The Rest of the Story

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The September 2021 Bike of the Month was my 1959 Ariel Huntmaster with a leader into Patti wanting me to restore it - - - -

 

In 1993 I bought a 1958 Ariel Huntmaster from SoCal for $850. It was advertised as “90% complete and ready to restore”. The trip down with a trailer to pick it up, proved the ad to be a bit of an exaggeration on the quality, but whatever, it was doable.

 

It languished in the shed until January of 2005 when I finally attacked the project after enough nagging. My first problem was where to find Ariel parts. Dragonfly from England became my new best friends. Parts were ordered and arrived weekly.

 

Restoration was completed with help of Al at Accent Auto Body and paint by Larry Walker. The final piece was the air cleaner which was found on eBay. To ensure that the air cleaner was obtained, I “babysat” that auction on a Wednesday night, Bike Night. I was prepared to pay any price to make sure I owned that air cleaner.

 

What a sweet ride – typical 650 = SMOOTH. The nice beige seat is so comfortable. Its been on a couple Ariel rides, BSA rides and finally to the Concours d’Elegance at Ironstone where in won Best Motorcycle in 2021

 

It’s a very elegant lady and Patti made me do it.