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Buying an old Brit frame like the Ariel for your diesel bike will give you the traditional looks, but has it had a visit from the metal moth? Metal moths love frames, you can tell if your frame has had an infestation by looking for small craters where they have scoffed bits out of the frame and excreted brown stuff. A diesel bike or indeed any bike will not be at it's best with holes in it even if it is tax free! Also will tax free continue, as politicians change their policies? Tax free riding may not even exist for more than a two month notice from the parasites in the Government. What ever your choice of frame make sure it is big enough for both the engine and gearbox, which rules out a lot of Japanese frames as they use unit construction engines ie engine and gearbox in one lump. Get one with a V5c logbook, if your engine is from the 70's or 80's you should get classic insurance as well (tax free, classic insurance and boifuel = Chuffin cheap travel).
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Obtaining a V5c UK Logbook In 1972 the DVLC came into existence, which replaced local vehicle licensing centres in various city's around the United Kingdom. It was these local licensing centres that destroyed all their records in 1972 onwards, as it was the job of vehicle owners to re register there vehicles with the new centre, the DVLC. The big problem was not everyone did, and the shut off date for registration has come and gone long ago. Original registration DVLA Registered If you have the original registration logbook, or an old mot or tax disc with the reg on it (proof of frame / engine / reg numbers), the DVLA as it's now known will give you a V5c logbook if the bike was re registered with them after 1972.
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DVLA Un Registered
If it was not re registered it means it's not on the DVLA computer, and they will not give you a new V5c. However, they will listen to a bike club, for example: The Royal Enfield Owners Club (REOC). The problem is the club is amateur, lays down it's own rules, dismisses the simple DVLA registration requirements of frame wheels suspension & engine, and totally making you go the further 500miles than is required by re building the whole bike as it came out of the show room from new. Also there is usually only one club per manufacturer that is recognised by the DVLA. Big fish, small pond mentality. What the clubs would say is they are making sure that bikes are put back on the road to there former glory. In fact quite the opposite is happening, frames and engines etc go around and around from hopeful buyer to hopeful buyer up and down the country, and in between they lay at the back of damp sheds rusting away, getting knocked about and damaged. So here's what you do: Buy a frame with a V5c, buy a bike with a V5c and re build it to your own tastes.
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Age related registration Exactley the same as above, re build your bike to show room condition, photo the bike, take rubbings of frame and engine numbers, go cap in hand to the clubs before they give you a dating certificate that you send to DVLA. They may still want to inspect your bike and this will cost you. Re Clasify (Diesel) age related I do not know how to do this, but I guess we go through the form filling as usual and get the bike inspected (take to a Gov testing place), get more forms and fill more forms before getting the V5c. I'm guessing that a totally new registration would be the same a s above. Q plate, don't go that direction as the insurance will cost you an arm and a leg! |
| Ariel plunger 30+lbs | |
| Basically the same frame as below but with plunger suspension. The plungers were not good, some owners saying they are only very marginally better than a hard tail. Not oil damped just springs, and apparently the bronze/brass bushes do were quite quickly. In my opinion any suspension is better than none on a diesel bike. |
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| Ariel 350 28lb | |
| The first thing you will notice is the down tube separating the engine from the gearbox, which means they are quite a distance away from each other. Further apart than a Royal Enfield Bullet or a Norton Commando, which means your stuck with using what ever ugly leaky chain cases that came with the bike. Luckily the cases that came with this bike looked nice, unluckily the cases were to narrow (single chain) to do anything with, and cost £200 last time I looked. Which means you either make your own cases which look ugly to everyone but your chuffed self, or you use an open belt primary which costs around £600. It's too small for a v twin engine so it's a single cylinder or a paralel twin, if it's a twin you will need the Enfield gearbox and extended main shaft, and Bob Newby dry clutch. |
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| Royal Enfield 350 - 500 Indian same design as the British 1945 Royal Enfield 20lb | |
| This is a weak frame, the steel tubing is
made from soft metal and it can bend easily. The design is
from an old British Royal Enfield from the 1940s. This frame has damage where it has had a front end crash, you can just tell by looking at the bend in the back bone 6 inch's back from the head stock. I have seen a few just like this, so I guess it must be a weak spot. As this is a single back bone and single down tube frame, we must assume that any front end accident could damage it. It may be worth strengthening the back bone by inserting another tube inside it. |
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| Royal Enfield British twin 1958 30+lb | |
| A far superior frame to the Indian frame
above, first thing I noticed was it's heavier. It
feels assuredly solid, like it can take the knocks, ya
know, brick privy. If I go ahead and use this frame (I did buy it to use it) I will strengthen the back bone just in case, after all, who wants to strip down the hole bike after a bump, when you can just swap the front end. No gearbox down tube means room to put in a v twin engine, the v twin is a lot narrower than the parelel twin so you do not need the 4 speed gearbox with the extended main shaft, so a 5 speed box is just right. The origional clutch can be used (saving big cash) as they will reach engine and gearbox. I can feel this is going to be a good, easy, and quick project. |
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