Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Ariel forum 1928 Ariel Model C

That feels about right.

My Secret Santa was delivered by Amazon and I opened it this morning.

It was printed in "Great Britain". It came in a fancy gift bag, not sure if that was at extra cost but it sure makes it easier to send gifts via Amazon.

Thank you for the effort that you must have put in to publishing the book. Its a big enough task writing one of those long build threads on a forum but it must be a really big task turning that text into a book with no publisher, editor etc to share the load.

Also, thanks for the acknowledgement. It was not needed but is appreciated.

Here is the fancy packaging.





John

Yesterday I hauled my Honda XR650L to my friend's shop to have him sell for me.



Prior to doing that I removed the fairly extensive tool kit from the bags mounted to the front and rear fenders. Although this tool kit is less extensive than the 10-lb. tool kit I carried on my Ariel during the Cannonball, the Honda is ~70 years newer so presumably is more reliable. Anyway, in principle, at least, aside from the metric and Honda-specific items on the following list, many of the other items could be repurposed to permanently reside in the Ariel's leather tool case.

Tools for tires (front fender bag):
(2) Tire irons
Patch kit: (6) 2" dia. & (1) 3" sq. patch, (4) alcohol wipes, stitcher, sandpaper, glue
Cap/key to unscrew valve cores
(2) Schraeder valve cores
Tire pump
Tire pressure gauge
3-segment prop stand for elevating wheels
Tools for other than tires (rear fender bag):
8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19 & 24 mm wrenches
¼" breaker bar w/3" extension, universal joint, and 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 mm sockets
4" & 8" Crescent wrenches (12 & 28 mm max. openings)
4, 6, 8 & 10 mm Allen wrenches
7" Vice Grips
5" Vice Grips
6½" Needle nose pliers/wire cutter
4" Channel-loc pliers
Multi-bit screwdriver: 1/4" square drive, T40 Torx, (3) regular & (2) Philips bits
Offset screwdriver
Offset Philips screwdriver
Honda deep-drive 18 mm spark plug wrench
Chain breaker
Master link assembly vise
Swiss army knife
Electrical:
Sperry DM-2A digital multimeter (ac/dcV, Ohms, diode tester)
(2) 30” 12 AWG jumper cables (40 A continuous current)
(2) 24” 18 AWG jumper cables
4" 18 AWG insulated electrical wire
Roll electrical tape
Spares:
Spark plug (used NGK DPR8EA-9, gap=0.032")
Fuses: (2) ea. 20A and 10A (stored above fuse box in battery compartment)
(2) Master links + 1 & 3-link segments (size = DID520V)
(2) ea. 6 mm, 8 mm, and ¼-20 nuts and bolts
Other:
3' Gas siphon hose
1' Fuel line
(2) Hose clamps
12' Nylon tow rope
(4) Handiwipe packets
Mini-first aid kit: band aids, gauze, (2) alcohol wipes, tweezers
Mini-Maglite flashlight
Box of matches
(3) Epoxy packets
Epoxy putty
Small bar of soap
4' Stainless wire, 0.040" dia.
(26) 5" and (4) 7" zip ties
4' Waxed cotton string
4' Nylon cord
Ground cover/plastic sheet
Shop rag
Pair surgical gloves

The leather tool case is 117 cu.in., of which 19 cu.in. is occupied by the NiMH battery pack for the bike's LED bulbs when it is in place.



That leaves 98 cu.in., which is approximately 25% the volume of my full 10-lb. toolkit. Since these Honda tools are now taking up space on my workbench, one of my first tasks of the new year will be to see if I can repurpose enough of them into a kit that fits in 98 cu.in. while still providing useful function. It's a question of whether or not maximizing functionality while minimizing size results in a kit that is useful enough to be worthwhile.

Although with tools, more is better, the photograph shows that enough of the Honda's tools should fit in the Ariel to make a useful set.



I haven't tried to make them fit, only approximately measured their volume. From left-to-right is a tube patching kit in a baggie, tire pump, pair of tire irons, 90° regular and Philips screwdrivers, multi-bit screwdriver, knife, needle-nose pliers, and two sizes of Crescent wrenches.

