Ariel Leader
Ariel Leader Background & History
The Ariel Leader was a lightweight, fully enclosed touring bike, launched in 1958 and remained in production through the 1965 model year.. It was Ariel’s first 2-stroke motorcycle since 1916. In many ways it was a novel, innovative machine with it’s die cast 250cc 2-stroke twin engine, monocoque chassis, trailing link front suspension, and fully enclosed body with integral windscreen. Initially sales were fairly strong, at least by Ariel’s standards, but as the 1960s opened up and cheap, reliable motorcycles began pouring in from Japan, the Ariel Leader, and indeed all of Ariel’s products simply couldn’t compete. Ariel, owned by BSA, closed their factory doors in 1965.
In some ways, the Ariel Leader was a good-looking motorcycle. Some loved it, some hated it. It was meant to be the most practical and comfortable bike there was, and they may have done it.
Ariel Leader Design
Designed by legendary motorcycle designer Val Page, with the help of Bernard Knight, the clever monocoque backbone chassis, fabricated from 20-gauge sheet metal, hid the fuel tank under the seat. This created a large storage space where a conventional motorcycle tank would reside, along with additional storage under the seat, large enough for a motorcycle helmet. Along with this, the Ariel Leader had integral panniers (we Americans call them ‘saddle bags’) that were formed in fiberglass to match the body. The body was truly a full enclosure, similar in concept to Vincent’s Black Prince or the Velocette Vogue. Virtually none of the working parts of the bike were visible without removing a panel for access. Good and bad. It did keep dirt and moisture out, but it also complicated maintenance and repairs. The only mechanical bits visible were the shifter and kickstart pedal on the left.
This odd contraption is the frame and front fork from a 1959 Ariel Leader, all stamped out of 20-gauge sheet metal.
Ariel Leader Features
The Ariel Leader featured a windscreen that was part of the body and couldn’t be removed. A removable extension for the top of the windshield aided taller riders. An extended lifting handle was provided to make it easier to place the bike on its center stand. Turn signals were also incorporated into the body and were, in fact, the first turn signals ever installed on a production motorcycle in England. There was a neat dash board with speedometer, an amp gauge, a clock, headlight switch, ignition switch and a lever used to adjust the height of the headlight.
The 250cc 2-stroke twin engine featured this odd-looking arrangement of the cooling fins done to improve air flow. It makes perfect sense, it just doesn't look right.
Ariel Leader is '1959 Motorcycle of the Year'
When the Ariel Leader launched in 1959 it was presented as a machine that offered the comfort of a scooter with the power of a motorcycle, and it was well received. In fact it was awarded the ‘Motorcycle of the Year’ award by Motor Cycle News in 1959. Ariel offered a wide range of options which was quite unusual at the time. A variety of color schemes in particular, many of them two-tone, and thus few Ariel Leaders look exactly alike. There are so many combinations were done in colors like ‘Oriental Blue’, Cherry Red’, and ‘Admiral Gray’. Approximately 22,000 Ariel Leaders were built in its 8-year run.
The Ariel Leader offered several places to carry things. This underseat compartment is supposed to have enough space to put a helmet. I don't see. That's the gas tank up front.
Ariel Arrow
Ariel stripped the bodywork off the Ariel Leader and produced a lower-priced machine called the Ariel Golden Arrow in 1959. It was an odd-looking duck, with the large monocoque chassis now visible. The Arrow also used a smaller version of the same engine at 200cc to create an even cheaper version called the Ariel Arrow 200, done by reducing the bore from 54mm on the Ariel Leader to 48.5mm on the Arrow. The purpose was to get around a law in Britain that charged a higher tax on motorcycles with displacements of 250cc or larger. By reducing the engine to 200cc the Arrow avoided this higher tax, and also higher insurance rates. It was good for 75 mph with a comfortable cruising speed of 60. The last motorcycle that Ariel produced was an Arrow 200, which was built in 1966 but titled as a 1967 model. Even though the Ariel factory had closed in 1965, parent company BSA continued to produce the Arrow through 1966.
What appeared to be a tank was actually a sealed compartment for all the stuff you just can't live without on a ride.
The Ariel Leader had this cool dash board that almost gave it a car feel, or maybe a motor boat.
Ariel Leader Books
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"Ariel Leader & Arrow Motorcycle Monographs" Motorcycle monograms by the legendary British motorcycle expert, Roy Bacon. |
More Ariel Motorcycle Pages
Ariel Twin-Cylinder Motorcycles
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