Industry | Manufacturing and engineering |
---|---|
Founded | 1902 |
Defunct | 1970 |
Fate | Sold to BSA and discontinued |
Successor | BSA |
Headquarters | Bournbrook, Birmingham |
Key people | Jack Sangster, Edward Turner and Val Page |
Products | 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. Influential Ariel designers included Val Page and Edward Turner. The last motorcycle-type vehicle to carry the Ariel name was a short-lived three-wheel tilting moped in 1970.
Ariel made bicycles before making motorcycles, and also made cars. Car production began in 1902, moved to Coventry in 1911 and ceased in 1925.
The 'Ariel' name was reused in 1999 for the formation of Ariel Ltd, a sports car producer.
The original company was established in 1870 by James Starley and William Hillman. They built wire-spoke wheels under the first British patent; this allowed them also to build a lighter "penny farthing" bicycle which they named 'Ariel' (the spirit of the air). [1] [2] [3] They put the name on the factory where they made penny-farthing bicycles and sewing machines. In 1885 James Starley's nephew, John Kemp Starley, invented the Rover Safety Bicycle - a bicycle with similarly sized wheels and chain drive to the rear wheel, the design used on bicycles today.
Ariel merged with Westwood Manufacturing in 1896 and made a powered tricycle in 1898 with a 2.25 hp de Dion. [3] Hillman left soon afterwards to found Premier Motorcycles. [4] [5] More tricycles were produced and motorised quadricycles were added in 1901 as Ariel moved into car production. (See also List of motorized trikes and/or Quadricycle)
In 1902, Ariel produced its first motorcycle, which had a Kerry engine [6] with a magneto ignition and a float carburettor.[ citation needed ] That year, Ariel was taken over by Components Ltd, owned by Charles Sangster. [7] Sangster built a three-speed, two-stroke motorcycle sold as the "Arielette", but he stopped production on the outbreak of the first world war. [3]
In 1918, Sangster's son Jack began managing the Ariel division of Components Ltd and developed a successful motorcycle with a 4 hp White and Poppe engine. Jack increased the range of motorcycles to include 586 cc and 992 cc machines. A range of motorcycles was made until 1926 with engines bought in or assembled to others' designs, until a new designer, Val Page, joined Ariel from JAP. That year Page created a pair of new engines which used many existing motorcycle parts, then redesigned the motorcycle for 1927. These new models are known as Black Ariels (1926–1930) and were the basis on which all Ariel four-stroke singles were based until their demise in 1959 (except the LH Colt of the mid-1950s). During the Black Ariel period, the Ariel horse logo came into being, as did the slogan 'The Modern Motor Cycle'.
Components Ltd. suffered several financial crises including spells in receivership in 1911 and in the early 1930s. In 1932, Components Ltd went bankrupt, and Jack Sangster, Charles Sangster's son, bought the Ariel subsidiary from the receivers at a bargain price. The company was renamed Ariel Motors (J.S.) Ltd, and promptly resumed production. [1] A new factory was set up at Selly Oak in Birmingham. One of their first bikes was the Ariel Square Four, designed by Edward Turner, followed by the Ariel Red Hunter. [2] The Red Hunter was a success, and enabled Ariel to purchase Triumph. [8]
The Ariel Square Four with a 500 cc engine designed by Edward Turner first appeared for the 1931 season. Around this time the company went into receivership and then a new company was formed. The Square Four displacement was increased to 600cc. Throughout their history, the Square Fours had overheating problems with the rear cylinders which resulted in distorted heads. A redesign in 1937 [9] resulted in a 995 cc OHV version designated the 4G. [10]
In 1939, Anstey-link plunger rear suspension was an option. It was still available when production restarted in 1946, with telescopic forks replacing the girder forks.
During the Second World War, the Ariel factory was turned over to military production, including the Ariel W/NG 350 army motorcycle based on the civilian NG model but with higher ground clearance frame inspired by that used successfully by Fred Povey in the ISDT. [2]
In 1949, the Mark 1 Square Four engine was revised to include a cast aluminium cylinder block and head in place of the cast iron components previously used, in an effort to promote cooling. With the lower weight the bike was a 90 mph (140 km/h) plus machine.
In 1951, Jack Sangster sold Ariel and Triumph (bought in 1936) to the Birmingham Small Arms Company group (BSA) and joined their board. Ariel began making the 500 cc KH model and the 650 cc Huntmaster, which had an engine based on the BSA A10 parallel twin. Reliable and capable of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), the Huntmaster proved popular with sidecar enthusiasts. [11] [12]
By 1956, Sangster was voted in as the new Chairman, defeating incumbent Sir Bernard Docker 6 to 3. Sangster promptly made Edward Turner head of the automotive division, which then included Ariel, Triumph, and BSA motorcycles, as well as Daimler and Carbodies (the manufacturer of London Taxicabs). [13]
In 1953, the Mark 2 Square Four had a redesigned cylinder head, and was capable of 100 mph (160 km/h).
