1913 Ariel 3½hp Sports
Registration no. ES 1211 Frame no. 1847 Engine no. 6884

The Summer Sale - The International Classic MotorCycle Show (Three-Day Auction)|4 July 2021, 10:00 BST|Stafford, Staffordshire County Showground

1913 Ariel 3½hp Sports
Registration no. ES 1211
Frame no. 1847
Engine no. 6884

A firm with its roots in the cycle industry, Ariel exhibited its first powered two-wheeler in 1901, employing a 211cc, 1½hp Minerva engine. Ariel's own 2¼hp power unit followed in 1903, but the Birmingham firm continued to rely mainly on proprietary engines. Ariel's first v-twin (powered by a 6hp JAP) was built in 1905 to contest the International Auto Cycle Cup Race on the Isle of Man, and a production version was made available for the following season. In 1909 a radical shake-up saw the existing range replaced for the following season by new models powered by White & Poppe's 3½hp (500cc), single cylinder, sidevalve engine. The latter was remarkable for the distance between the valves - 4½" - but despite this peculiarity proved immensely successful, remaining a fixture of the range well into the 1920s, by which time Ariel had taken over its production themselves. This early W&P-powered Ariel was purchased at the Beaulieu Autojumble in 2014 as a part-restored project and subsequently completed, which included having the Sturmey Archer three-speed hub gear overhauled by K Heliwell. The Ariel has taken part in the Pioneer Run every year since completion and is offered with a Pioneer Certificate and a V5C registration document.

Additional information

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Cycling, Motorcycle Spares and Memorabilia (Lots 201 to 551)
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