1961 Ariel Leader

[@wackedoutdude]

Awsome video. Love the look of the leader. So bizarre but very radical design.

[@johncarterbrown991]

I had one of these in 1966/67. It was my first real motorbike. This video clip brought back a lot of happy memories for me. Thanks very much.

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

It was an interesting restoration for which luckily almost everything was available, even a new in the wrapper leg shield on one side.

[@brianbridle951]

I had one in 1960, well balanced, docile, easy to ride to work. All the time the bike moved forward you didn't get to wet so a raincoat was generally good enough, not forgetting your "corker" peaked helmet of course.

[@aliasdeputydog]

Michael Waller. This has certainly brought back memories as the Ariel Leader was my very first motorcycle at 17 years of age. It was a beautiful machine to ride, not only in looks but comfort and easy to handle. You made mention about being weather-proof and I can assure you the number of times I rode this to work with my dad on the back in the rain, it certainly kept us dryer than the normal bike. We also had a 1946 Triumph Thunderbird 650cc with a sidecar and although I sat inside the sidecar I can say without fear of contradiction that I was drier on the Ariel.

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

Another wonderful but under rated bike. Did you know that Ariel built a prototype which was a large Leader with a four cylinder four stoke engine. They hoped to sell the engine to the army as a generator and finance the bike's development from those sales, a la Triumph 500 twin, but the army said no.

[@samrodian919]

Lovely looking bike, I thought so futuristic when I was a kid. One of my neighbours had one in the red and cream colour scheme., and next to my senior school was a public library and one day I met my neighbour coming out of the library and he gave me a lift home on it, about a three mile journey. Wow! I was transfixed! What a great sound the two stroke burbling away under the tinware as he called it. They must be pretty rare out in the states Michael, even rarer than here and that's like rocking horse poop!

[@geoffparkes]

One of my fellow apprentices, Roy, in 1971 had an Arrow. It smoked like a kipper factory, sounded awful and, to this day, I think it was just too ugly. Mind you, if you think this was bad... who remembers BSA's Ariel tricycle?

[@63256325N]

Fabulous job on the restoration!, Very nicely done indeed.

[@raygem1943]

Lovely...I had one of these when I was a lad....Never let me down..Great memories.

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

A very under rated machine..

[@tonym480]

My first bike in 1966 was a 1960 Ariel Arrow. A fast machine for its day when the competition was mainly the BSA C15 or something with a Villiers 2 stroke.

[@billdyke9745]

What Michael didn't say is that these didn't sell well in Britain either. Arrows were fairly common but the Leader was way too futuristic for the British biker, who was still riding bikes based on 1930s designs. And then came Honda... And there went the British motorcycle industry. But some designers were trying. (Val Page was 70 years old at the time. Fascinating character). I think it's gorgeous. I prefer my old Mk1 B40, though, made in the same year and old-fangled and unreliable even when it was new. Beautiful restoration, Michael. Apart from a faded seat it's factory fresh.

[@samrodian919]

@ Peter Gordon, Alf Hagon used to drag race bikes and he had a shop in Leytonstone High Road in East London. They moved to Hainault Industrial Estate, about 8 miles further East. The drag bike he was famous for is or was in the foyer of the Hainault shop, they trade now as Hagon Shocks, and Alf I suspect must be long passed away, ( if you're not Alf manny apologies sir) and I believe Mike Waller still deals with them as recently I saw him open a package from them.

[@angelsone-five7912]

Have you ever noticed that no matter what the era if someones designs something futuristically modern it is still very much of the era in which it was designed in the first place?

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

I suppose that even when you try to design for the future you do it with a contemporary set of values. I imagine that George Stephenson was thinking how wonderfully efficient and streamlined steam trains would be in the next century.

[@gerry343]

Never a fan of the Leader, but you've done a cracking job on that one.

[@alanwareham7391]

I used to own a very similar 1959 blue leader ,and providing you’re fuel mixture was right you couldn’t really fault them.

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

They were a good little bike.

[@shedbuiltable]

a very informative channel ,love it,keep them coming dave

[@raymondsanderson3768]

Dave?

