Arrow with non matching numbers

[Vesa Helske]

Hi all,
I've purchased an Arrow which is believed to be -62 model, registered in Finland first time 1962. Looking at the ID-plate, engine number and some physical details, made me wonder what is the actual manufacturing year.
-ID-plate shows FRAME: T 30275/G, ENGINE: T 30275/G.
-engine no stamped on the crankcase: T-12727-S.
-carburettor is AMAL 375/35.
-front brake plate is anchored to the lower end of the fork leg.
-there is no ignition key.

Thanks in advance for clarifying information,
Vesa

[simon.holyfield]

Could you send me an email?

[Simon.Gardiner]

Looking at the info on Drags website:
https://draganfly.co.uk/2-stroke-information/

The numbers for the two-strokes seem to run pretty much consecutively regardless of whether the bike ended up as a Leader, Arrow or Sports Arrow. 26300(ish) was August 1961 so a 30xxx number seems about right for some time in 1962.
The engine number (and 'S' suffix) is early Arrow (1959/1960), which would have had the 375 carb.
(Obviously, the Registrar will have the exact details )

The later bike would have had the 'ivory' frame and forks, the earlier one would have had an 'admiralty blue' frame and forks.
First guess would be that you've got a '62 Sports Arrow that has has been given the engine and front forks from an earlier bike. (I think engine changes are quite common with these, my Arrow has had at least 2 replacements.)
Does it look like the frame plate has been changed, and are there any clues in the colours of the frame and forks? (The numbers on the gearbox will have a date code in the same format as the 4-strokes so that should confirm the date for the engine.)

SG

[Vesa Helske]

Simon,

-gear box:GB55 D 60 M892 H (on the outer cover).
-there are no signs that the ID-plate had been changed.
-the frame and forks are ivory, but the front shock absorbers (when removed) show some light blue colour.
-I can't see any marks near the steering head, thus if the forks have been replaced, not very severe crash anyways.

Best regards,

Vesa

[Roger Gwynn]

Hi Vesa, Your engine was originally despatched to Finland in April 1960 and as an 'early' Arrow it would differ from a Super Sports engine by having low compression cylinder heads and a smaller inlet tract. After the introduction of the Sports Arrow all engines were fitted with the high comp heads and had the larger inlet tract, the suffix letter changed from S to T for the Arrow and A to B for Leader. The gearbox number matches this.
Your frame was also despatched to Finland but in April 1962. The torque arm arrangement is from the 'early' models as is the lack of ignition key but I would still describe the bike as a 1962 Sports Arrow, albeit with an earlier engine and some other features, which are not unusual with any bike that has been around this long. Later factory replacement forks were fitted with bracket for both torque arms and if yours has this it will be easy to change to the later version, otherwise another set of forks or a bit of welding will be required should you want to correct it. Many of the parts that were not normally visible were painted in primer only but the front shocks should be the base colour.

[Roger Gwynn]

I forgot to say that there is no previous record of your bike in the register. There 7 2 strokes listed in Finland including yours.

[Vesa Helske]

Thanks for the interesting information Roger,

it's surprisingly low number of 2 strokes in Finland! Of course there could be some additional private imports, too.

Vesa

[Roger Gwynn]

Yes, these are only the ones that I know about. In the last 10 years I have added an average of 272 bikes that were not previously on the register so it impossible to say how many Ariels have survived. There are currently around 12,800 listed out of a production total of about 250,000 or 5%. This is for 1926-65.