Ariel Leader & Arrow 2 strokes, are they as bad as the internet says? 4K

Comments · 520

• DA

  @DavidFromDerbyshireUK · 1 year ago

  I bought an Arial Arrow on my 16th birthday in the 1960's.  I'm now 75 - and I still have it. Granted it's a bit like Trigger's Broom, hardly an original part left on it, but, it still runs and is regularly used (only on nice sunny days). 60 years of reliable transport for very little cost.

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• JO

  @johnjackson3847 · 1 year ago (edited)

  One of my close friends purchased an Ariel Leader in around 1964. It was a very good and reliable motor bike with so many great features that were years ahead of their time. Very good road holding and the extra space in the dummy tank and panniers was so handy. I would have liked to have purchased a Golden Arrow, they looked great and went so well. I think BSA made many mistakes and getting rid of the Ariel was one of them. Another big mistake was to stop making the very popular 500cc BSA Gold Star, at the time there was a 6 month waiting list to buy a new one and the Americans loved that bike, how stupid it was to stop making it !

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• WI

  @williamnethercott4364 · 1 year ago

  I've never been a fan, mainly because I don't like two-stroke machines, but it's a pleasure finally to see an evidence-based review of these bikes.

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• HE

  @hefinjones3385 · 1 year ago

  The Arial Leader was way ahead of its time I Owned one for 2 years  from 62 to 64 and fo 18 months I rode it 7 days a week two up from Exeter to  the Minehead area about 58 miles each way and it never let me down once the only new parts that it needed in that time was a primary chain adjuster rear tyre a set of points rear brake linings and a bit of maintenance it used to hit 82 mph Coming down Lamb Hill between Wellington and Cullompton evry night and stop at the Filling station at Broadclyst every morning about 7:00 am, Then traded it in for BSA A7 Sidecar outfit for family reasons.

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• AL

  @alanak3210 · 1 year ago

  The Leader was the best for going to town on a Saturday night looking for skirt , you arrived clean and tidy not covered in cow cack on country lanes.

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• BA

  @bazthejazz · 1 year ago

  A friend restored a Golden Arrow last year, as one of his dream machines from his youth.<br>One way to ensure a vehicle&apos;s popularity is if it is shown in a TV series or film: the Arrow featured in a 1965 film called &quot;The Knack and How to Get it&quot;, ridden by Ray Brooks.

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• SL

  @slowjames6904 · 1 year ago

  Thanks for the video being an older guy I remember these well from the 60&apos;s

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• AN

  @andrewclark9499 · 1 year ago

  I now own a 2022 BMW R1250RT, mainly because it&apos;s no more than a modern copy of the Leader. As a dispatch rider in 1973, the best machine for the job was one of these old Ariels - dummy tank would take a good pile of mail and small parcels, the panniers would hold loads more, and the optional rear carrier finished off it&apos;s eminently useful design. The Leader had one other very useful feature, and that was that the whole thing was made from good old steel. Heavy, true, but I never had a prang on one of my 3 Leaders that rendered it unrideable. It would bounce off a taxi or a bus, clatter to the ground, but with the fresh crop of dents hammered back into approximate shape I would be back on board, polluting the air horribly down Park Lane.<br>I remember clearly the non-existent front brake, the palls of 2 stroke fog the engine produced, and the frustrations of a kick start that needed the clutch to work properly to start the thing. I was very hard on the clutch, trying to out drag the Mercury dispatch knobs on their GT250s. Oh, and the exhaust pipes constantly falling out of the rear bracket.<br>I look at my shiny new Beemer now, and all I see is a Leader, bought up to date. The old Ariel even had a headlamp adjuster in the middle of the dashboard, although the light itself was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. <br>Nostalgia&apos;s not what it used to be. Sigh.<br>Going to look at the listings for Leaders for sale today, fancy myself a classic bike, it&apos;s got to be one of these.

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• JO

  @johncrispin2118 · 1 year ago

  I am inclined to agree with the narrator, under rated and under valued even in its time.I needed a bike for work so bought in 1966 a ‘59 Leader from the chemist in the lab where I was finishing my Engineering apprenticeship . He had looked after it from new, dropped it a couple of times (ice) so no screen I think he let me have it for £15 knowing I was skint . It had over 100000 on the clock but ran sweetly. It was a delight to ride as described. A bit thirstier than mentioned though especially if used er.. enthusiastically . Did a great job for me all my clipponed mates with unreliable clapped parallel twins looked down their noses but I did not care it went on and on. So good I bought a crash damaged Arrow found a set of Leader forks and it was back in business ! The only major problem on this machine was the front brake … it wasn’t . If you look at the Arrow racers (stripped down same frame but with Honda wheels and forks very effective in it’s day. Thruxton Arrow production racer tuned by George Salt timed at 104 mph if I remember correctly?-

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• TR

  @trevorthorp8 · 8 months ago

  I really enjoyed my 200 Arrow as my first bike in 1970, I remember it was great fun in the snow being long and low. The smoke trail when pushed hard was a sight to behold.

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• RU

  @russthebiker · 8 months ago

  Our Local Police had a few of the fully faired ones, for a copper that meant staying dry and warm

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• FR

  @frankkemble2103 · 1 year ago

  I just remembered that Mike Baldwin from Coronation street rode an Arrow in an old film called Leather Boys.