Ariel Motorcycles Sloper Sf 1931
By 1929 Ariel’s chief designer Val Page had come up with an overhead valve 500cc single that reputedly produced a good 20 hp—hence their marketing phrase ‘20 Horses in a cradle’.
At the same time, Ariel became known for its publicity stunts. Trials rider Harry Parrey rode to the top of Mount Snowden and also crossed the English Channel on a standard Ariel equipped with floats.
Ariel produced its Sloper for two seasons before the depression forced the Company to rationalise its production plant and return to the slightly less dramatic vertical displacement model.
Always striking at the top end of the market, the 29S exhibits all the elaborate hallmarks of Ariel.
This restored model was purchased at an Auckland auction in 2008.