Forum whore
Could it have escaped your attention that the picture needs 90° clockwise rotation Husa? That would turn your woody into a droopy.Originally Posted by husaberg
I'd go for the droopy (one pipe straight forward) and the carburettor behind the crankcase.
Anorak
Oh Frits, I only sneaked a peek us kiwis, try not to look (too hard)
Did you see the Bantam Arrow 4?
Kinky is using a feather. Perverted is using the whole chicken
Forum whore
Yes I did; I'm still recovering from it. Jolly good job and all that, but why would anyone want to turn a decent RG500 engine into an aircooled disaster, waiting to seize?
Muddler/Dabbler.
Provokes anticipation of the inevitable and therefore gets a lot of attention from those who are wondering just how long it will take to happen (attention is what it's all about!).
Strokers Galore!
Anorak
Pretty sure those cylinders on the Arrow/Leader were cast iron as well.
I guess if he has money in England he's just actually eccentric rather than mad.
It actually made me giggle.
I was going to post the kiwi CB550 powered Vespa, plus the pommy RD350LC powered Vespa. But I think the Square Four Ariel Two stroke/ Bantam wins hands down.
Kinky is using a feather. Perverted is using the whole chicken
Forum whore
NO, nothing beats the Kawasaki tripple scooter (lambreta/Vespa/Rabbit?)one year at the Shell Two Wheeler scooter race, 500 I think. Chambers stuck out so low that the guy riding it couldn't go around the corners, he kept going off into the sand, stop, turn it / aim it, pull the trigger, then off to the next corner. Fast though in a straight line. Still amusing after all these years. I think it tosted the chain on the last lap in the end?
Muddler/Dabbler.
- I don't think the "Bantam" will ever get to that stage!
Yes, the Arrows had cast iron cylinders with two puny transfer passages which were not big enough to poke your little finger into - you wonder why they couldn't have been made in ally as I'm sure they would have been much cheaper to cast than in iron, even with cast iron liners!
Strokers Galore!
Low personal B.M.E.P.
The Arrow/Leader design had two counts against it from the start - it was a 2 stroke, and Ariel didn't "do" 2 strokes, lot of opposition from management to putting it into production. And when it won bike of the year for I think 3 years running they still hated it...
Yes, the Arrows had cast iron cylinders with two puny transfer passages which were not big enough to poke your little finger into - you wonder why they couldn't have been made in ally as I'm sure they would have been much cheaper to cast than in iron, even with cast iron liners!
And of course it was made in Birmingham - spiritual home of the blast furnace and cast iron....
Muddler/Dabbler.
More than two things were wrong with it, it had 16" wheels which made it ground the footrests very easily, making it impossible to take advantage of the excellent handling it was capable of.
It was also a bit heavy and not very powerful for the times, 4 speed box, chain primary drive.
This was a crappy effort to put an overall revolutionary concept on the road.
All these things could have been easily sorted with a little effort of course but I think Ariel was already on it's knees by the time it came out.
I had a Leader and two Arrows, they had a lovely feel to them and I did hope to get one going very fast ....... then the Suzuki T20 came out - it handled like a wet sausage, but it was fast (for the times)and it signalled the end of the Arrow, end of story.
........maybe I should have put a T20 engine in my Arrow frame .........
Strokers Galore!
Forum whore
Small world, I have a whole stack of Arrow engine parts under the bench .....
Muddler/Dabbler.
TZ, I think that if you have the time and you don't want to race buckets anymore, (if that could ever happen!) you should build a new (similar) lightweight Arrow - alloy copy of that sheetmetal frame and forks maybe?? with a much revised all alloy engine/gearbox etc. using today's technology - just to show what Ariel should have been considering doing all those years ago.Small world, I have a whole stack of Arrow engine parts under the bench .....
BTW, looks like the "Bucket Foundry" thread and the "Oddball Engines and Prototypes" thread have become a bit intertwined - but there you go!
Strokers Galore!
Forum whore
I was once thinking of making a classic racer. To get around the limitations of the 4 speed box I was going to replace the Arrows primary drive with a CVT and fit period a TLS front brake and 17" rims for a better choice of tires. There was some resistance to the CVT being all modern and that but there was CVT scooters back in the 60's so CVT is all period legal. But it was impressed on me that classics was about riding old bikes not about clever ideas and making hot shoe racers so I lost interest.
Hardcore Biker
I just happen to have a CVT tranny for a DKW Hobby scooter (circa 1955) if anyone wants it.
Forum whore
1955 Hobby Scooter Transmission.
Low personal B.M.E.P.
You were fed the register party line. Go to any of their meetings and you'll see reality. Modern manxes etc....
There's been at least one maximum Arrow built and run in the Register - 6 speed box and a Wob motor i think too.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks