Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

Some progress pictures on the Carbon HS tank. Next job is the glueing in of the bottom part with tapholes for petrol and reserve tap and the two front fixing points.
Then paint and some gold lining.

Hi Vincent, I like the way it mirrors the seat shape from above. Also the front does look Ariel - it almost needs the red side shapes!
Classy.

Yeah! sexy aint't ?

The Red Hunter Red will go onto the tank after the bottom is fixed in place and the inside gets a extra coating to make it all extra-extra resistant to today's 'green' fuels.
From the seats nose I will cover the top of the tank and have the red running down at the front like the thirties tanks.
Knee area and the sides to the front where the Ariel roundel goes stay carbon
I am thinking about a 22K gold leaf lining on the edge of the Red, I have some booklets with leaves left over from a plating job.
I have to find out what kind of (two pack) clear lacker I will have to use to stick the gold on.
Then the whole tank gets a coat of clear (that sadly dulls out the gold a bit but it will look better then with brass based 'gold' paint.)
Or is that over the top? (ha,ha!)
See this nice YouTube pinstriping, One line .....well o.k. , I might be able to get one line on a tank but it wont meet at the other end !! the second thinner line he pulls right next to it, AMAZING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJjJd5yHDY0
Maybe take my tank over there and have him doing it !

The tank looks great. Almost 'Ariel meets BSA Starfire'.

Some more carbon tank making process pics.
The two parts need some extra matting put on to fill the gaps here and there...
I used silversoldered brass reinforcements for tap points, front mountings and stiffening plate around 3rd mounting hole at the back.
a.t.m. blind taps are fitted into both petrol tap holes to keep epoxy (or Vinyl Ester) of the threads.

Not much SpAriel work lately, all attention is going into getting my Prima Donna Featherbed a electric boot.
Har, Har, Har, well...,it's a starter from a American motorcycle, the name eludes me right now.....
The starter ring gear fitted almost without modification (almost...) behind the Steve Maney belt drive.
The engine plates you see on the pic are made from pressed plywood, I've ordered some alloy plate.
Plans are in the pipeline to do this trick (if it works...) to the SpAriel.
I have offered up the starter to the mock-up SpAriel frame and it looks like it will fit behind the central frame member just in front of the rear mudguard.....................

Vincent

Hi Vincent.

I thought you might like a look at this. Its the same set up but turns my home made 1000 v twin easy without using the valve lifter.
I haven't posted a picture before so hope it works.
Tony

I was going to comment, had made up a lenghty answer uploaded pictures and....the last one was to big, then the website kicked me out all lost...I now go and do some work, maybe I try later............

I'm not wanting to hijack Vincent's topic but that's an interesting photo.
Tony - would you mind starting a new topic and telling us a little about your motor?
Brenton

O.K another try. (dont mind it at all Brenton)
Hello Tony, is this the once started Vtwin (crankcase) from Adrie ?
I remember that one.
Herman Noort & me also made one.........1st of April front cover of the Cheval, way back then!
Anyway, yours is the real McCoy, very good looking !
How did you 'solve' the problem of mounting the belt when both mainshafts are in place & fixed ?
Old Britts made up a belt tensioner to overcome mounting problems. (see pic)
I want to do it like you have in your picture, is it just a case of patience when mounting by wiggling both pulleys home ?
Featherbed on the picture was made by Old Britts for Billy Joel, his got the starter canted forward.
At first I wanted to do the same but found that a elec. connection got in the way of the top gearbox mounting lug.
So I put it on like you have (Old Britts relocate this connection)
Behind the clutch basket I fit a reworked Steve Maney outrigger bearing.
It's turned by 25° to make way for the bendix arrangement, it's welded by now.
Old Britts have the outrigger bearing incorporated into the starter cradle (see pic)