Ariel Leader Gallery

When the Leader appeared in 1958 it offered an integral fairing and windscreen and a dummy petrol tank that was actually a luggage compartment, plus a host of practical and decorative extras. But many traditional motorcycle customers were not impressed by its styling while others were being attracted by the revolutionary Mini.

Its cost may also have been too high and in an attempt to appeal to the more sporting customer, as well as offer a cheaper alternative , the Leader was redesigned as the unfaire Arrow, launched in 1960. Again, the styling was odd, but the machine was was light with a decent performance and it was much cheaper.

Ariel's entire production was devoted to the new range and in a good month well over 1000 were produced. Tuning experiments upper the power of a works-developed model enough for it to come 7th in the lightweight TT and the position looked promising.

Bike	Image	Description
1957 Ariel Leader		Ariel Leader.
Ariel Leader		Production - 1958-1965 Engine - parallel twin, two-stroke Bore and Stroke - 54 x 54 mm Capacity - 249cc Power - 17.5bhp @ 6750rpm Top Speed - 73mph
1959 Ariel Leader 250		17bhp
1960 Ariel Leader		250cc
1960 Ariel Leader 250		2-stroke. Picture kindly provided by www.nemusclebikes.com
1964 Ariel Leader		250cc, 2-stroke.

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