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Looking for a frame and front fork from pre war Ariel VB or WD

Hello,

a friend of mine is owner of Ariel model VG from 1932. One year ago he bought a spare 4 valve engine like a spare engine. But his engine is running quite well so he decide to realize an old dream - to build an Ariel race bike with this engine. For that purpose he will need a frame from prewar Ariel model VB or WD. My friend Danny from sump magazine give me that forum like the best place where I can ask about that. We need just the frame and the girder fork. No headlights, No tachometers and so on. Just the frame and the fork. So hope that someone from you gonna help. Thanks to all in advanced

Best regards
Valentin

email (option): valentins@abv.bg

Re: Looking for a frame and front fork from pre war Ariel VB or WD

Be prepared for huge prices on girder forks. Much more than frames!

Re: Looking for a frame and front fork from pre war Ariel VB or WD

Hi Valentin, Douglas is perfectly correct. Girder forks are fetching a lot of money these days. You could be looking at £200-£500, or more (depending on the condition). Even very rough forks will fetch £100-£150. Frames can fetch a similar amount - and much more for anything exotic. By the time you've fitted a new spring, bushes, damper knobs and so on, it can be really expensive.

The days of building cheap specials are long gone, especially if you want that pre-war look. All pre-1939 stuff has moved up and up. Even the smaller items (brackets, pedals, engine plates, etc) are becoming very expensive, especially when you consider the costs of hunting it all down and postage.

This might not be want your friend wants to hear, but he might be better advised to build a British single around something much more affordable, such as a Royal Enfield Bullet. Yes, it would be hard to get that pre-war look (Bullet engines are very compact and are more suited to trials bikes and cafe racers), but you can still make a decent enough special out of one.

And you can tune/upgrade Bullets reasonably well (and relatively cheaply). When I was with Classic Bike magazine I rode a Bullet that had clocked a genuine 117mph. There are a few big bore kits around and carb upgrades.

Your friend might want to consider keeping the spare engine, or selling it to fund a cheaper project. But building a pre-war Ariel (or pre-war anything) is likely to cost a lot of money.

It's tough advice, and the kind of thing you don't really want to hear when you've got a specific idea in mind, but Royal Enfield Bullets improved a lot over the years, and they're probably the last really cheap "British" bike option. Once sorted, they can make pretty good machines.

email (option): dannydefazio@sumpmagazine.com

Re: Looking for a frame and front fork from pre war Ariel VB or WD

Hello,

thank you for advice my friend, but I will wait to see what kind of offers I will receive. But definitely not around Royal Enfield. Let me see a real offer then we will see.

thank you for the tip douglas. I think that this is the same with all he prewar bikes. The girder forks are always much expensive then the frames.

All the best
Valentin

email (option): valentins@abv.bg

Re: Looking for a frame and front fork from pre war Ariel VB or WD

i can hear the wails of shock as i suggest this maybe you could find a complete bike in need of retoration and use the bits you want and sell the rest the way thing are going you could make more money breaking bikes

Re: Looking for a frame and front fork from pre war Ariel VB or WD

A guy at Kempton today was selling girder forks, I don't reconise all of them but he had 2 BSAs and a couple of what look like Nortons

Re: Looking for a frame and front fork from pre war Ariel VB or WD

After examining a set I believe Mick Holmes said they were perfect...for a static museum exhibit ...Ian

email (option): julie@wright52.plus.com

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