Uk Ebike manufacturers

[saneagle]

Do people still have "adventures!" like that anymore in this "modern" age?

Only if they want to. In those days it was a necessity.

 

[Ghost1951]

I never set off on those journey's without a big dose of anxiety about what would happen.I had all kinds of horrible breakdowns on the A1, from burned out valves on the A10, to a seizure of the BSA C15 - and usually at least a hundred miles from home. Bear in mind, these terrible old motorbikes were my only and much prized asset and there was no way I could afford break down insurance or any sort of professional assistance. You had some moth eaten old, rusty spanners and half a clue how the thing worked. The only help you were ever going to get was the kindness of strangers, and / or help from your mates. There were no phones that were not wired to hard infrastructure and you probably couldn't really afford to use them anyway because calling outside the locality where you were, was charged at a premium.

Talking about kindness, I received some (not that much) but I always made a point of stopping to ask any broken down traveller if they needed any help and I quite often got people going again. One of the worst was when I found a guy in an old jag with his disabled wife inside and he had a really bad petrol leak in the boot from a split hose. Fortunately the slit was right at one end and there was enough length to cut off the bad bit and reclamp it with the jubilee clips.

 

[saneagle]

I never set off on those journey's without a big dose of anxiety about what would happen.I had all kinds of horrible breakdowns on the A1, from burned out valves on the A10, to a seizure of the BSA C15 - and usually at least a hundred miles from home. Bear in mind, these terrible old motorbikes were my only and much prized asset and there was no way I could afford break down insurance or any sort of professional assistance. You had some moth eaten old, rusty spanners and half a clue how the thing worked. The only help you were ever going to get was the kindness of strangers, and / or help from your mates. There were no phones that were not wired to hard infrastructure and you probably couldn't really afford to use them anyway because calling outside the locality where you were, was charged at a premium.

Talking about kindness, I received some (not that much) but I always made a point of stopping to ask any broken down traveller if they needed any help and I quite often got people going again. One of the worst was when I found a guy in an old jag with his disabled wife inside and he had a really bad petrol leak in the boot from a split hose. Fortunately the slit was right at one end and there was enough length to cut off the bad bit and reclamp it with the jubilee clips.

More coincidences. My first bike was a C15 that used to seize up regularly because it lost so much oil caused by blow-by pumping the oil out the crankcases - eventually sorted with a rebore, but then a valve guide came loose, and with my new found wealth from a holiday job on Southend Pier, I bought the Ariel VB for £10 with a broken camchain, which was fixed at a local bike shop for about £2 10s. Luckily, it was downhill from my house. As a learner, I was allowed to carry 3 friends on the Ariel, which was handy. I never did understand why it was allowed. One time, there were seven of us on the bike going to a party the other side of town, and I got stopped by the police. They made three get off and walk.

When I first got it and it wasn't running. My friends came round to see it. We pushed it to the top of my street, then rolled down about half a mile before we had to push it back. Several others joined in until there were about 6 of us on it all cheering as we rolled down the hill, until a neighbour grassed us up to the police. It wasn't taxed and insured yet, so they gave me a bit of a talking to, but let us off in the end as long as we stopped doing it.

 

[Ghost1951]

More coincidences. My first bike was a C15 that used to seize up regularly because it lost so much oil caused by blow-by pumping the oil out the crankcases - eventually sorted with a rebore, but then a valve guide came loose, and with my new found wealth from a holiday job on Southend Pier, I bought the Ariel VB for £10 with a broken camchain, which was fixed at a local bike shop for about £2 10s. Luckily, it was downhill from my house. As a learner, I was allowed to carry 3 friends on the Ariel, which was handy. I never did understand why it was allowed. One time, there were seven of us on the bike going to a party the other side of town, and I got stopped by the police. They made three get off and walk.

When I first got it and it wasn't running. My friends came round to see it. We pushed it to the top of my street, then rolled down about half a mile before we had to push it back. Several others joined in until there were about 6 of us on it all cheering as we rolled down the hill, until a neighbour grassed us up to the police. It wasn't taxed and insured yet, so they gave me a bit of a talking to, but let us off in the end as long as we stopped doing it.

Hooligans!!

The good old days. There was a lot good about the seventies - as long as you don't think about the fashions and the hairstyles.

