Standing 1/4 mile time

[Wali.Badger.Taylor]

Has anyone got a time for a Standard VH or RH over the standing 1/4 mile? I have been asked this question a few times and would like to be able to give a conclusive answer.
Thanks

[david.anderson]

Wali
some where I have a couple of road tests around about 49 and 52 that gave pretty good 1/4 times for the VH but I cannot find them. I am starting to think the wife has cleared out some of my junk?
The only test that I could find is Motor Cycling June 2 1937 in which the bike clocked 18.4 into the wind, which is clearly fairly poor. The same bike recorded 86mph top speed one way and 90mph on the return run which is more respectable.
Later VH models with the 1" base circle cam were renowned for accelerating faster.
David

[admin]

http://www.arielownersmcc.com/members ... cling).pdf

[john.mitchell]

Wali, we printed this in Cheval Dec 2011

AOMCC member David Anderson (USA) has been kind enough to put this together for us after mentioning it on the new forum.
ARIEL RED HUNTER SETS AUSTRALIAN LAND SPEED RECORD

"Australia had several well known Ariel tuners, the best known being Art Senior. Art started racing back in the late 1920s and soon caught the eye of an OK Supreme dealership. A deal was done and Art began racing an OK Supreme that was provided to him. Art believed that he had been given the bike but was later told the bike was not his but remained the property of the dealer. An argument ensued which came to the attention of Eric Moore, the Australian Ariel importer. Eric Moore had recognised the talent of Senior as a rider and tuner so Moore promptly offered Senior an Ariel if he would tune it and make a speed record attempt on it. Senior was given a new 1937 Red Hunter Ariel and set about preparing it to take the Australian Land Speed Record. That was the beginning of a long association between Senior and Eric Moore. (Eric Moore was also the importer of Royal Enfield so Senior was later also provided with a 350 Enfield Bullet that he raced in the 350 class).
In early August 1938 Senior, Moore and a small back up crew travelled to South Australia where the attempt would be made. At dawn on the 12th August, Senior made his first run at a speed of 128.57mph and he promptly made the return run at a speed of 126.73mph to give an average speed of 127.65mph. Unfortunately no further runs were possible as the arm had been broken of the timing device, but no further runs were needed. A new Australian Land Speed record had been achieved for motorcycles (and motor vehicles) and Eric Moore waisted little time in advertising the record breaking achievements of Senior and the Ariel.
Art Senior never made any further outright speed record attempts but he did however set new Australian standing quarter times of 13.5 seconds solo and 15.5 seconds with sidecar at Castlereagh airstrip in 1947 (the solo record was subsequently broken by another Ariel in the late 1950s).
Senior continued to compete with his girder forked bike at race tracks around the country through the 1940s and 1950s. He was regarded by many as unlucky as he clearly had the fastest bike but had little race success. Senior only knew one way to compete and that was to not only lead the race but also to lap every bike in the race or blow the engine trying. In 1955 Geoff Duke toured Australia with his World Championship winning 4 cylinder Gilera. At a race meeting that was held at the Mt Druitt circuit west of Sydney, Duke pushed off the start line and went straight to the lead. Seniors bike was, as usual, slow to start but once underway Senior (who was at the end of a long career) quickly went through the field, caught and passed Duke then diced with him for 3 laps until the Ariel seized. After the race Duke commented that he couldn’t quite believe his eyes when he saw this girder fork thing pass him. Senior also competed with his Ariel in speedway sidecar events where he was quite successful.
Art Senior was a talented engineer who ground cams, cast pistons and made quality performance engine parts for a living. His engine components included stronger crankcases, conrods, larger shouldered crankpins that would not flex with high compression engines, Aluminium alloy cages for standard big ends, alloy heads, worm drive geared oil pumps, valves and vibrac valve retainers and short stroke bottom ends. His cams are well known in Australia and are easily identified as there is a map of Australia engraved around his name in the outer face of the cam. His pistons are similarly identifiable. Many people who no longer own an Ariel motorcycle have kept Senior cams as a memento. Senior also built an overhead cam Ariel engine and a full desmo Ariel engine, both of which proved very fast but costly to repair when blown up.
Senior worked out of a small workshop behind his house at Petersham, a Sydney suburb. Most of the machinery that he used was home made and clearly built to a price. Senior never paid anyone to do what he thought he could do himself, and he was clearly confined by a tight budget. Senior was even known to use a sewing machine to make clothes for his family. Following his tragic drowning death, another well known Sydney engineer approached his widow to buy some of his machinery, but after viewing the primitive machinery that Senior used, that engineer chose to leave empty handed, later stating that he did not know how Senior was able to produce quality parts with such equipment.
Art Senior was a very secretive man who always tested his bike in secret. Even at the racetrack Senior would tell people who came to look at his bike to move on, while other top riders of the day chatted to onlookers and posed for photos with their bikes. I was told by Senior’s nephew that Senior had once sold a bike that was fitted with a wooden piston. About a year later the purchaser returned to complain about the piston to which Senior replied that he had clearly had good use out of it. (Before you think otherwise, during and following the Second World War the use of wooden pistons fitted with steel caps was not uncommon in Australia as parts were unobtainable. These wooden pistons were also used on the race track and hopefully lasted the full race. I would have thought however that as Senior made pistons, spares would not be a problem). As such Senior was not a popular man.
Art Senior’s Australian Land Speed record with his Ariel stood for over 30 years.
Photos of framed copies from “The Australian Motor Cyclist” August 1938 which reported on Senior’s record breaking attempt are displayed under the heading Australian Land Speed Record in the in the Ariel Talk section of the Club’s Public Chat Forum. More details of his record breaking run may be read there.
Senior's bikes are on display at The National Motorcycle Museum of Australia located at Nabiac on the north coast of NSW. Unfortunately a couple of bikes were built from parts that were in possession of the family. They have been built with telescopic forks and Burman gearboxes. Senior’s bike was always raced with girder forks and an early close ratio Norton gearbox that had been modified by Art."

