Ariel was known for technical innovation as well as for sound practical engineering.
The most famous of these is the Ariel Square Four. The original design included a unit transmission and overhead cams. The first production models retained the overhead cam, which was later simplified to a pushrod design.
The singles are an example of solid yet elegant engineering. A single cam design, with the same crank and timing cases for 250, 350, 500cc OHV and 600cc SV machines, the machines also shared the majority of transmission and chassis components. This allowed for a wide range of machines with a large number of interchangeable parts.
The Anstey link suspension was an ingenious solution to the chain tension problems of other plunger suspension designs.
The Ariel Leader is a masterpiece of integrated design - a rare example of a motorcycle essentially designed from scratch.
Even at their last gasp, Ariel were designing a four cylinder inline engine laid on its side with shaft drive to go in a beefed up Leader chassis - a design layout later used by the BMW K1000 touring machines.