[@shedbuiltable]

@@raymondsanderson3768 yes

[@josephmagedanz4070]

Very nicely done... bravo! Joe

[@georgestewart1325]

Now working my way through this project to keep me busy till the triumph otter. :)

[@montyzumazoom1337]

Lad I worked with had a Leader, his Dad had several classic bikes

[@alecjefferson6993]

Very interesting yes the front wheel 🛞 is strange set up 🧐I can get to the carb on my sports Arrow. 🇬🇧

[@davidrichards5594]

Boy, Honda borrowed heavily from the Leader design features with the CA series 150 & 305cc "Dream" beginning 1963. Stamped frame, swoopy front fender, very close to the same type front suspension, cowled headlight & parts of frame,, whitewall tires.....Dave

[@kenwebb9628]

David Richards

[@whalesong999]

Hard to tell just how the Honda might have been influenced considering the time line from the first Honda with pressed steel parts. I think they borrowed a good bit from NSU actually and not Ariel and began in '58 or so... without looking it up. I had the dubious distinction of reassembling a Leader that had been torn down and repainted and then the mechanic for the shop left it at that. I managed somehow and I became familiar with it for a few weeks before the shop sold it. I was surprised at how much sound reverberated within the chassis and body structure, kind of "rumbly" with ex. and power pulses and a bit of vibration. It was a pleasant machine in most respects though and had some really out-of-the-box /ahead of it's time new engineering.

[@albion2742]

@@whalesong999 I agree Honda copied the forks and OHC design from NSU, NOT Ariel.

[@petergordon4525]

Had one of these in the late sixties. I remember in one of the magazines, a guy called Alf Hagan ( I think ) tuning one, he fitted a front wheel and twin leading shoe front brake from a Honda. The brakes on mine were dire!

[@albion2742]

Great little bike, Great weather protection, I could light a cigarette behind the screen while riding. I had one and came off it and ended up in a ditch and had my leg in a cast for 6 months, my fault not the bike. Never knew any were in the USA though.was that the correct front mudguard, it looks to large. mine had the turn signals on it. I think the engine was a similar to the Addler.

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

Adler is right and it is the only one that I have seen here. By photos and the parts book it is the right front mudguard. This had the holes for the signals so they may have been lost over time, and it didn't have the clock either.

[@1212tomcat]

I had a new Two tone blue Ariel leader in 1959 and I could do less fatiguing ultra long day trips in my leader than I could in my bran new 1959 Vellocette Viper...the weather protection kept me warmer, dryer, and the seat on the Leader did not numb my bottom like the Vellocette did. A car wrote off the Leader and had moved up??...to the Vellocette...

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

Yes they were a really nice bike. You should have moved up to a Velocette LE.

[@albion2742]

@@BritanniaMotorcycles That would have been a move down to the Noddy bike, not up. I have looked for info on the 1962 250 TT and Mike O,Rouke, never been able to find anything though.

[@davebarrowcliffe1289]

Great lookin bike!

[@leannematthews5944]

A friend of mine found an easy way to get the wires on the coils...his little sister did it for him

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

Every tool box should have one. You need them for Triumph gearboxes as well.

[@darrinslack1269]

I can put you onto the original american motorcycle write up of the leader in pdf and in a few more none uk magazines

[@briancritchley5295]

Well I put it this way, I would not care to ride one but it would look good in my house

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

Actually they are really nice to ride. The engine was very peppy and they handle well.

[@dronedays450]

Police used leaders in the 60's you could hear them coming a mile off, being kids that was good because if we were into mischief we could hear it and make with the legs lol, happy days.

[@aardvarksmith6852]

My first bike was an ex police leader from Longstaffs in Woodford.

[@mwhelan53]

Michael I have a soft spot for Ariel’s, the first bike I ever built from a basket case was a Red Hunter, I loves that bike. However I swear this thing is so ugly it may have single handed brought about the collapse of the entire British motorcycle industry.

[@gerritposthuma4924]

michael are you living in amerika?

[@BritanniaMotorcycles]

Yes, upstate New York near to Ithaca.

[@gerritposthuma4924]

@@BritanniaMotorcycles i am from the nederland

[@alecjefferson6993]

You can work on the engine in the frame because the swinging arm bolts to back of the engine would have to take the back end of the bike off to take the engine out. The ARROW the worst bike I have had the Misfortune to work on!! Get the Dummy tank off change coils wiring etc a nightmare! The only good bit is the engine 😱 Val Page pinch that ideal from the Germans Adler MB 250 and Ho the front brake 🥴🥴

[@peter2recycle]

That is one ugly scooter