1946-1958 |
| After World War II the transportation starved public in the UK began snapping up surplus and civilianized
military motorcycles. Most people could not afford a car and gasoline was rationed, so motorcycles were the
transport of choice. Ariel motorcycles of 1946 were essentially pre-war models complete with girder forks and old
style PA speedometers. The most visible difference was a smaller 6.5" headlight. |
| The end of the war and the end of military production meant that millions of returning soldiers
sought jobs. The government of the UK, impoverished by war-time expenditures, pushed manufacturers to increase
exports. In these austere times the Red Hunter singles became Ariel's best selling model, but many of the choicest
production went overseas. |
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| January 1945 ad anticipates the end of WWII |
Red Hunter advertising from May 1946 uses a recycled 1939 image |
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| Ariel introduced their first telescopic front fork for the 1947 model year. Reportedly these were mostly
fitted to the sporting Red Hunters and exported to bring foriegn currency into the UK. The United States became an important
export market for British motorcycles. Many of the returning GIs had been introduced to the British motorcycles while stationed
in Europe where nimble British bikes developed a reputation for more precise engineering than Harley or Indian. When the GIs
returned home they bagan to buy British bikes, including Ariels, in large numbers. The demand for British bikes was so great
that Indian put a light-weight parallel twin into production in an attempt to grab some of the market. |
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| Advertising image for 1947 showing new telescopic fork |
Red Hunter with tele forks at a California Trials meet |
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Ariel Twin |
| A prototype of the first Ariel Twin was built late in the war. The Ariel twin, like all British
parallel twins that came out after the war was an attempt to answer the phenomenonal success of the Edward Turner designed
'Speed Twin' that Triumph had put into production in 1937. The 500cc Ariel twin was first publicised in late 1946 but entered
production as a 1948 model. Ariels were offered with two levels of trim and the twin was no exception - the Deluxe KG 500 and Red
Hunter KH 500. Typically the Deluxe models had lower compression engines, larger all-weather fenders and were finished in
black and chrome whereas the Red Hunter models had higher compression pistons, slimmer fenders and bright red paint on the tanks
and wheels. |
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| Ariel introduced a new swing arm frame in 1954. The KH was redesigned and a
new 650cc twin named the FH Huntmaster was introduced. The Huntmaster featured a BSA A10-derived engine, but Burman gearbox
and Ariel cycle parts. (Jack Sangster had sold Ariel to BSA in 1944 and as the years went by Ariel motorcycles shared
more and more parts with BSAs.) A high performance version of the Ariel 650 was based around the BSA Rocket Goldstar
engine and named the Cyclone. Perhaps the most famous owner of an Ariel Cyclone was Buddy Holly who bought one new in
1958. The story is that Holly and his bandmates decided to buy bikes after a successful tour. When the Harley dealer
didn't take them seriously they went over to another shop that sold Ariels and Triumphs. Holly picked out the Cyclone
and Joe Mauldin and Jerry Allison chose Triumphs. |
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| Buying bikes with the Crickets - Holly on the right |
Holly's Cyclone in 1979 |
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Square Four |
| After the end of the war Square Four advertising often emphasized power and acceleration with slogans
such as "Whispering Wildfire" and "Rockets from a Standstill" - though by 1950 the four was considered much more of a tourer. |
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1953 the engine of the Sq4 was dramatically redesigned to increase heat dissapation. It became an all alloy engine with 4 exhaust
pipes - one for each cylinder. This would become the final version of the Sq4 engine and was dubbed the 4G Mk II. Despite
the investment in the engine, a swing arm version of the Square Four was never produced. The same Anstey link plunger
frame introduced before WWII would remain standard until the end of production in 1958. |
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| 1953 Square Four in Wedgewood Blue |
Late model Square Four with headlight cowling |
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Ariel Colt |
| Ariel had built 250cc lightweight bikes through the 1930s, including a Red Hunter version,
but the light bike did not re-enter production after the war. This changed when the 200cc Ariel LH Colt was
introduced in 1954. It was essentially a BSA C11 restyled for sale by Ariel and continued in production until
replaced by the Ariel Leader in 1958. |
1958-1965 |
| Leader and Arrow |
| In the mid 50's Val Page returned to Ariel and designed a radical new motorcycle that would
become the Leader and Arrow models. The Leader was designed to appeal to a broad range of customers and for
ease of manufacture. The Leader was launched in 1958, effectively ending production
of four-stroke motorcycles at Selly Oak. The Leader featured a pressed-steel beam-type frame clothed
in attractive bodywork and a windshield & leg shields. Its engine was a 250cc two-stroke parallel-twin with
inclined cylinders. The Ariel Arrow was introduced in 1960 but discontinued in 1964. The 20hp Ariel Super
Sports models were known as the Golden Arrow because of their unique color scheme. They were released in 1961
to broaden the appeal of the two-stroke twin. |
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| Leader with fully enclosing bodywork |
Arrow with aftermarket colors and fairing |
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| The Leader and Arrow models were hugely popular and a great success for Ariel and they stayed in production
until 1965. By then BSA, the parent company of Ariel, was concentrating their efforts on competition from Japan and so the
Ariels were never replaced. This was the end of Ariel motorcycles. BSA did attempt to market a 3-wheel moped as an Ariel
in the early 70s, but it was an expensive failure. |
| Back to Ariel History |
