Ariel Ace R | Review 

2 Stroke Budget Bike Battle! Let's go!

I'm just here to flash my 6-month bling badge and listen to V4 glory. Love it Al!

There is something about the styling of that bike that I REALLY like. Not sure what it is about it though.

You had me until you said 60k quid. I still think its beautiful and amazing, and sounds terrific. But for me, I will just get an Aprilia RSV4 or Tuono V4, perhaps one of each and pocket the change.

IM FISTING IT !!!! - Jason Statham 2019

They must have told Alistair NO wheelies so there must be a load on the cutting room floor 😂😂😂

Anyone need a kidney? One careful owner, unexpected bike purchase forces sale.

60k bike and comes with £5 ebay special LED indicators haha

As someone who does a bit of machining I’ve got mad respect for that frame..

I've got an Ace (not the R version). It's completely bonkers, stiff as fck & "quite" loud. But a simply amazing bike, if only to look at. The detailing on it is off the clock.

Quote ' this is the bike Honda should be building' - totally agree,with their VFR heritage they should be making more bikes to get the juices flowing.My dream bike is a amalgam of the Ducati Supersport (s) chassis with a 1st gen VFR800 engine in - cam gear chain et al,c'mon Honda take your blinkers off !

I did have to laugh when our favourite bike road tester complained about gold bits wearing a t-shirt with the 44 surrounded by gold on a black background :) Forgetting the bling, the carbon fuel tank looks ace, do you have to put a "carbon" tank protector on the back to stop it being scratched? The exhaust too, shows how a proper exhaust should look like, not something with so many regulations that it needs something the size of the WW1 German Paris gun on the back. Fantastic bike. 3 x as expensive as the new BMW 1000 SBR and probably only half as good if you got you slide rule out. But this bike is just pure emotion and looks like a fanny magnet whilst giving multiple smiles per mile. I even hear their cars are not boring..........

Not the bike we need, but the bike we deserve. This is amazing. There need to be more V4 bikes. Cheap ones too! Cmon Kawi and Suzuki! Lets see a SV4-1000!

Them Race Technology Dash’s are old as hell, I had one in my supra like 10 years ago.

From square four motors, to four wheels and back to their roots making performance bikes with V4 motors from legendary origins Ariel is going to become a new superstar in the motorcycle market I feel!

This honestly looks a lot better than it did in the press shots. Looks really good in black.

As much as I love Ariel as a company, I have wanted an Atom in my garage for years. This is basically a VFR1200 with cams, exhaust and a different frame. Hardly worth the asking price even though it does look pretty damn good. I know they need to recoup R&D somewhere because they're low-volume. Looks and sounds like fun, but at that price no thanks.

Nice, but did Ariel tell you not to film upshifts? Can’t help but notice most times your about to shift up, you cut to a different scene...is the gearbox not great then?

WHAT?! I had no idea Ariel built motorcycles! Damn, that thing looks amazing!

Pretty sick bike, however for 60k i'd expect more than Nissin calipers and an old school Race Tech dash...

I saw the video title and immediately pressed play! I wasn't disappointed. 44 Teeth for the win! That SOUND!

‘Naughty Sausage’ should have been the title!

Jesus 60k? you should be reviewing Arch motorcycle too then

A lot of these expensive specials, you look at it and think how did they come up with that price. This on the other hand, you can see why it's so expensive. I would never get tired of the noise from this beauty.

I own a VFR1200. The idle sounds exactly like my bike. If there is a difference in the cams, it is very minor. Different airbox to fit the frame for sure, and the different ECU tune is a definite. Considering there are a few of us that have eeked out an extra 20+ whp from the VFR with exhaust work and ECU reflashes, it isn't all that surprising.

Still waiting for the Ariel Atom joyride video to the lunch from back in the days! ;)

They could have used a stock aprilia v4 and had the same power. Or had rotax build them a motor.

yeah it sounds loud .... but is that good ? V4 Tuono sounds much better.

Now that is a gooooood looking bike. I sat on one at the NEC bike show, and for me it was the bike of the show 😍😍

Watching this in the morning on the toilet to get away from the missus for 16 minutes bloody beautiful

Beautiful tool. It does most everything. But I'll keep my RSV4 RF LE, Tuono track/street 2up, Zero DSR, custom softail rat, chinese pit bike... And... The change. But if I were to change my mind...

When THE PR guy for Ariel says they spent a "FORTUNE" of stress calculations you know it's a decent amount of money.

Every time I see one of these (ok, 3 times at the NEC!!), I have had so much want. When I saw the Ariel bikes in pictures a few years ago when they were first released, I thought they looked bloody awful..... but seeing them in the flesh, they are just truly stunning - absolute works of art.