[steve.clarke]

I have to say I find these articles most absorbing, it certainly gives a sense of pride in the ability of the Ariel and makes you realise the potential of the old thumper sitting under the tank, those old fellas certainly had some guts,the 1958 NH in my avatar was a surprisingly rapid bike wished I had the sort of knowledge available to all now, back then, I would have had a closer look in the timing chest, anyone got a photo of a Desmo Ariel as an ex 900ss owner I would be most interested.
Thanks for taking the time to write up this interesting material.
Steve.

[Wali.Badger.Taylor]

Thanks for the replys, 18.4 is a very decent time for an out of the box machine!

[nevhunter]

I would have thought 18 seconds is an OK time as Wal says.
The article on Art Senior is excellent and I can add nothing to it. I had a camshaft and piston (Ariel) by Senior and unfortunately let it go too easy as I had a fetish about NEW parts at the time The Piston was sand cast is one would expect. Bit of a coincidence also was the fact I owned a 1947 Bullet 350 too which I thrashed mercilessly,( I never knew Senior had one ) after fitting a roller big end conversion. Enfields were not regarded as very good bikes at the time. I could live with the Bullet's frame flexing and actually have a soft spot for them still. It was one of the first bikes to have a swinging arm rear suspension. A Jack (john) Towner, raced one quite successfully at the time, sponsored by Taylor Cycles the Enfield agents in Newcastle. Nev

[Eero.Korhonen]

Hello,
That link is broken, here is right one:
http://www.arielownersmcc.com/members ... ing%29.pdf
Br, Eero

[david.anderson]

The time I quoted for the 1937 red hunter was for a twin port head, which is a bit slower. I still cannot find my later road tests, but from memory the later Ariels were a good second faster down the quarter.
The link to the 1950VH test in the document repository gives an average speed of 50.15mph for a standing quarter which equates to a 17.95 second standing quarter. That is a half second quicker than the 1937 test but the top speed of the 1950VH is a little slower than the 37 twin port managed.
I have just phoned a long time friend (now in his 80s)and prominent Ariel racer from the 50s to ask his 1/4 times. While he owned and successfuly raced a 1955HS he could not give me a standing quarter time for that bike, but will check his records when he gets a chance. He did tell me though, that fitted with a 12.5 to 1 wire wound piston, a Vic Lyons cam and a bit of other engine work to his 1950VCH he was into the 13 second figures when timed with a stop watch by his club. With that bike he started C grade and went to A grade rider in 6 months.
Nev, all the Senior pistons that I have seen are die cast, beautifully made and light,(but not cam ground) although I have been told that his early pistons were sand cast.
This is the only picture that I can find of the Art Senior Royal Enfield. Not a proper build but as it was displayed in the National Motorcycle Museum at Nabiac, NSW a few years ago.
David