56 MOTORCYCLE CLASSICS September/October 2017
no title with it. Finally, an Arrow turned up at a U.K. dealer,
Pembrokeshire Classics (pembrokeshireclassics.com). Though
he would have preferred the Super Sports “Golden Arrow,” Li
decided to buy it anyway and imported it directly into Canada.
As purchased, Li’s Arrow was a solid rider, having been restored
sometime in the past, leaving him to enjoy riding it rather than
wrenching on it. “It is very light,” Li says, “and the center of gravity
is so low. So it’s very different.”
Li also noticed the different engine
torque characteristics versus the
more familiar 4-stroke, observing that
many riders trying a 2-stroke for the
first time would stall it on takeoff.
“When I first started it and tried to get
moving, I stalled it. But I got used to
it right away.”
Having got the start organized, the
next issue was stopping. “When I
first got the bike, the front brake was
almost useless,” Li says. However, he
discovered that the front wheel and
the brake lever at the front drum had
been installed the wrong way around.
Refitting it correctly and optimizing
the cable routing improved things
considerably. “Actually, it’s not that
bad if configured correctly,” Li says.
The suspension was criticized in
period tests, and Li seems to agree
that it has its limitations. “It would
be better if the front end was a bit
stiffer,” Li says. “It’s a bit springy, so I
don’t push it very hard when turning.
But at the same time, because it’s so
light, it’s so easy to make turns.”One problem Li encountered with the Arrow was when chang-
ing the transmission oil: There was a slurry of aluminum dust in
the oil. Suspecting a bearing issue, Li stripped the gearbox and
discovered the first gear pinion had been installed backwards
and was grinding against the cases. Fortunately, the damage was
minimal, and he was able to reassemble the gearbox without
any further remedial work — and with the pinion the right way
around!
This exercise also highlighted one
of the Arrow/Leader’s design features
— the gearbox outer shell complete
with the gears can be easily removed
from the right side of the transmis-
sion case after dismantling the clutch.
It’s not widely appreciated that the
Arrow engine had considerable tun-
ing potential, yet it did, as Herman
Meier demonstrated in preparing an
Arrow racer for the 1960 Isle of Man
Lightweight TT. Michael O’Rourke
brought the Arrow home in seventh
place, beating Luigi Taveri’s MV
Agusta! Li wants to build a racing
Arrow like the TT bike, based on infor-
mation gleaned from a 1960s issue of
Motorcycle Mechanics magazine.
“I have a spare engine, and I’m
collecting parts,” Li says. In the plans
are getting the crankshaft recondi-
tioned and upgraded by Draganfly
Motorcycle (draganfly.co.uk) as well
as improving cylinder porting and
increasing compression. “That one
will be a racing version,” Li says, “but
this one I will keep as original.” MCOwner Joe Li purchased his Arrow from a U.K.
dealer and imported it to Canada.