RE: Ariel Ace motorbike revealed
Discussion
Hooli-Do you mean the current Ariel (car maker)company not being the same as the original bike maker (Arrow etc) ? because you're right. The current company just use the same name-whether they paid anybody for the rights to use it I don't know.
And I agree with maxTorque about the "fuel tank". Minimalist I'd say unless fuel is hidden elsewhere.
And I agree with maxTorque about the "fuel tank". Minimalist I'd say unless fuel is hidden elsewhere.
sprinter1050 said:
Hooli-Do you mean the current Ariel (car maker)company not being the same as the original bike maker (Arrow etc) ? because you're right. The current company just use the same name-whether they paid anybody for the rights to use it I don't know.
Yeah that's what I meant. Thanks for the info.Hooli said:
sprinter1050 said:
Hooli-Do you mean the current Ariel (car maker)company not being the same as the original bike maker (Arrow etc) ? because you're right. The current company just use the same name-whether they paid anybody for the rights to use it I don't know.
Yeah that's what I meant. Thanks for the info.I like it, prefer the more conventional looking naked, but its nice, a bit different, a 1200 super naked, shaft drive and custom made would be a nice addition to the fleet ...
A lovely piece of work. The modular / custom idea is going to grow and grow.
And great to see a wonderful engine liberated from its astonishingly ugly original home.
The cruiser brings to mind Confederate's Wraith…but at a fifth of the price.
Would like to test one of these back to back with a Duke Diavel...
And great to see a wonderful engine liberated from its astonishingly ugly original home.
The cruiser brings to mind Confederate's Wraith…but at a fifth of the price.
Would like to test one of these back to back with a Duke Diavel...
George29 said:
grahamr88 said:
I do wish that people wouldn't consider machined aluminium and good engineering to be one and the same!
You might want to tell Airbus their wings aren't good engineering then. Clearly airbus have spent 100's of hours using FEA, etc. to create something for a spar which is both strong and light and fatigue resistant, whilst still looking good.....
fergus said:
Just because someone can send a file to an 3/4/5 axis CNC milling machine, throw in a lump of XYZ billet and have something shiny drop out of the process after X hours, doesn't mean the (structural/mechanical) design of the item is necesserily robust, was the point being made.
Clearly airbus have spent 100's of hours using FEA, etc. to create something for a spar which is both strong and light and fatigue resistant, whilst still looking good.....
Who is to say Ariel haven't? You think they have made the frame for aesthetics first? I suspect not, although it was clearly a priority. They are clearly going to have done FEA on it.Clearly airbus have spent 100's of hours using FEA, etc. to create something for a spar which is both strong and light and fatigue resistant, whilst still looking good.....
fergus said:
Just because someone can send a file to an 3/4/5 axis CNC milling machine, throw in a lump of XYZ billet and have something shiny drop out of the process after X hours, doesn't mean the (structural/mechanical) design of the item is necesserily robust, was the point being made.
...and conversely, just because something is shiny doesn't mean it's necessarily structurally or mechanically flawed. An equally valid point perhaps?Given that Ariel have been working on it since at least 2008, and with continuous FEA on frame, subframes and suspension throughout the development period, plus involvement on the engineering side from GTME, I think it's fair to say they've done more than just "send a file to a CNC machine and throw in a lump of billet".
They've also had various heavily-disguised prototype test-mules on the road for the best part of two years, so I'm fairly confident it'll be a fairly well sorted bike by the time it goes into production early next year. I hope so, I've had one on order since 2009.
But, obviously feel free to assume the worst, and assume Ariel have no idea what they're doing...
Well, it's very nice and everything, but then it'd need to be. I'm of the school of thought that £20k starting price for the el basico happy shopper version is way too much money. I very much doubt its any more fun to ride than the more wallet friendly Superduke and at the end of the day "fun" is all that matters with a bike like this. Fair play to Ariel for building it though...
I like the idea of a machined frame, but isn't it a case of a solution to a problem no one was looking for? Don't aluminium tubes, extrusions, hydroformed and more recently carbon fibre have the optimised designs covered? This new concept could be interesting if they publish a paper giving its benefits. Cynicism aside, I applaud innovation.
grahamr88 said:
I do wish that people wouldn't consider machined aluminium and good engineering to be one and the same!
+1 also 'Ariel claims 70 hours of machining is required for the six main pieces of billet section aluminium' OK that means place billet in vice/jig close door and press start, really impressive I would be wanting to look at the program and see why has it took 70 hours.It is however a nice looking bike.
Not keen on the frame. I can see what they're trying to achieve - capture the 'heritage' (if you can have heritage with such a young company) of the car side of the company by referencing the open chassis - but it's a aesthetic cue that really doesn't work for me. As said above it looks too top heavy. It's like Porsche trying to graft the front of a 911 onto a 4x4; it just doesn't worth aesthetically.
Atom120 said:
fergus said:
Just because someone can send a file to an 3/4/5 axis CNC milling machine, throw in a lump of XYZ billet and have something shiny drop out of the process after X hours, doesn't mean the (structural/mechanical) design of the item is necesserily robust, was the point being made.
...and conversely, just because something is shiny doesn't mean it's necessarily structurally or mechanically flawed. An equally valid point perhaps?Given that Ariel have been working on it since at least 2008, and with continuous FEA on frame, subframes and suspension throughout the development period, plus involvement on the engineering side from GTME, I think it's fair to say they've done more than just "send a file to a CNC machine and throw in a lump of billet".
They've also had various heavily-disguised prototype test-mules on the road for the best part of two years, so I'm fairly confident it'll be a fairly well sorted bike by the time it goes into production early next year. I hope so, I've had one on order since 2009.
But, obviously feel free to assume the worst, and assume Ariel have no idea what they're doing...
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