6. Ariel Golden Arrow - Gearbox Strip and progress

Time to strip the gearbox, By removing the kickstart pedal, gear change lever and the foot pegs it is possible to remove the chrome gearbox cover on the right side of the bike. As with most things on an old bike, they look much better on the photos than they really are and this first picture is no exception. The chrome cover looks good, but close inspection shows multiple dents and two cracks that need welding on one side and once that is all sorted out, it will have to be re-chromed. Still at least it's still in one piece!

 Having removed the chrome cover, the gearbox is revealed. So it is then a simple case of disconnecting the speedo cable and the clutch cable and undoing the nuts holding on the gearbox outer cover and, that done, a gentle knock with a soft wooden drift and the gearbox cover comes away.





It's nice to have a bit of good news and first inspection reveals a nice clean kickstart mechanism and, apart from a weak return spring, nothing else needing replacement.

A few more gentle knocks and the inner gearbox cover comes away revealing all of the gears in very nice condition.

I have decided to take the same approach as I did with the BSA A10 and that is to leave the gearbox as "in tact" as possible until I need it as my memory is not as good as it used to be and if I don't strip it until I need to, then I've got more chance of remembering how to put it back together again. So It's been put away as you see it in a draw to be attended to at a later date.


OK more news, the crankshaft has been split to allow the removal of the big end roller bearings and, as anticipated, the rollers are shot. Fortunately the crank shaft and the con rods look good. So I've had to buy 72 new rollers and deliver them to the engineering shop. The other news is that it also needs two new +60 thou pistons along with new rings, gudgeon pins and little end bearings so they will now have to be ordered too.I understand that the replacements are actually Yamaha but I am informed that they fit perfectly.

Now the good news, I've just been and collected all of the frame/bodywork from the painters and they look beautiful. Andy has done a brilliant job, but has told me never bring another one of those again! Apparently it was not easy.

So the rebuild can really begin. The first job is to rig the main chassis back into the frame that I have made on the bike stand. I did this by using the rubber rear shock absorber mounting and bolting them to the support frame. As mentioned earlier, until the engine is in, the bike will not stand up on its own as the centre stand is mounted on the engine. By using this frame, I can work on the rest of the bike until the engine is ready,

That's it for now, the next stage is the wheels and hubs and reassembly of the front forks.


Copyright K. Hopcroft  07.04.14 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