Lot 945: Ariel Square Four 4F/6

First registered on the 7th April 1936, CXL 772 was purchased from Pride & Clarke's famed dealership sometime in 1938 having hung around in the showroom according to family memory. The purchaser, a lifelong engineer employee at Muirhead Ltd and the son of the seller of the PV (Perfectly Vibrationless) Motorcycle, clearly had a genetic and professional bent toward technical excellence as represented by the Ariel Square Four on its debut. Used as regular ride to work transport, the hostilities of WW11 saw the Ariel climbing to the top of the hill at Petts Wood, on a nightly basis, to man the local Anti Aircraft unit. With the passing of time a young family arrived and in order to accommodate the son and heir a sidecar was added shortly after the birth in 1949, the accompanying image shows the machine and youthful passenger in 1958. 1959 coincided with the arrival of the first family car and the last entry in the buff logbook, the Squariel appears to have then been consigned to the shed, out of sight but firmly in mind. Age soon began to take its toll until, in the mid 1980's, the owner's son (the vendor) decided that Dad's bike should be restored for him. The work was carried out with professional help and practicality in mind and so included a complete rewire and the use of stainless steel and Allen bolts. Restored to a treasured family heirloom, sadly CXL 772, now a solo unit, never saw action again and has remained garage bound with just the occasional start up. Now passed on to the second generation the Ariel is to be offered for sale for only the second time in its 72 year life due to an imminent family move to the West Country. Pleasantly mellowed, the Ariel started first kick on inspection having had a fresh batch of petrol added and would not require much in the way of re-commissioning for immediate use nor indeed, for returning to factory specification. Supplied with a buff logbook covering the period 1952  1959, a 1959 tax disc, a quantity of spares, petrol ration book, a current V5C and nearly three quarters of a century of loving family ownership in the same area.