The last motorcycle-type vehicle to carry the Ariel name was a short-lived three-wheel tilting moped in 1970.

They built wire-spoke wheels under the first British patent; this allowed them also to build a lighter "penny farthing" bicycle which they named 'Ariel' (the spirit of the air).

Ariel merged with Westwood Manufacturing in 1896 and made a powered tricycle in 1898 with a 2.25 hp de Dion.

(See also List of motorized trikes and/or Quadricycle) In 1902, Ariel produced its first motorcycle, which had a Kerry engine[6] with a magneto ignition and a float carburettor.

[7] Sangster built a three-speed, two-stroke motorcycle sold as the "Arielette", but he stopped production on the outbreak of the first world war.

[3] In 1918, Sangster's son Jack began managing the Ariel division of Components Ltd and developed a successful motorcycle with a 4 hp White and Poppe engine.

[8] The Ariel Square Four, with a 500 cc engine designed by Edward Turner, was launched for the 1931 season.

Throughout their history, the Square Fours had overheating problems with the rear cylinders which resulted in distorted heads.

During the Second World War the Ariel factory was turned over to military production, including the Ariel W/NG 350 army motorcycle based on the civilian NG model but with higher ground clearance frame inspired by that used successfully by Fred Povey in the ISDT.

In 1954 Ariel launched the KHA, which was a high-performance version of the KH with an aluminium alloy cylinder head.

Sangster promptly made Edward Turner head of the automotive division, which then included Ariel, Triumph, and BSA motorcycles, as well as Daimler and Carbodies (the manufacturer of London Taxicabs).

The Red Hunter formed the basis for Sammy Miller's 1955 trials motorcycle which proved very successful in competition.

[16] In 1965, Ariel produced its last motorcycle, the Arrow 200 with capacity reduced to 200 cc introduced earlier during 1964 to qualify for lower UK rider insurance.

[3] In 1970, parent company BSA produced the Ariel 3, a 49 cc automatic tricycle with a coupling between the front and rear frame sections allowing banking when cornering.

[23] In early 1904, Ariel began production of a six-cylinder model[24] built on a seemingly inadequate tubular steel chassis.

[citation needed] In 1907–1908 the company began production of their 50/60 hp six, which offered a 15.9-litre engine[24] for a chassis price of £950.

[citation needed] However, the engine was vibratory and noisy, so in 1924 Ariel discontinued the model and replaced it with the 10 hp (RAC) car.

[24][note 2] The "Ten" had a 1097 cc four-cylinder Q-Type engine[27] made by the Swift Motor Company.