I bought an Arial Arrow on my 16th birthday in the 1960's.  I'm now 75 - and I still have it. Granted it's a bit like Trigger's Broom, hardly an original part left on it, but, it still runs and is regularly used (only on nice sunny days). 60 years of reliable transport for very little cost.

The Arial Leader was way ahead of its time I Owned one for 2 years  from 62 to 64 and fo 18 months I rode it 7 days a week two up from Exeter to  the Minehead area about 58 miles each way and it never let me down once the only new parts that it needed in that time was a primary chain adjuster rear tyre a set of points rear brake linings and a bit of maintenance it used to hit 82 mph Coming down Lamb Hill between Wellington and Cullompton evry night and stop at the Filling station at Broadclyst every morning about 7:00 am, Then traded it in for BSA A7 Sidecar outfit for family reasons.

The Leader was the best for going to town on a Saturday night looking for skirt , you arrived clean and tidy not covered in cow cack on country lanes.

One of my close friends purchased an Ariel Leader in around 1964. It was a very good and reliable motor bike with so many great features that were years ahead of their time. Very good road holding and the extra space in the dummy tank and panniers was so handy. I would have liked to have purchased a Golden Arrow, they looked great and went so well. I think BSA made many mistakes and getting rid of the Ariel was one of them. Another big mistake was to stop making the very popular 500cc BSA Gold Star, at the time there was a 6 month waiting list to buy a new one and the Americans loved that bike, how stupid it was to stop making it !

Thanks for the video being an older guy I remember these well from the 60's

I now own a 2022 BMW R1250RT, mainly because it's no more than a modern copy of the Leader. As a dispatch rider in 1973, the best machine for the job was one of these old Ariels - dummy tank would take a good pile of mail and small parcels, the panniers would hold loads more, and the optional rear carrier finished off it's eminently useful design. The Leader had one other very useful feature, and that was that the whole thing was made from good old steel. Heavy, true, but I never had a prang on one of my 3 Leaders that rendered it unrideable. It would bounce off a taxi or a bus, clatter to the ground, but with the fresh crop of dents hammered back into approximate shape I would be back on board, polluting the air horribly down Park Lane.
I remember clearly the non-existent front brake, the palls of 2 stroke fog the engine produced, and the frustrations of a kick start that needed the clutch to work properly to start the thing. I was very hard on the clutch, trying to out drag the Mercury dispatch knobs on their GT250s. Oh, and the exhaust pipes constantly falling out of the rear bracket.
I look at my shiny new Beemer now, and all I see is a Leader, bought up to date. The old Ariel even had a headlamp adjuster in the middle of the dashboard, although the light itself was about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be. Sigh.
Going to look at the listings for Leaders for sale today, fancy myself a classic bike, it's got to be one of these.

A friend restored a Golden Arrow last year, as one of his dream machines from his youth.
One way to ensure a vehicle's popularity is if it is shown in a TV series or film: the Arrow featured in a 1965 film called "The Knack and How to Get it", ridden by Ray Brooks.

I am inclined to agree with the narrator, under rated and under valued even in its time.I needed a bike for work so bought in 1966 a ‘59 Leader from the chemist in the lab where I was finishing my Engineering apprenticeship . He had looked after it from new, dropped it a couple of times (ice) so no screen I think he let me have it for £15 knowing I was skint . It had over 100000 on the clock but ran sweetly. It was a delight to ride as described. A bit thirstier than mentioned though especially if used er.. enthusiastically . Did a great job for me all my clipponed mates with unreliable clapped parallel twins looked down their noses but I did not care it went on and on. So good I bought a crash damaged Arrow found a set of Leader forks and it was back in business ! The only major problem on this machine was the front brake … it wasn’t . If you look at the Arrow racers (stripped down same frame but with Honda wheels and forks very effective in it’s day. Thruxton Arrow production racer tuned by George Salt timed at 104 mph if I remember correctly?-

I've never been a fan, mainly because I don't like two-stroke machines, but it's a pleasure finally to see an evidence-based review of these bikes.

I got that bottom 10 list - I commented they didn't know what they were talking about. Well done for putting the matter straight!

I really enjoyed my 200 Arrow as my first bike in 1970, I remember it was great fun in the snow being long and low. The smoke trail when pushed hard was a sight to behold.

Very nice examples there, well done

I had a Golden Arrow late 60s , used to really move and could bank over as far as you could road holding was brilliant,  just the brakes where a bit crap ,
Wish i still had it they where fun .

I passed my test on a 1965 Leader in 1969 bought off a Bsa dealer in Newcastle for £90 it was a decent bike cheap reliable transport and  ok to ride.

i HAD AN ARROW, My friends thought I was a demon in the corners taking them at rediculous speeds! What they did not know was I could never get the front brake to work even moderately well so would go barreling into corners with white knuckles on my right hand trying to slow down but just ending up tipping it over with a prayer on my lips!!! Funnily it never failed me I got around every one! and my street cred increased 1000% ha ha ha

l rebuilt an Arrow from parts in 1965/6... at that time it was possible to by a 'Racing style tank and seat unit...replacing  the original fuel tank and the dummy tank/toolbox...... it was also possible to give the engine a mild 'tune'... the most horrendously noisy expansion chambers you ever heard.. The bike handled quite well.... Brakes weren't that great, but so many other bikes were not that great either by todays standard... Unfortunately 'l threw it down the road' ...Joined the Merchant navy soon after  and never saw it again..Thirty years later a friend bought a refurbished Golden Arrow which he let me ride...It was so smooth to ride .... It took me back to my rebellious youth...Thanks for no slagging the bike off... it was very capable for its time....

A friend of mine had a Leader it was very practical and could be ridden much faster than its looks would have you believe. Reading magazines from the time the reviews were very good and the readers comments were mostly very positive with most praising its looks
I think BSA made a big mistake in not developing the concept further the Japanese took full advantage of pressed steel frames and die casting and although this meant higher initial tooling costs the benefits were more efficient production but as we all now know the British manufacturers were very short sighted.

Back in ‘62/3 my best mate had an Arrow, it was as fast as my 350 Norton Navigator and faster on twisties. I can recall being a pillion on it and seeing 80 mph on the (optimistic?) speedo!  Loved the sound and smell of it too. I was able to ride it faster around corners than my Navigator….superb handling. GREAT BIKE AT THE TIME!

Great video.

A friend of mine his DAD had a LEADER ,and road it to work for years , the bread was never late so it must have never let him down .Supper Arrows went like a rocket for a 250 cc bike .Thanks for your videos .