Skip to main content

Ever wondered what an Ariel Atom motorcycle would look like? Well, here’s your answer

Ariel Motors, best known for their minimalist, lightweight but road-legal open-wheel sports cars, will produce a motorcycle platform that allows buyers to heavily customize their bike during the build process.

According to Autocar, the Ariel Ace, as it will be known, is based around an arching aluminum Ducati-ish space frame with motive power coming from Honda’s 173hp VFR1200 V4 powerplant. Ariel’s cars also sport Honda powerplants.

For vintage bike enthusiasts taking a break from polishing their Ariel Square Fours, it should be noted the current and old Ariel companies are not related outside of the brand name.

While the bikes will be based around the same frame and engine combo, buyers will be able to specify a wide range of major options, including a girder fork with an Ohlins adjustable mono-spring suspension system for the cruiser flavor or a more typical pair of Ohlins front legs for the sportier iteration. Ohlins bits will also control the rear single-sided swingarm.

Ariel Ace Sport
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Other options include sport or cruiser seats, exhaust systems, rear wheel fenders and likely a wheel choice that includes a carbon fiber option. Engine management will reportedly come from Ariel, not Honda.

Autocar pegs the price at 20,000 pounds, which translates to about $35,000 Stateside, although optioning up the Ace will change that number of course.

Kudos to Ariel for giving well-heeled buyers so many options, but we’ll reserve judgement on the performance quotient for when production bikes hit the road. Building different bikes around base configurations is nothing new, but when you are operating at this level, buyers who are planning to actually ride the bikes (rather than just collect them) will be demanding performance commensurate with the price. While the bar for performance in a “cruiser” is naturally lower, building a capable sportbike from a parts-bin approach is another story. 

Is Ariel up to the task? Their hair-on-fire open wheel cars’ well-known performance levels suggests they may well indeed be able to pull it off. But motorcycles aren’t cars and while many of the same ideas about performance apply, making a motorcycle handle properly, especially one this size and with this much power, is more black magic than textbook science.

Bill Roberson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I focus on producing Digital Trends' 'DT Daily' video news program along with photographing items we get in for review. I…
There’s a huge Black Friday sale on Thule roof cargo boxes
thule rooftop cargo boxes deals amazon november 2023 box on car

It's almost winter, which means snowy day trips and skiing, and if you pack your whole family inside one vehicle, it can be difficult to get the rest of your critical belongings (such as bikes and kayaks) to your destination. In theory, you could buy a larger car. Many families get a minivan for the explicit purpose of relieving this kind of pressure. But that's pretty extreme when you could simply expand the storage space of your current car. And with Black Friday sales like this one, putting dozens of Thule rooftop cargo boxes on big discounts, now is a good time to consider doing so. We're seeing deals were you could save $100 (or even more) or Thule rooftop cargo boxes and accessories. Just tap the button below to access the curated collection, then keep reading for our take in how to shop the sale.

Why you should shop the Thule rooftop cargo box sale
One of the first things we want you to know before you shop the Thule collection is some features that aren't immediately apparent just by looking at the cargo boxes. For example, you may be highly concerned about driving off and having your belongings (including embarrassing items like underwear) go everywhere because the box flies open. Thule boxes, however, typically snap shut with an audible click. You know your items are secure. Alternatively, items like their

Read more
Honda recalls more than 300,000 vehicles over seat belt safety issue
2015 Honda Accord Sport

Honda has recalled more than 300,000 of its 2023-2024 HR-Vs and Accords over a safety issue, according to a document posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The issue concerns a missing seat belt part, which means that in the event of a crash, the belt “will not properly restrain the occupant, increasing the risk of injury,” the NHTSA said.

Read more
How to watch Tesla’s Cybertruck delivery event today
Tesla's Cybertruck.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk behind the wheel of a Cybertruck. Tesla

It’s been a long time coming, but Tesla is about to deliver the Cybertruck to its first customers.

Read more