Ariel single cylinder motorcycles are the bikes I know best. They are simple, reliable, robust and easy to maintain - a "practical classic" if ever there was one. I own these two.
The red one is a 1956 NH "Red Hunter" which for about 15 years was the only working bike I owned. It turned up in a barn on the Isle of Arran for thirty quid, missing a lot of parts and paint and covered in cowshit. This machine has many minor modifications, some for comfort (wider bars and Enfield India seat), some for safety (12 volt alternator, 60 watt halogen headlamp, indicators and twin Fiamm airhorns), some for practicality (Nonfango hard luggage, powder coat paint) and some because the right parts weren't handy when needed (headlamp shell and speedometer from ??). It won numerous awards at rallies in the UK and Norway from 86-91, a mixture of "farthest travelled" and "grot". It has since been powder coated Post Office Red, which solved the rust problems. The bike is legal, loud, smelly and slow by modern standards, but then so am I.
The black one is a VB which I am assembling from parts from various years for sidecar use. The aim is to approximate a 1946 model, but it will never win a concourse award. The frame is 49, forks are NOS war surplus, engine and transmission are from a 55 Glasgow chopper, and the back wheel is the front wheel off a Honda CB750 as I want a decent brake on at least one of the three wheels. Since this picture was taken I have got the engine running and mounted the headlamp and speedometer, acquired a front mudguard and mounted the rear sprocket. The engine is a very easy starter and is loud, smelly and slow.