O
ne of these days Ishall have to list all the motorcycle companies which startedout as
bicycle manufacturers.Thiswas in the early days,you understand,and here Iamtalking
late 19thand early 20thcentury, the time when transportreallytook offin abig way.
Anyway,Ariel is one of thosecompanies,and in 1870, JamesStarley andWilliamHillman
called themselvesAriel –‘TheSpirit of theAir’–and star tedtomake wired–not weird, but wired –
spoked wheels and pennyfarthing bicycles.
This maynot seemvery inno vativetoday, but back then some bicycles still hadwooden spokes
–haven’twecomealongway?Icontinue.Overthirtyyears latertheyhad the technologyto make
theirfirst motorcycle,completewith bothamagneto and acarburettor.Thatsameyear in 1902,
CharlesSangster ’s ComponentsLtd boughtthe company, and his son Jacktook over just as theFirst
WorldWar ended–you will no doubt have come across this guy’s name inconnectionwith BSA’s90 I AUGUST 2019 More old bikes online: Real-Classic.co.uk
Robert Daviestellsatale
about the restoration of a
Huntmastertwin
Photos by Rob Davies,
Chris Spaett, RC
RChive