The multi-bit screwdriver is fatter than it needs to be so I'll look for a smaller replacement. The larger Crescent wrench fits the nuts that hold the wheels on, and the needle-nose pliers and screwdrivers would deal with the master link. So, basically, this is a tire-repair toolkit, although with a few additional capabilities.

Its too late for your XR but for other bikes that you have that use metric Fasteners I have found that the Motion-Pro multi tool is actually quite good.

Like any "multi tool" its compromised in certain respects but for a very compact package it provides enough functionality (with some customisation such as adding one or two sockets) for emergency roadside repairs.



I was sceptical about it before I got one but I now carry one on my daily rider as it fits under the seat nicely.


John.

Happy New Year, John,

Question: Is the thingy on the bottom left hand a bottle opener?

Wouldn't want to risk getting dehydrated now would we?

And a Happy New Year to you too NYBSAGUY.

Yes it is a bottle opener. I am guessing they designed the tool and realised that there was a space for something else so added one.

These days I dont drink beer much but do enjoy a glass of red wine. Now that you mention the bottle opener, maybe I should add a corkscrew to my toolkit or maybe a Swiss ArmyVictorinox knife with corkscrew.

John.

You might remember that pre-911 it was permitted to carry a Swiss army knife on planes in most countries. But, you might not remember that around that same time physicists make the transition to giving talks using Powerpoint rather than overhead projectors. Anyway, I was giving a talk somewhere in Europe on an overhead projector that was tilted somewhat so the first transparency I put on it wouldn't stay in place. Someone in the front row quickly reached forward and placed his Swiss army knife on the transparency to keep it from sliding. It was identical to the one I was carrying, except the European version had a corkscrew while mine had a Philips screwdriver.



On the same non-Ariel subject, around that time I had to temporarily give up my knife on an internal flight in Japan. When I got off the plane at the destination the pilot was waiting in the jetway holding the knife in the palms of his outstretched hands and he bowed as I retrieved it. NB. the one above is at least the 4th I've had since that talk, the others having been confiscated at airports when I forget to leave them at home.

I did not realise that a corkscrew was not universally standard on these knives.

Your anecdote reminded me of a trip to New York in about 1998 or 1999. My wife & I took my aunt and Uncle to NYC as my Aunt had always wanted to go. At Heathrow Airport we were going through security and my Aunt was in front of us and the security guy took her cabin bag after it had been through x-ray and asked her the standard questions such as did you pack it yourself and does it contain any of the banned items. She said yes she did pack it and no it didn't contain any banned items. The security guy then reached into the bag and puled out a very large chef's knife. At that point my Aunt and Uncle had a huge domestic about who had put it in there. Anyway, because it was pre-9/11 the security guy was very understanding and consigned the knife to the hold luggage (despite my Uncle telling him to just dispose of it) and at JFK the knife came out onto the baggage carousel as a separate item of hold luggage.

John

Whose says travel isn't educational?

Depends on the model.
My "Coureur de Bois" model has an escargot fork next to the corkscrew.

Your post sent me off to google to see what other options are available. There is a "Cheese Master" model with "built-in fondue fork" and a "cheese blade for cutting a wide variety of soft and hard cheeses"

I can see the beginning of an alternative essential toolkit for the discerning Brit Bike rider who finds themselves stranded without life's "essentials".

I will have a word with my butler and get him to make a list of "essential" implements to be able to maintain a civilised existence.

John

Any butler worth employing would tell you that you don't need any implements, because it's his job to take care of everything.

Au contraire, Mon Professeur, my butler tells me that Laguiole make a very nice pen-knife with a perfect corkscrew attached. Well, it is French, after all. Whereas the Swiss have always beem more interested in cheese than in wine.

Keeping on topic (the topic is corkscrews, isn't it?), the following shows my Leatherman Juice C2 that the TSA lets me carry on planes in the U.S.



Mine is at least 15 years old but I believe it still is the smallest full-featured Leatherman available. The red strip above the 'C2' is a piece of tape attached to the remnant of the knife that I cut off to make the tool legal. Having the tape makes it faster to talk my way through checkpoints.

Unlike the corkscrew on a knife, requiring the operator to use sheer brute strength to pull the cork out, the piece at the base folds out to provide a lever against the lip of the bottle, as is the case with the proper tool wielded by French waiters.

