The Ariel Leader was a British

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

produced by

Ariel Motorcycles Ariel Motorcycles was a British maker of bicycles and then motorcycles in Bournbrook, Birmingham. It was an innovator in British motorcycling, part of the Ariel marque. The company was sold to BSA in 1951 but the brand survived until 1967. Inf ...

between 1958 and 1965. A radical design, the Leader was fully enclosed with an integral windscreen and was the first British motorcycle to have optional flashing indicators. Ariel could not compete against Japanese imports and the last Ariel Leader was produced when the company closed in 1965.

Development

Val Page Valentine Page (1891–1978)two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

suspended from a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

'backbone' fabricated from 20-gauge pressed steel panels. The fuel tank was hidden inside this structure and accessed by lifting the hinged dual seat. A dummy petrol tank was used for storage and was large enough to fit a spare crash helmet. It was the fully enclosed bodywork (first developed by

Phil Vincent Philip Conrad Vincent (14 March 1908 – 27 March 1979) was a British motorcycle designer and manufacturer. Founder of Vincent Motorcycles, his designs influenced the development of motorcycles around the world. Early life Philip Conrad Vince ...

for the innovative Vincent Black Prince) that was most prominent, as none of the working parts of the motorcycle were visible. Ariel Leader dash detail

As well as a full body, the standard Leader features included a headlight trimmer, an extendable lifting handle for easy centrestand use, and a permanent windscreen mounting. Factory listed options included: integrated-design hard-luggage '

panniers A pannier is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from a Middle English borrowing of the Old French '' ...

', the first flashing indicators on a British motorcycle, a dash-mounted parking light, windscreen top-extension (adjustable on the move), a rear rack and a clock aperture built into a 'dashboard' (closed-off by an Ariel badge when not fitted).

Launch

Launched in mid-1958, the Leader claimed to offer the comfort of a scooter with the performance of a motorcycle. At first it sold well, and it won the ''

Motor Cycle News ''MCN'' or ''Motor Cycle News'' is a UK weekly motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Consumer Media, based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It claims to be "the world’s biggest weekly motorcycle newspaper". The title was founded in lat ...

'' Motorcycle of the Year award in 1959. Ariel backed up the launch with a long list of options (unusual at the time), therefore few of the 22,000 Ariel Leaders produced were the same. Colour schemes were also a break with tradition, and included Oriental Blue or Cherry Red with Admiral Gray accents.

Ariel Arrow

This was a cheaper, stripped Leader produced from 1959 and was developed into the Golden Arrow 'sport' version in 1961. A sister-machine designated Ariel Arrow 200 – with a smaller capacity of 200 cc, achieved by reducing the bore to 48.5 mm from 54 mm whilst retaining the same stroke – was available from 1964 to bring it into a lower tax band and benefit from lower UK rider insurance premiums. In his 1964 '' Motor Cycle'' road test,

Bob Currie Robert Frank Currie (26 April 1918 in Woolwich, England – 25 July 1988 in Birmingham, England) was an English motorcycling writer and road tester, who later became a magazine editor and book author. Mainly known for his UK journalism work wit ...

reported good performance, with an absolute top speed – with "''rider lying flat, of course''" – of 74 mph and a cruising speed which could be held at 60 mph. The bike had the usual Arrow ivory background colour, but with the tank and chaincase finished in either 'aircraft' blue or

British Racing Green British racing green, or BRG, is a colour similar to ''Brunswick green'', ''hunter green'', ''forest green'' or '' moss green'' ( RAL 6005). It takes its name from the green international motor racing colour of the United Kingdom. This origina ...

, and tank badges denoting 'Arrow 200'. After the Ariel factory closure, in 1967 Ariel marketed its last motorcycle, the Arrow 200 produced for a time by BSA. In 1960, a prototype Arrow with a four-stroke 349 cc twin-cylinder engine was made to sell alongside the Ariel Leader. The budget engine, designed by

Val Page Valentine Page (1891–1978) although the name remained under BSA to produce Ariel Arrows until 1967 and a commercially unsuccessful 49 cc banking trike named

Ariel 3 Ariel 3 (UK 3 or United Kingdom Research Satellite 3) was a satellite in the Ariel programme, a satellite partnership between the US and UK. Three of the onboard experiments continued research from the first two missions and two experiments were ...

in 1970.

Notes

References

External links

{{Commons category, Ariel Leader
Real Classic Guide
Ariel Leader

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...