Ariel Square Four motorcycle

Made:
1959 in Selly Oak
Ariel Square Four motor cycle, 1959

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Ariel Square Four motor cycle, 1959
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Ariel Square Four motor cycle, 1959

Part of the era of heavy luxurious touring motorcycles. First produced in 1931, the Square Four was the first of the four-cylinder motorcycles to earn and keep a substantial market; however due to a fall in demand, production ceased in 1959. It joins the ranks of those other British touring motorcycles of the past, the Brough-Superior, the Sunbeam and the Vincent.

This type of motorcycle would have cost nearly as much as a small light car and with a 1-litre engine and 100mph performance the ‘Squariel’, as it became known, was a ‘superbike’ of its day.

Details

Category:
Road Transport
Object Number:
1962-94
type:
motor cycles
credit:
Fraser, A.

Parts

Ariel Square Four Motorcycle

Ariel Square Four Motorcycle

Ariel Square Four motor cycle, 1959, part of an era of heavy luxurious touring motorcycles. First produced in 1931, the Square Four was the first of the four-cylinder motorcycles to earn and keep a substantial market; however due to a fall in demand, production ceased in 1959. This type of motorcycle would have cost nearly as much as a small light car and with a 1-litre engine and 100mph performan...

Measurements:
overall: 1510 mm x 650 mm x 2100 mm, 228 kg
Object Number:
1962-94/1
type:
motorcycles