The Red Hunter formed the basis for Sammy Miller's 1955 trials motorcycle which proved very successful in competition. [11]
In 1959, Ariel dropped its four-stroke engines and produced the Ariel Leader, a fully enclosed 250 cc two-stroke with a fully faired body from the headlamp aft. The Leader aimed to combine the benefits of the motorcycle with the advantages of a scooter. Ariel also made the Arrow, a more open version of the Leader which kept the Leader's enclosed chain case and deep mudguards. Both models were an unsuccessful attempt to compete with new Japanese imports.
BSA closed the Ariel factory at Selly Oak in 1962 and moved production of the Leader and the Arrow to the BSA factory at Small Heath. [7] Production of the 50 cc Pixie began in 1963. [14]
In 1965, Ariel produced its last motorcycle, the Arrow 200 with capacity reduced to 200 cc introduced earlier during 1964 to qualify for lower UK rider insurance. [15] Ariel motorcycles ceased production in 1967. [3]
In 1970, parent company BSA produced the Ariel 3, a 49 cc automatic tricycle with a coupling between the front and rear frame sections allowing banking when cornering. [3] The front half was hinged to the rear and could tilt into corners while keeping all three wheels on the ground. The design was licensed from George Wallis, of G.L.Wallis & Son, who had patented it in 1966. A small museum dedicated to the trike has been established in Bristol, England. [16]
Following the failure of the Ariel 3, the design was licensed to Honda which produced it as the Honda Gyro.
In 1999 a new company was formed using the old 'Ariel' name. Initially, the Ariel Motor Company made only one model, the Atom, a high performance, minimalistic 2-seat road-legal sports car, followed by a large-capacity motorcycle named Ariel Ace. [17]
Cars were produced over two periods: from 1902 to 1915, and again from 1922 to 1925. The first proper Ariel car was a 10 hp (7.5 kW) twin-cylinder car produced in 1902. [20] In 1903 its first four-cylinder was a 15/19 model. [20] [note 1] Both these vehicles had a leather cone clutch that was entirely separate from the flywheel.[ citation needed ] In 1904 the 15HP car had the distinction of being the first motor car to ascend Snowdon, albeit using the mountain railway trackbed which has long stretches of 1 in 5 gradient. [21] In early 1904, Ariel began production of a six-cylinder model [22] built on a seemingly inadequate tubular steel chassis.[ citation needed ]
An entirely new range was announced at the end of 1905; called the 'Ariel-Simplex', these cars were Mercedes-inspired four-cylinder designs [22] of 15 hp and 25/30 hp and a six of 35/40 hp.[ citation needed ] In 1907–1908 the company began production of their 50/60 hp six, which offered a 15.9-litre engine [22] for a chassis price of £950.[ citation needed ] In 1907 Ariel sold its Birmingham factory to the French Lorraine-Dietrich company, who wanted to enter the British market; Ariel cars were thereafter assembled at the Coventry Ordnance Works, a branch of Cammell Laird. [23] The arrangement with Lorraine-Dietrich was cancelled in 1910.[ citation needed ] Production of a 1.3-litre light car ended with the outbreak of World War I.[ citation needed ]
Ariel resumed making motor cars in 1922 [22] when it launched the Ariel Nine light car. The Nine had a 997 cc water-cooled side-valve flat twin engine with "square" dimensions of 85 mm bore and 85 mm stroke made by A Harper Sons & Bean, Ltd of Dudley. The Nine was designed by Jack Sangster, the son of Ariel's owner, who had designed the similar, but air-cooled, twin-cylinder Rover 8 when he worked for Rover. [24]
The Nine was capable of 55 mph (89 km/h) and about 700 were made.[ citation needed ] However, the engine was vibratory and noisy, so in 1924 Ariel discontinued the model and replaced it with the 10 hp (RAC) car. [22] [note 2]
The "Ten" had a 1097 cc four-cylinder Q-Type engine [25] made by the Swift Motor Company. Unlike the Nine it was a long-stroke engine, with a bore of only 60 mm and stroke of 97 mm. [24] The Ten had a gearbox combined with the rear axle.[ citation needed ] The car was advertised at £180 for the chassis, and about 250 were made.[ citation needed ] In 1925 Ariel discontinued car production to concentrate on motorcycles. [25]
The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process.
Triumph Engineering Co Ltd was a British motorcycle manufacturing company, based originally in Coventry and then in Meriden. A new company, Triumph Motorcycles Ltd, based in Hinckley, gained the name rights after the end of the company in the 1980s and is now one of the world's major motorcycle manufacturers.
Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had built bicycles. Newly under the control of the Rootes brothers, the Hillman company was acquired by Humber in 1928. Hillman was used as the small car marque of Humber Limited from 1931, but until 1937 Hillman did continue to sell large cars. The Rootes brothers reached a sixty per cent holding of Humber in 1932 which they retained until 1967, when Chrysler bought Rootes and bought out the other forty per cent of shareholders in Humber. The marque continued to be used under Chrysler until 1976.
Adler was a German automobile and motorcycle manufacturer from 1900 until 1957. The 'Adler' name is German for 'eagle'. Adlerwerke vormals Heinrich Kleyer was a German aircraft manufacturer established by Heinrich Kleyer in Frankfurt am Main in 1934 by buying out Gerner. Adler made no original designs, only continuing production of Gerner designs that were included in the acquisition.
