message as there is a big difference between wanting to race the Arrow competitively these days to how it was even a few decades ago, in recent years I've only come across three riders of the Arrow who ride competitively in races and a couple who sprint their Arrows, with a fourth talking of retiring as he's in his 70's now but might be replaced by others who are in the throes of constructing Arrow racers that might join in soon, the frustrating thing is there are loads of Arrow racers out there that just don't appear to be ridden.
To build a machine to be competitive these days you would need to open your wallet rather wide, twin carb crankcase, suitable carbs, a Nova 6 speed gearbox would set you back around £2600, Alloy barrels £500, Jap conrods, pistons, uprated Newby drivebelt clutch £?'s , uprated Manxton front suspension units £?.. improved rear swinging arm, better brake hubs, electronic ignition etc the list is pretty endless.
If however you want to build a Racer for Parade Riding, have all the fun of being on track without the stress of actually racing then a bike could be put together for a lot less outlay but will still mount up by the time you've sourced cycle parts and various spares to put a machine together.
Or take the route into Parade Riding that I have taken and the cheapest option but still gives a great deal of fun and enjoyment is to put together what looks like a relatively Standard looking Arrow with tuned engine, my main Parade bike is an ex factory built Production Endurance racer used in the Thruxton 500 miler and Silverstone 1000 races in the early 60's, a single carb engine (large 389 Amal monobloc with 570 main jet), standard Ariel crankshaft with alpha conrods, ported crankcase and ported iron barrels with Suzuki X7 pistons, a close ratio gearbox gives the bike a good increase in performance over a standard Sports Arrow but would be left for dead by a fully prepared Arrow racer.
An even cheaper route is to use a standard Arrow or Leader and Parade ride it at British Historic Racing weekend events where they allow PR5 parades for ordinary road bikes, must have an m.o.t if eligible and you don't need race leathers etc or have to put the bike through scrutineering, these sessions are held at lunchtime for a nominal £25 for a 15 minute session, there is usually a Pace car out front but I doubt you will go quick enough to catch it (well I never have). I have two other Arrows with mildly tuned engines that I use in these PR5 sessions, still great fun and an extremely cheap way to get out on track and you have the rest of the day to watch the classic bike racing.
But that's how I like it, a standard looking sports Arrow with good acceleration and turn of speed that no-one expects to be so quick on track whereas if you have something that looks like a Arrow racer, even a café racer then everyone expects it to be quick.
I don't want to clog up the forum with pictures of race Arrows but here are a few. Roger

[geoffbark]

Hi to all,
WOW!!! what a response, absolutely brilliant, in answer to the first: i dare say there is nothing that i can do that has not been tried before, over my earlier years probably most things were possible, padded crankcase, twin carbs, philips fuel injector, ported crankcase/barrels, the option of fitting an RD engine unfortunately, does not interest me, at my age, actual racing is out so parade riding would be my choice, thanks to Roger for a very informative reply, i think maybe i will settle for somewhere in the middle, obviously, you have a wealth of information, which with your consent, i would like to tap into, i have to start somewhere, so i am actively looking for the basics to get this project underway, have missed one project and outbid on another from ebay but still living in hope, over the moon now i know there is someone out there likeminded, maybe we can touch base in the future, many thanks.

[grahamhibbs]

This is an interesting thread, keep it going.
Back in the 60s I did some development work for a friend using my arrow and his expansion chambers and have had another arrow for the last 25 years and have myself been considering building another café racer arrow, this may be the push I need.

[Roger James]

Geoff & Graham,
You shouldn't encourage me, but as you have here's a photo of a friends Arrow Café Racer you might like, its owned by Keith from Chester.
This picture was taken at last years Mallory Bike Bonanza and was used in track sessions and the lunchtime Sprint demo.
Roger

[geoffbark]

Hi again,
Thanks for the photo`s, some very nice bikes including the last from Chester, i can only say my enthusiasm is increasing by the day, can`t wait to get started, just have to keep looking for a bike/parts to start off with, just for your info i do already have a bike or two as follows:
1962 BSA C15 Star
1970 BSA Lightning(PRE OIF)
1977 SUZUKI AP50( for the back of my motorhome)
1.75 YAMAHA TY175`S(trials)
The little AP50 was about as light as i could find given the weight limit, it just sit nice on the towbar.

[geoffbark]

Just an enquiry, does anyone know, what the cable operated valves on the exhaust front pipes are for, as fitted to the ex racer on ebay???

[adrie.degraaff]

Just an enquiry, does anyone know, what the cable operated valves on the exhaust front pipes are for, as fitted to the ex racer on ebay???

The idear is that becouse the exhaust ports are high it's taking time to reach top revs so if your closing the exhaust half way it's getting there faster, it is working better close to the piston but I have tested this system and it helps.
Strange thing is, if your narrow the exhaust tube one inch from the piston for only 10mm lengt than the machine is faster, i dont know why that is but i found it out by accident.

I would go for dubbel rotating disc inlets (like Meyer did in the sixties) with a short curve pointing the carbs rearworth and throw away the flywheel.

1977 SUZUKI AP50( for the back of my motorhome)
1.75 YAMAHA TY175`S(trials)

Do you take the trials machine on the motorhome to trial in Spain in the winter?

[Vincent.vanGinneke]

Welcome Geoff, perhaps a begin? : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ariel-leader- ... 4d347efe9c