3. Ariel Golden Arrow - 2nd Strip

Having removed all of the rear bodywork, wheel, chain guards etc. It was now time to remove the engine. This presented a problem that I had not come across on any other motorbike before. The problem is that the centre stand is mounted on the engine casing
, and not the frame as normal. If I remove the engine, the bike will fall over!

This created a real dilemma. I decided to make a framework out of "Unistrut"  to support the bike frame. This took up considerable time but was good practice for my mig welding skills (which are not great). This involved making two frames which bolted down onto my bike lift and fitted either side of the bike. An adjustable crosspiece then added rigidity and provided support for the bike frame body, bolting onto the two rear shock absorber mounting holes. A quick wooden support under the front of the frame allowed me to remove the weight from the stand and work on the removal of the engine.

That done it was now a simple task of removing the brake pedal and rear forks and all fixing bolts and the engine simply dropped out from under the frame.

Next was the front forks. By removing the two chrome cover plates on the forks, the ingenious trailing link front suspension was revealed. After releasing the clamp bolts, the front axle knocked out reasonable easy and with the brake disconnected, the front wheel slid out between the forks. The front mudguard was next and to my surprise it turned out to be in two sections, not one continuous mudguard.

You can't remove the two shock absorber/spring assemblies until  the cast trailing link arms are removed first. The left one is easy, just remove the bolts and pull it out. But the right link has a bush mounted in it and that has to be knocked out first before the link will pass out between the bottom of the suspension leg rings. The two shock absorbers can now be undone at the top and dropped out from the bottom.

Finally the top yoke can be released along with it's top and bottom bearings and the front forks removed from the frame. By the way, the top and bottom bearings are loose ball bearings in races. Be careful to catch the balls as they fall out of the bottom race, when you pull the forks downward.

The next episode covers the stripping of the engine/gearbox unit and more disasters are revealed.

Copyright K. Hopcroft  07.02.14 All rights reserved
You can contact me on: hopcroftscoot@gmail.com


My other Blogs:

1961 BSA A10 Super Rocket Motorcycle:
 https://60sclassicmotorbikes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/before.html


Miniature Land Rover Defender:
http://miniaturelandrover.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/1-miniature-land-rover-defender-idea.html

1971 VW Karmann Ghia Convertible Car: 
http://karmannghiarestoration.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/1-karmann-ghia-retoration-project.html

Motorcycle Trailers / Caravans:
http://motorcycletrailersandcaravans.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/1-motorcycle-trailers-problem.html