TSA made corkscrews legal well over a decade ago, and this tool has proved an invaluable suitcase companion in hotel rooms around the country a number of times since then. However, having almost had it confiscated at the Montreal airport years ago, I don't risk carrying it on overseas trips. Unfortunately, since it lacks the knife, it's more difficult for me to cut the cheese…

The TSA have obviously not seen the film The Equaliser. (AKA The Equalizer)

John

I think being stabbed with the knife on a Leatherman would be less damaging than being stabbed with the corkscrew. When the tool is folded shut and the corkscrew deployed, it could be held like a set of brass knuckles.

Along with cigar cutters.

Warren Buffett got it.

," it's more difficult for me to cut the cheese…"

That made me laugh.

Yesterday I finally had the time and inclination to take the Ariel out for its first shake-down cruise since I rebuilt it. Those with excellent memories will remember that no oil flowed during my original attempt, which I subsequently addressed by re-attaching the oil line from the fuel tank to the oil pump inlet.

As a reminder, the oil pump is a plunger operated by a cam, that creates a vacuum that lifts oil a few inches from a compartment in the fuel tank into the sight glass, and from there into the oil line. The required number of drops per minute is regulated by a valve on the sight glass that bleeds air into it, thereby reducing the partial vacuum and hence the force that lifts the oil.

The next photograph shows the Ariel on the driveway with a screwdriver in the oil compartment.



I used a mix of 30W and 50W oils to create ~35W and wanted to be sure it was thoroughly mixed. The bike started right away, and oil started flowing a few seconds later, but when I opened the air bleed valve oil stopped and wouldn't restart. Thanks to the viscosity of the oil and the overall design of the system, there's a time constant of some several seconds between turning the valve and seeing the results, which makes initial adjustment "interesting."

At this point I stopped the engine and made another special tool for the Ariel, in the form of a Cu tube in a rubber stopper I could use with a tire pump to check if there was blockage in the tank's oil line.



You might think the paint marks on the bleed valve would show the correct setting, but the valve has to be some unnoted-by-me turns out, so the marks only help make fine adjustments to the drops once the basic setting is determined. Anyway, one press of the tire pump cause plenty of oil to immediately flow into the sight glass, so all seemed well. I again started the engine, and again oil flowed, but again as I bled increasing amounts of air in the oil flow stopped and wouldn't restart. While this might be normal behavior at the low idling rpm, I didn't want to take the chance, so back on the lift. I'll pull the oil pump and test it separately, then carefully check that the oil line from the tank to the inlet is 100.0% sealed before I try again.

That is a handsome old bike. I can see why you like it.

I don't like it, I love it.

Don't quite understand the design . Care to elaborate ?
( you may have explained it years ago )... I have a vague feeling that you have
is it ¿
A vacuum is used to draw oil from a storage tank to a separate gravity fed drip .
or
oil pressure is used to push oil from storage >> to the gravity feed

In either case , when it works , what stops the gravity Reservoir from overfilling ?
( an overflow back to the larger oil tank ? )

The oil pump creates a partial vacuum in the oil line that runs from it to the sight glass. That oil line is hidden by the screen at the bottom of the sight glass. Oil is then drawn up into the sight glass by that vacuum, through a tube that runs down into the oil tank. That tube is the white one you can see in the photograph at ~12:30, that opens into the sight glass some distance above the screen. The knob you see in the photograph, that's attached to the sight glass, bleeds air into the sight glass to lower the vacuum and thus lower the rate at which oil is drawn into it.

The desired rate is 1 drop/second so, as the engine changes speed from, say, idling at a light to going 50 mph, the air bleed has to increase to keep too much oil from flowing. It's difficult to see the oil drops, so I added a double screen (rotated 90° from each other) at the bottom of the sight glass to keep each drop visible for slightly longer, after which it descends into the oil line, through the oil pump, into the engine, and out onto the ground (total loss).

If there's an air leak in the oil line, or the cap on the sight glass, that could reduce the vacuum enough that oil wouldn't be drawn up into the sight glass. Or, maybe it only would be drawn up when the engine was at relatively high speed and the pump was pumping faster than the air leak was leaking air.