Motorbike Projects - Ariel Huntmaster

[Davey]

I would be so chuffed with that seat great job.

Looks alot longer than i expected outside.

[tom13]

Please don't paint the tank. The colours including the wheels are just working so well i think.

[kelvfoozinda]

Seat fitted...



Rear Mudguard

I couldn't find a wide enough mudguard off the shelf, so bought one around 160mm and my Dad extended it by 25mm. Plan is for a hugger type mounting, low down, with a plate closing over the hole in the swing arm and a section in front of the shock to close the gap. Chain side will have to loose a bit to fit the chain as it runs so close to the tyre/shock, but should work out.

[kelvfoozinda]

Apr 25, 2017 19:51:28 GMT tom13 said:

Please don't paint the tank. The colours including the wheels are just working so well i think.

The paint/finish plan is exactly as it looks, brushed alloy, tank in the same paint, black frame (matt), and wheels in their current finish.

[Davey]

Looking great. More updates asap please!

[tom13]

Good lad. This is going to be rad!

[kelvfoozinda]

So a two month delay in waiting for a special order, 20mm offset sprocket from Talon is now over!

Sprocket fitted and chain wrapped around to check alignment and what needs to be cut out from the new mudguard. I didn't take a picture of the sprocket but it's basically a big dished sprocket that was far too much money!





Mudguard has been welded up too...

[kelvfoozinda]

We got the last few bits lined up and fitted to this eventually, so now it's in pieces for final welding to the frame/swingarm then off to paint before re-assembly.

[lightyearman]

Ready for paint and final fit?

That DT250 is lovely, I nearly bought one when I was 13 for £250. it was £200 more than I could afford unfortunately...

[kelvfoozinda]

Started re-assembly with the steering bearings, forks, front wheel and engine back in. I bought a nice set of new stainless engine bolts as there were none, and had to make up some of the mounting brackets also.




Then wiring, its fairly simple on this. Random Yamaha handlebar switch from a similar era used to give headlight dip and main beam, horn button and flash main beam. I removed the indicator switch from the unit as I don't plan on fitting any. The back light is a simple LED one with little LED bolts for the numberplate light. Ignition and charge system is original kit, It took a while to find a CDI, but the regulator was on the engine when dragged from its previous home in the go-kart.




I got a bit carried away and fitted the tank and seat for a look,


Then the back end together.




Next up, finish wiring loom, replace handlebars, throttle cable, torque down heads, re-fit exhausts and try to get it running!

[bstardchild]

Apr 25, 2017 19:51:28 GMT tom13 said:

Please don't paint the tank. The colours including the wheels are just working so well i think.

I was trying to work out what the tank was from - my guess is XS250



Google seems to agree with me

They were horrid asthmatic little slugs and frequently had cam bearing issues but the tank looks great on your project

[kelvfoozinda]

Spot on, same mounts etc. as the RD, but shorter and a little boxier.

[duggers]

I had loads of RD's back in the dark ages including a Stan Stephens modded 400 which was ridiculous on the road  . I would suggest not radically porting it unless you want a stupidly narrow power band,hideous fuel consumption and searching for replacement pistons in ever increasing overbore sizes on a regular basis.

The reality is they are slow by today's standards so keep it real, crackle along on the 'spannies' doing a bit of bend swinging as you go. The chassis mods should ensure the handling far and away exceeds that standard bike allowing you to make good progress.

Look forward to updates.

[rattlecan]

Jun 27, 2018 21:50:26 GMT duggers said:

I had loads of RD's back in the dark ages including a Stan Stephens modded 400 which was ridiculous on the road  . I would suggest not radically porting it unless you want a stupidly narrow power band,hideous fuel consumption and searching for replacement pistons in ever increasing overbore sizes on a regular basis.

The reality is they are slow by today's standards so keep it real, crackle along on the 'spannies' doing a bit of bend swinging as you go. The chassis mods should ensure the handling far and away exceeds that standard bike allowing you to make good progress.

Look forward to updates.

That’s exactly how you want a two stroke to be 😀power band no wider than the needle & engine rebuilds on a monthly basis. Had loads, still have loads, my favourite back in the day was the 350LC & it still is, I have a blue & white one with Gibson spannies tunes to the nads, it’s mint fun

[bstardchild]

Jun 28, 2018 20:39:36 GMT rattlecan said:

Jun 27, 2018 21:50:26 GMT duggers said:

I had loads of RD's back in the dark ages including a Stan Stephens modded 400 which was ridiculous on the road  . I would suggest not radically porting it unless you want a stupidly narrow power band,hideous fuel consumption and searching for replacement pistons in ever increasing overbore sizes on a regular basis.

The reality is they are slow by today's standards so keep it real, crackle along on the 'spannies' doing a bit of bend swinging as you go. The chassis mods should ensure the handling far and away exceeds that standard bike allowing you to make good progress.

