1956 Ariel Colt

My Ariel Colt shown in the pictures is a rebuild of a genuine 1956 Ariel Colt basket case that I had owned for 30+ years. A Colt was the first bike I rode so have a soft spot for them, but always felt they would have been a much better bike if fitted with swinging arm suspension rather than the plunger style they were manufactured with. When I first read the story about the swinging arm Colt Trials that Ariel Competition Department built for Geoff Duke it motivated me to rebuild this Colt as a tribute to that bike, which no long exists. I call it a tribute as I know there are some variations between the specification of the Geoff Duke bike and mine but overall the two remain very similar.

I have another standard trim Colt that is also fully restored.

The biggest challenge in completing the Colt Trials project was cutting the plunger subframe off the original frame (Colt used the same frame as a BSA C10L) and replacing it with a new subframe and swinging arm. The Geoff Duke bike was probably fitted with one from a BSA Bantam D5 but I selected one from a Tiger Cub that had been modified to allow fitment of a wider rear tyre as was the case with the Geoff Duke bike. The standard fuel tank was replaced with an Ariel HT5 tank as can be seen in the Geoff Duke picture and the wheels changed to 18 inch rear and 21 inch front fitted with appropriate trials style tyres (Original Colt was 19 inch front and rear). Engine, gearbox, forks and frame were unchanged (apart from removing the plunger subframe) so the core of the bike is standard Ariel Colt. Rather than discarding the toolbox it was relocated to the LH side of the bike and has been used as a container for the updated electrics and a battery. The bike has a one-off electronic ignition produced for the project by Tri-Spark and a small battery to retain the ability for lights to be fitted if required at some time in the future. The original Colt header pipe was used with a purpose manufactured silencer that matches the original in style but not size.