All Literature

Of course we have Ariel, BSA and Triumph literature, but we also have Norton, Matchless, Sunbeam and Enfield as well as Burman and Lucas information. Scroll down or use ‘ctrl F’ to search for your marque.

Ariel Literature

Parts Books, Sales Catalogues and Brochures

Each year Ariel issued a Sales Brochure and a Catalogue of the forthcoming season’s models and as such, they are frequently treated as definitive. However, they do sometimes depict prototype ideas that did not reach production such as swinging arm frames with brake rods, so they do need to be treated with caution. The brochures tend to be a fold out pamphlet of about A3 size and the catalogues are usually booklets with one or two pages per model however both vary in size and content, which is reflected in the price. The originals have been scanned at a high resolution, re-touched to repair tears etc. before being printed by us, on a top quality laser printer, in full colour.

Each year the factory published a Parts Book, mainly for the use of dealers so that they could correctly identify and price spare parts. These books are invaluable to the rider and restorer alike as they list virtually every part on the bike. Every part is individually illustrated before 1950 but after that date major assemblies only, such as engine, gearbox, wheels and forks, are shown but with the advantage of them being in exploded views. The 1926-28, 1932-38 singles and 1932-36 SQ 4 parts books do not contain details of gearbox or other proprietary parts. In addition, the 1926 singles, 1929-32 all model book and 1937 Square Four books are un-illustrated. For some years a supplementary parts list was issued instead of a full parts book and these only show the alterations for that year and must be used in conjunction with the list for the previous year. These supplementary lists are indicated, on the chart, by (*). Engine and frame numbers with prefix letters please, to ensure that you are sent the correct book.

+ As the MH and VH were not released until late in the 1932 season they are not listed in this catalogue, see below

Miscellaneous Parts Books and Catalogues

Workshop Manuals

The Workshop Manuals are photocopies of extracts taken from various editions of a book written by Mr. Waller, the Ariel factory service manager. They are not restorers’ guides, nor are they a full manual; as they were written in the 1950’s they do assume that you have a complete machine that you wish to service or repair and are ideal for this, having a list of most of the settings.

Singles – Covers all models 1938-58 except specific differences on the competition models. For the 1956-58 HS/HT models use this with OG56HS. This is also useful for earlier models, especially if used with the relevant Owner’s Guide. WM38SING

Twins – Principally covers the 1948-57 KG/KH 500 twins, Burman gearbox and the cycle parts. The Huntmaster engine is not well covered; the Haynes manual, see below, or the BSA service sheets (00-8006) are recommended. WM48TWINS

SQ4 4F/4G – This version covers the ohc 4F 1931-36 and the iron Square Fours 1937-48. The ‘Cammy’ engine is not covered in any great depth; see the Owner’s Guides for more information. WM33SQ

SQ4 MKI/II – For the owner of the 1949-58 all alloy Square Fours WM48SQ

FH – The well known Haynes manual for the A10 is very useful for rebuilding the Huntmaster engine which is structurally the same as an A10; it is only the engine casings that differ. Part number WM47A

GB gearbox – A booklet by Burman’s on ‘How to dismantle the GB Gearbox’, it does also tell you how to put it together again! Part number OG52GB

Solex carburetter – A general booklet on Solex carburetters of the type fitted to the 1937-53 Square Fours. It covers maintenance and tuning rather than full overhauls. Part number OG37SOLEX

Electrical – This is a small hardback reprint of the ‘Motor Cycling Electrical Manual’ originally published in 1963. It covers all types of motorcycle electrics, with the theory and practise simply explained. Highly recommended, but unfortunately no longer available! Try Ebay.