Royal Enfield was a brand name under which The Enfield Cycle Company Limited of Redditch, Worcestershire, England, sold motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines which it manufactured. Enfield Cycle Company also used the brand name "Enfield" without the "Royal".
Excelsior, based in Coventry, was a British bicycle, motorcycle and car maker. They were Britain’s first motorcycle manufacturer, starting production of their own ‘motor-bicycle’ in 1896. Initially they had premises at Lower Ford Street, Coventry, and 287-295 Stoney Stanton Road, Hillfields, Coventry, Warwickshire before moving to Kings Road, Tyseley, Birmingham in 1921.
The Swift Motor Company made Swift Cars in Coventry, England from 1900 until 1931. It grew progressively from James Starley's Coventry Sewing Machine Company, via bicycle and motorised cycle manufacture. The cars ranged from a single-cylinder car in 1900 using an MMC engine, through a Swift-engined twin-cylinder 7-horsepower light car in 1904, and a 3-litre model in 1913. After the First World War a successful range was sold during the 1920s, but the Cadet of 1930 was its last vehicle as it could not compete economically with volume manufacturers such as Ford and Morris Motors.
Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc four-stroke twins. Matchless had a long history of racing success; a Matchless ridden by Charlie Collier won the first single-cylinder race in the first Isle of Man TT in 1907.
The Calthorpe Motor Company based in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, England made a range of cars, motorcycles and bicycles from 1904 to 1932.
Douglas was a British motorcycle manufacturer from 1907 to 1957 based in Kingswood, Bristol, owned by the Douglas family, and especially known for its horizontally opposed twin cylinder engined bikes and as manufacturers of speedway machines. The company also built a range of cars between 1913 and 1922.
New Imperial was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded by Norman Downes in Birmingham, between 1887 and 1901, and became New Imperial Motors Ltd in 1912, when serious production commenced. New Imperial made innovative motorcycles that employed unit construction and sprung heel frames long before they became commonplace, and were moderately successful in competition. The 1920s were a financially successful decade, enabling the innovations of the 1930s that fought decline.
The Square Four is a motorcycle produced by Ariel between 1931 and 1959, designed by Edward Turner, who devised the Square Four engine in 1928. At this time he was looking for work, showing drawings of his engine design to motorcycle manufacturers. The early engine with "two transverse crankshafts" was essentially a pair of 'across frame' OHC parallel twins joined by their geared central flywheels, with a four-cylinder block and single head. The idea for the engine was rejected by BSA, but adopted by Ariel. Thus it became the Ariel Square Four.
Edward Turner was an English motorcycle designer. He was born in Camberwell in the London Borough of Southwark, on the day King Edward VII was proclaimed King. In 1915, Turner had his first ride on a motorcycle, a Light Tourist New Imperial.
Rex, Rex Motorcycles, Rex-Acme, was a car and motorcycle company which began in Birmingham, England in 1900. Rex soon merged with a Coventry maker of bicycles and cars named Allard and then later in 1922 the company merged with Coventry's 'Acme' motorcycle company forming 'Rex Acme'. The company existed until 1933, and, in its heyday, was considered one of the greatest names in the British motorcycle industry.
John Young Sangster was a British industrialist and philanthropist. He was an important figure in the British motorcycle industry, where he was involved with Ariel, BSA and Triumph.
The Perry was a British car made by the Perry Motor Company based in Tyseley, Birmingham who made cars between 1913 and 1916.
The Standard Ten was a model name given to several small cars produced by the British Standard Motor Company between 1906 and 1961. The name was a reference to the car's fiscal horsepower or tax horsepower, a function of the surface area of the pistons. This system quickly became obsolete as an estimate of the power produced by the engine, but it continued to be relevant as a way to classify cars for tax purposes. Like other manufacturers, Standard continued to use the name to define the approximate size of their 'Ten' model long after the origins of the name had, in Britain, become inapplicable.
The Standard wet liner inline-four engine was an inline four cylinder petrol engine produced by the Standard Motor Company. Originally developed concurrently for passenger car use and for the Ferguson TE20 tractor, it was widely used for Standard passenger cars of the 1950s, most notably the Vanguard. Later it was successfully used in Standard's popular early generation Triumph TR series sports cars.
BSA cars were manufactured between 1907 and 1912 in Birmingham then until 1939 in Coventry as well as Birmingham, England. BSA had established a motor-car department in an unsuccessful effort to make use of the Sparkbrook Birmingham factory. An independent part of the same site was occupied by The Lanchester Motor Company Limited. Sales were handled by BSA Cycles Limited. After 1912, manufacture was carried out by group subsidiary Daimler in Coventry or BSA Cycles in Birmingham.
BSA motorcycles were made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA), which was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process.
Founded by James Starley and William Hillman in 1870 to make bicycles and the first patented tensioned wire-spoke wheel...
...the relatively new Arrow 200...Reduced insurance premiums, for only slightly less performance; that's the Arrow 200 claim.
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