The laws about sidecar outfits were very strange. As a learner, you could ride up to a 250 motor cycle then, but no pillion. The same license allowed you to ride a sidecar outfit with a big engine and carry people, but I think.... not sure.... they had to be in the side car. I didn't take the motor bike test back then. I just rode that big old beezer around with a tiny, minimalist side car on it and carried on until I bought my Morris thousand in 1973/4. I had no driving lessons in that either. A pal of mine who had a license but had never driven, sat in the Morris with me while I got accustomed to the gears and the steering wheel, and a couple of reverses around the corner, and then I just dispensed with the plates and just drove it - even driving it back from London to Newcastle. Six weeks later, I passed my test. When I arrived at the test centre, the guy looked over the car and then frowned and said, 'Where is your accompanying driver?'
I said, 'He's gone a message, he lives near here.'
'What will you do if you fail?' he said.
'I'll have to walk around to his house and get him,' I replied.

He knew and his face told all.

Anyway, he passed me and that was that.

Did the Aerial VB have a CAM chain? I never saw an old Brit bike that didn't have gear driven camshafts. Could you mean the magneto chain? My A10 had a gear driven magneto, but a chain driven dynamo on it.

Here is an aerial VB at Andy Tiernans - looks pretty mint.

 

[saneagle]

Hooligans!!

The good old days. There was a lot good about the seventies - as long as you don't think about the fashions and the hairstyles.

The laws about sidecar outfits were very strange. As a learner, you could ride up to a 250 motor cycle then, but no pillion. The same license allowed you to ride a sidecar outfit with a big engine and carry people, but I think.... not sure.... they had to be in the side car. I didn't take the motor bike test back then. I just rode that big old beezer around with a tiny, minimalist side car on it and carried on until I bought my Morris thousand in 1973/4. I had no driving lessons in that either. A pal of mine who had a license but had never driven, sat in the Morris with me while I got accustomed to the gears and the steering wheel, and a couple of reverses around the corner, and then I just dispensed with the plates and just drove it - even driving it back from London to Newcastle. Six weeks later, I passed my test. When I arrived at the test centre, the guy looked over the car and then frowned and said, 'Where is your accompanying driver?'
I said, 'He's gone a message, he lives near here.'
'What will you do if you fail?' he said.
'I'll have to walk around to his house and get him,' I replied.

He knew and his face told all.

Anyway, he passed me and that was that.

Did the Aerial VB have a CAM chain? I never saw an old Brit bike that didn't have gear driven camshafts. Could you mean the magneto chain? My A10 had a gear driven magneto, but a chain driven dynamo on it.

Here is an aerial VB at Andy Tiernans - looks pretty mint.

Sorry, it was the timing chain that drove the magneto. I wasn't thinking. It was just a loop of chain about 6" long. A few screws to remove the cover, and all was revealed. You can see it here on a Square 4, which looks identical:

Charlie's Shed - Ignition timing, and nearby jobs

Classic Motorcycle Restoration - Ariel Square Four, FH Huntmaster, W/NG; BSA Bantam; Steam Heritage Railway Volunteer on the North Norfolk Railway

ariel-square-four.blogspot.com

The passengers could sit wherever they wanted. There's no requirement to sit in the sidecar, though you'd always want to fill it up first for stability.

That video was cool. I'm not too sure why he was changing gear though. I don't remember doing that too much with mine.

 

[Ghost1951]

Sorry, it was the timing chain that drove the magneto. I wasn't thinking. It was just a loop of chain about 6" long. A few screws to remove the cover, and all was revealed. You can see it here on a Square 4, which looks identical:

Charlie's Shed - Ignition timing, and nearby jobs

Classic Motorcycle Restoration - Ariel Square Four, FH Huntmaster, W/NG; BSA Bantam; Steam Heritage Railway Volunteer on the North Norfolk Railway

ariel-square-four.blogspot.com

The passengers could sit wherever they wanted. There's no requirement to sit in the sidecar, though you'd always want to fill it up first for stability.

That video was cool. I'm not too sure why he was changing gear though. I don't remember doing that too much with mine.

Those old engines were so simple to understand and do things with and you could do major strip down work with pretty minimal tools.