Look forward to updates.

That’s exactly how you want a two stroke to be 😀power band no wider than the needle & engine rebuilds on a monthly basis. Had loads, still have loads, my favourite back in the day was the 350LC & it still is, I have a blue & white one with Gibson spannies tunes to the nads, it’s mint fun

I'd like it a little wider than the needle

I still like the original 350LC better than the YPVS version (esp in blue and white) - the YPVS was an improvement in terms of ridability but in doing so it sanitised the experience a little

[kelvfoozinda]

Shortly after my last post I finished final assembly,



This included some wider handlebars to fit all of the levers in, bracket for the brake reservoir. I then had some issues with getting a decent, reliable spark and became pretty frustrated with it all. I changed the coil, plugs, checked the wiring a million times and didn't seem to be able to get anywhere. So after trying not to think about the cost-to-date, took the plunge on a an all new generator/CDI setup from Willy at HPI in Belgium.



The first flywheel as listed from HPI didn't fit, predictably. So I sent one back and received the correct item after sending measurements over to HPI. They were really helpful and I would recommend.



and finally, it runs!



It's had an MOT now for nearly a year and i've ridden it to the layby up the road where it packed up. I think it's jetting, for which no investigation has taken place...but i'm writing this post to provide some motivation to move the project on and get out on it this year.

This is the MOT transport,

[goldnrust]

Yes, get it sorted now in time to enjoy the summer out enjoying the wonderful feeling of a good 2 stroke coming on the pipe!

Hope you get to the bottom of the running issues without too much head scratching. The simplicity of 2 strokes somehow makes it all the more complex when they don’t work... i know this well!

[kelvfoozinda]

The most recent bike on the ramp is this Yamaha 250mx, a predecessor to the yz Motocross range. This came to the UK as a US import last year from a small scale importer. I was surprised to find he selected a 40' containers worth of bikes from a list produced by someone in the states who had 'picked' hundreds of bikes from accross the country for re-sale. By the sound of it he was pretty disappointed by the quality of his second container load which included this bike.
I panic bought it on eBay on my phone outside co-op as the listing neared an end thinking it was a different bike I'd looked at earlier in the day. Not one to cancel a sale I collected the following weekend.
Purchased condition, a few more bits than I anticipated were missing including the exhaust, footpegs, carb and any sign of damping in the rear shock.

The engine was stuck, but would rotate 30degrees before stopping which seemed odd. I stripped the engine down and found the crank was fitted with core plug type blanks which had popped out to various degrees. It seemed like the engine has been full of water and frozen the plugs out, evidenced by the rust in the main bearings! Otherwise, no carbon anywhere, new grease in gearbox selector, new gaskets...it's been rebuilt before being left out in the rain.



So engine re-built with new main bearings, re-using everything else to keep cost down and no paint or blasting as I want to use this and have a habit of making stuff shiny then selling it because I don't want to destroy it through use,

I managed to source a replacement shock, footrests and front end of the exhaust from eBay and have fitted it up mostly,

Next is experimental Chinese eBay carb, throttle and clutch cable, bolt engine in properly and see if it will run...

[tom13]

I race the earlier twinshock versions of these. 250 and 360cc both 73 and 74. They ran the yz and the Mx together for a fair few years.

For the money they are a great buy as they can be very competitive for little expenditure. I would rather have one of these than the cr of the time. The engines on mine differ for yours even as the head has flat sides rather than the dome. We have our heads machined down with I think about 3mm off. Doesn't effect reliabilty or anything but they run a lot better with it. May be worth looking into down the line. Circle F do some pipes for these still as well and as you can get machine they sound great and run a lot better for it.

[kelvfoozinda]

Apr 12, 2020 15:26:04 GMT tom13 said:

I race the earlier twinshock versions of these. 250 and 360cc both 73 and 74. They ran the yz and the Mx together for a fair few years.

For the money they are a great buy as they can be very competitive for little expenditure. I would rather have one of these than the cr of the time. The engines on mine differ for yours even as the head has flat sides rather than the dome. We have our heads machined down with I think about 3mm off. Doesn't effect reliabilty or anything but they run a lot better with it. May be worth looking into down the line. Circle F do some pipes for these still as well and as you can get machine they sound great and run a lot better for it.

Thats cool, I didn't realise they made the MX alongside the YZ, they didn't sell them directly in the UK though?

I'm pretty excited by this MX, fired up last night on the second kick after i'd stopped the carb flooding (float was stuck). It sounds lovely and crisp....need to find a chain, replace some rear spokes which are missing, clean up the forks and source the missing airbox parts (foam, cages, side covers, hose and side panels). A firm on eBay are breaking a few by the look of it so should be able to source the bits easily.