Bonhams Sale includes Sir David Jason’s 1957 Ariel Square Four
Del Boy might be better known for driving around in a Reliant Regal but the actor behind the Only Fools and Horses character has his personal Ariel Square Four going under the hammer at the upcoming Bonhams Summer Sale on July 14-24.
Included in the sale are machines from across the ages. Amongst the most exciting of which is a 2009 Ducati Desmosedici RRmarked as production number 1338 of just 1500 ever made. Described as “a true collector’s piece”, it has an estimate of £40,000-£50,000.
Equipped with the supplied racing exhaust, it is good for 200bhp (or 188bhp in standard trim), while weighing a dainty 171kg thanks to a number of road bike ‘firsts’including forged magnesium wheels and a carbon fibre subframe that also forms the seat unit.
Bonhams will also be featuring a 1988 Suzuki RG500 Gamma in
‘Pepsi’ livery. This gem of the two-stroke world is said to be ripe for restoration at 11,074 miles and is expected to fetch £8000-£12,000.
Road going racers aren’t the only two-wheeled goodies up for grabs, however. Sir David Jason is putting his 1957 Ariel Square Four under the hammer, giving classic enthusiasts the chance to own not just a slice of motorcycling history, but also the bike of one of British television’s most beloved TV stars.
Del Boy’s Ariel has undergone a swingarm suspension conversion replacing the original plunger system. A donor mainframe was used for this swap, with frame numbers carried over. Sir David also converted the front brake, swapping the original set up in favour of a Grimeca 4 leading shoe.
Accompanying the Ariel is another celebrity bikea “wonderfully presented” 2004 Voxan
