Description
"Ariel Red Hunter Motorcycle" by Daniel Peirce
The story of the Ariel Red Hunter began when motorcycle engineer Val Page joined Ariel in 1925. Val Page had previously served as an apprentice to a renowned British engine maker J. A. Prestwich (i.e. J.A.P.). It is acredited that Val Page had designed (or at least assisted) the V-twin engines that had powered such iconic British motorcycles as the Brough Superior SS80 and SS100. This was a famous motorcycle owned and ridden by T.E. Lawrence, better known as “Lawrence of Arabia”.
The folllowing year, in 1926 Val Page was promoted to the role of Chief Designer and set in his heart to create a new range of motorcycles. One of which was to become a new OHV single cylinder engine which would subsequently become the heart of the Ariel Red Hunter.
The Ariel “Red Hunter”, was given this name as a marketing ploy to conjure up images of fox hunters on horseback racing through the English countryside with their hounds to reduce the population of lamb and chicken eating foxes. The original Red Hunter featured a dry plate clutch connecting the engine to a four speed gearbox. The electrics were combined a magneto with a dynamo (i.e. generator) and which proved to be a solid and reliable.
The Ariel Red Hunter was the name after Bouused for a range of Ariel single-cylinder and twin-cylinder motorcycles. They were designed by the firm's chief designer Val Page in 1932 around an overhead-valve single-cylinder engine he developed six years earlier. Originally a "sports" version of the Ariel 500, 250 and 350cc versions were developed and became popular with grass track and trials riders. From 1948, the 500cc twin-cylinder Ariels were produced in De Luxe (KG) and Red Hunter (KH) models.
All Red Hunters had a distinctive dark red petrol and oil tanks which were painted in the former Bournbrook cinema opposite the main Ariel factory in Dawlish Road. The engines were all run for two hours on a test bench to maintain Ariel's record of reliability and quality control.
The Red Hunter was a success and formed the backbone of the company, and made Ariel able to purchase Triumph. On the 500cc, acceleration from 0 to 60 mph could be achieved in 10.9 seconds, while stopping from 25 mph could be made under 24 feet.
Manufacturer: Ariel, Bournbrook, Birmingham
Production: 1932 - 1959 Engine: 250cc, 350cc and 500cc OHV two valve singles
Top speed: 500cc: 87mph[1] Power 500cc: 24 bhp at 6000 rpm
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Color Changing Fine Art Print
Photographer: Daniel Peirce
Composition by: EFX Gallery
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Sources: www.silodrome.com "A Brief History of the Ariel Red Hunter -Everything You Need to Know" Reynolds, Jim (1990). Best of British Bikes. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-033-4. Officer Filker, H (Alhambra P.D). "Testing the Ariel 500cc Red Hunter" p39, Cycle (magazine) / Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader, January/february 1986. Retrieved: 2 August 2012.