Lucas – This is a proper manual including testing procedures for all Lucas equipment used on machines fitted with dynamos, some electrical knowledge and equipment required. Part number WMLUCAS DYNO

Owner’s Guides

The factory did not publish workshop manuals for the four strokes, only Owner’s Guides, which were the rider’s handbook that was supplied with the machine when new. The pre-war versions are more comprehensive than the later ones but a certain level of knowledge is expected. If you are new to old bikes or just Ariel motorcycles these books will be useful, as they contain gems such as where the light switch is, how to start your mount and the classic ‘how to change gear silently’. One of the most useful illustrations that is always included is a rider’s eye view of the controls; this is usually an accurate illustration but as usual must be used with caution as some versions cover several years.

+ Covers the HT as well as the HS and best used with the standard singles guide.

BSA Literature

PARTS BOOKS are probably the most useful book to have. Every year BSA issued a parts book that covered all the models for that year up until 1952. In about 1950 they began to issue parts books for each model group that covered several years in one book. These books covered more and more years until there were too many changes to be contained in one book and a new book was started. The problem for restorers wishing to return their machine to ‘as built’ specification is that parts fitted to later years are, where suitable, listed for earlier machines with no mention of the earlier part. For example a cast widget may be fitted in 1950 but in 1951 it was changed to a sheet metal one and because they both do the same job the 1949 to 1953 parts book only shows the sheet metal one for all years. A 1949 to 1953 parts book may be taken to be correct for a 1953 model but may well be quite inaccurate for a 1949 model. In the multiple year parts books if a year is given after the description of the part, this usually means up to or from that year and you will need to check the other descriptions, and read between the lines!
BSA, in common with other manufacturers, began the model year in the previous August and some of the parts book dates refer to the year of manufacture not the model year. We have tried to correct this anomaly in the list below. If you are unsure of the year of your BSA we can check your engine and frame numbers against our lists.

OWNERS GUIDES were supplied with the machine when new and cover controls, minor servicing and even how to ride the motorcycle!

SERVICE SHEETS were the closest that BSA came to issuing a manual for pre-unit machines. Each sheet covered a different aspect of maintenance, overhaul or information; sometimes for just one model but sometimes for the whole range. Our reprints contain all the relevant sheets for a particular model group but many of the sheets are in more than one collection. The complete set of service sheets is a large loose-leaf book; if you are interested in obtaining a complete set please enquire.

HAYNES MANUALS are well known and are pretty good, their main drawback being that the actual example that they use in order to write the book is very well covered but variants somewhat less so.

ROY BACON BOOKS are also well known; they contain a wealth of information and are particularly useful for the enormous number of pictures both from contemporary sources and later detail photographs making them very useful for the restorer. The restoration guides give a lot of detail on how to restore and on yearly changes. The other books are arranged chronologically and cover the history of the various model groups.

Many other parts books, owners’ guides and manuals are available back to 1914, in fact about another 150 items in addition to those listed below, all high quality and complete reproductions, please enquire.

COVERING ALL MODELS (1930-52) These parts books have many pages and in order to reduce the cost the pages covering dealers, GPO and AA special parts, sidecars and the numerical index have been omitted. We can supply these if required.

Please find below a list of literature for the A65. Owners guides are what would have been issued with the motorbike from new. This covers greasing points, oil levels, tyre pressures etc. The Service sheets are an old version of a Haynes manual. They are very good and our preferred manual. Back in the day, a garage would call up BSA, say they were rebuilding the gearbox, BSA would send them Service Sheet No 101 which covered just the gearbox. We have combined all of the Service Sheets into one Super Service Sheet. The ultimate companion for any rebuild, well ,second companion after your favourite drill.

Please find below a list of literature for the B25 & C25.

Please find below a list of literature for the B40.

Please find below a list of literature for the B44.

Please find below a list of literature for the B50.

Please find below a list of literature for the C15.

Please find below a list of literature for Bantams.

Triumph Literature

Below is a list of Triumph Parts Books, Workshop Manuals & Owners Guides. This is an incomplete list as we do not own all the catalogues – by all means contact us if you can help fill in the gaps!

Click here to view a handy service tools catalogue!

Parts Books 

Workshop Manuals 

Owners Guides 

Norton Literature

Miscellaneous Literature