1952 Other Makes Square 4 Ariel

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Here we have a 1952 Ariel Square 4. This 1 Liter, 4 cylinder beast was one of the biggest, badest machines of its day along with the Vincent twins with an unbelievable 35 horse power rating from a stock bike. WOW. It was a technological marvel with a square engine, hydraulic telescoping front forks, hydraulic rear suspension with the shocks acting upon small independent swingarm linkage, & full-blown ignition distributor with cap, rotor, & points built-in like a car. This bike was restored 6-7 years ago to near museum qualty finish and is still visually stunning. I have owned it for about 1 1/2 years & have only put about 10 miles on it the first 2 months I owned it. The bike comes with N.O.S. Craven Equipment easily removable side bags painted to match. These were hand-made in London, England and are very sought after. This option alone is worth $1200. These are New old stock, not beat up ones that are sometimes seen for sale at $400 - $600. The chrome and paint on the fuel tank, frame, engine, handles & controls, rear suspension, and exhaust is near perfect. The chrome on the wheels and front shocks is bright and shiney but there is some blemishs and minor staining. (I tried to take pictures close-up of this but its so light it won't show). This bike would be a star in the finest collection of antique motorcycles. Saddle and seat springs look brand new, battery strong & runs headlight strongly. This is a weak 6 volt system so I will include a 6volt trickle charger with the sale as you will need it if you actually try to ride it much with the headlight on. Headlight is correct Lucas unit, rubber grips, and foot pegs are factory Ariel parts, horn is chrome Lucas Altette(very sought after). Comes with factory Square 4 owner's guide and Ariel mechanical workshop manuals with electrical schematics. Other than Vincent's this is about the most collectible & likley to valueate Brit bike around, & ones in this condition a very rare. If your're looking to step into the "big leagues" of old bikes but not spend $100k on a Black Shadow, Ducati SS, or early MV Augusta 4 here is the perfect 1st step. I have not started this bike in over 1 year so it will probabley need some major servicing and a carb overhaul if you intened to ride it. It coughs and sputters when I kick it over now but has great compression. The tires are in perfect shape & hold air for months. Gauges work as they should, fuel tank clean inside. It leaks the appropriate amount of oil to ground. Please ask all questions before bidding & I will answer as I can. Please no offers of trades, exchanges, financing, guns etc. as I'm selling to thin down my collecting habit. I used to buy & sell alot on ebay and elsewhere but recently realized the last 4-5 years I've only been buying, oops.Bike is sold as-is, where-is with no warranties of any kind expressed, if you are high bid you have bought the bike. Non-refundable $2,000 PayPal payment within 48 hours of auction close, balance of Payment by Cash or cashiers check only. Buyer is responsible for pick-up & shipping arrangements & I will help as I can. Thanks & good bidding !!!On Jun-09-13 at 08:17:05 PDT, seller added the following information: I am adding this rant for transparency and clarity. I have received many questions & comments since listing this bike of which I will try to cover most aspects here. This bike DOES NOT run at this time. It did when I bought it. You can NOT come over and test drive it as it DOESN'T run. You can't hear it run either. Some have asked if we can take the carb apart or spray gas in it to try & start it. This is what I did before I listed it, A little carb cleaner sprayed into the carb intake before a few good kicks & it will bark & cough but at this time I don't want people spraying flamables in or on my bike. I have also had several enthusiasts(who I agree know far more about these bikes than me tell me that when they sit for extended periods the oil can gum-up in the oil journals & cause oil pressure problems under hard running.(Detailed discussions can be found about this possibility on Ariel Owners forums).It hasn't run in a year so I can't say if this condition exists or not. The engine has very good compression when kicked over. The bike overall has been restored to near show quality level within the last decade at a cost that had to be in the $20 to $25,000 range by a professional and the level of detail is amazing, everything in near new condition with all the desirable period correct upgrades(and these are not reproductions but NOS bits). I have seen several rough old bikes & actual barn finds sell on ebay in the last year for $6k to $16k. These bikes obviously need complete body ,paint , chrome and mechanical sorting through with all the issues possible probably being at their worst. Seeing these bikes is why I decided to get mine out for sale. The above bike is done and ready for display in a collection. If you want it to ride you may need the fuel system cleaned up and tune-up, $300-$500 (bonus for you) Or it may need the above and the engine oil gallies cleaned out as people have informed me may be from sitting at $2,500-$3,000 (big deal on bike of this caliber compared to what has sold recently, needing full resto's, for near the reserve on this bike). Remember these are 60-65 year old pieces of British iron. Also instead of a 3-4 year restoration period with unknown parts availability & not being able to ride, this bike could be on the road in 3-4 months or less while only needing a minimum of parts acquiring. There, now I fell better after venting a little. Remember this is being sold as a NON-RUNNING machine ( doesn't start, can't hear it run, can't "just" be test driven around the block, can't pour gasoline in the carb to "try it out', Motor no go zoom-zoom). If you have bid before this reply feel free to cancel your bid & if any of the above information makes you uncomfortable or worries you in any way, Please, for your peace of mind & mine, Do not bid on this bike.