"Basically, it's a very naughty little sausage." 12:07

Honda wouldn’t sell them a new TFT Display for 60k ?

why would they re-use the crappy axial master cylinders that Honda's been using since the early 1980's. Surely at $60K, throwing in $500 quid's worth of Brembo or even Magura radial masters would not have hurt their bottom line. If this is truly a performance oriented bike, then there are some stuff on it that look very odd for the price bracket.

It's been 84 years...

Would probably still rather have a Tuono.

Did he just call you Alan?! Alan! Alan! Alan! nah it’s not Alan.... Dave! Dave! ....

This channel is just awesome. One minute you're caining around the sahara, then you're 5 mins from my house in good ole zummerset 👌

Still crazy to watch one of my favourite youtubers riding roads just 5 mins from where I live! A true south west Babi

If I had the money I’d fucking love one!

Sat on this bike at a show. That frame was uncomfortable on the knees

WHAT!!!! AMAZING! Sound of it!

Yamaha and the crossplane i4,...Aprilia and their V4,...Ducati and their twins but now v4's too;..KTM and their monster twin,...would LOVE to see Honda do something with that motor like this,...200+ hp from that v4 ,..would be awesome to see that in Superbike form,...maybe an update to the legendary RC51?

Love what they have done with the engine but when I sat on one at the NEC show that frame digs into your inner thigh. Be nice to have £60k spare to spend.

60K? Holy crap but what a simply astonishing (if not nuts) machine. You clearly do in this instance get what you pay for.

60k with nissin calipers? Hrmm .. Hey how much would it cost for a non carbon fiber version?

Dude, it’s been 3 years since the Ariel Ace preview! About time

How the hell am I only seeing this now (in 2022!?!?) 🙈

As long as people understand that this isn't an Ariel. This is a Honda in a custom frameset, built by a company that just bought the Ariel name.

Only thing I don't like is why keep the Honda badge on the engine???

Audio is never great in GoPro videos, but am I alone in thinking this sounds so similar to a BMW 1200 boxer with a system on it? Not that that’s a noise in any means 🤷‍♂️

The most interesting part of this video was the discussion with Tom about the nature of Ariel. To hear the clarity of how Ariel thinks about itself...we make what we like and hope enough people like it too...we don't have to appease shareholders so don't have to listen to their stupid ideas, etc. It would be so easy for them to get seduced by volume, even if it were measured in a few thousand instead of a few dozen. Prototype a de-spec'd version of the Ace R, sub contract the assembly to China and spunk out a production run many times higher than their little factory can, but they don't. Family owned businesses really are more innovative, more daring and more true to themselves. One of the reasons why Germany has produced such fantastic manufacturers, their manufacturing base is still dominated by family owned outfits who understand themselves and work to their own plan.

Piece of art. Thanks for taking us along

I was really trying to get a grasp on the sound of it;...when you hear a yamaha crossplane 4 on screen you can get a decent idea of what it sounds like in person (tho much better in person) same thing with a regular I-4 or Aprilias v4,.....BUT this thing sounds SO differently ,,.i Bluetoothed to my Bose home theater to see if the sound was more ,.."clear" and it sounds like that particular motor with that amazing exhaust system , puts out a very different sound from a traditional v4 that I'll bet sounds insane in person! Would love to hear one. LOVE the idea a special Red button you have to get off to push to unluck crazy mode in 1-2. 👍👍 with 200+ hp,..I'm sure it was about mandatory or it'd backflip too easily with the torque /pwr in this type of a Supernaked type bike. My 2015 R1 makes that power but in a very different way and you don't accidentally wheelie becaue of gearing and tune and where it makes peak trq,..but then a bought a new yamaha MT10 which uses a nearly identical. Crossplane 4 , re-tuned by yamaha to make 40 LESS hp than the R1 BUT MORE torque than the R1 and they torque is all through the rev range not just about 10,000rpm. When I got in it got the first time, after owning riding and tracking nothing but superbikes for 26 years, sitting on that Supernaked upright MT10 the first time , I didn't thing twice about being careful because of my experience on superbikes, supersports and the MT10 was returned to 40 LESS HP than what my R1 made, and with my experience it would be easy to thrash. I actually thought it would be easy to push the bike really hard. Got my gear on, started it, pull out the garage and down the road,..tires heated a little . Pull over and turn traction control to TC3 wheelie control "off" , and switched it to "B" mode which the manufacture called "Beast" mode in the press release. I thougt back then that was a bit tacky becaue it's retuned to 160 hp , a beast mode huh? Lol but the joke was on me. Didn't really think about how when try developed the MT10 , they shortened the wheelbase from the R1, added teeth to the rest sprocket, retunedthe Evy to make MORE torque than the r1 , but EVERYWHERE in the rev range, oh and an upright sewing position wth an upright bar. If I was telling someone whod rode much more "powerful " R1's ,How to ride the MT10 if say ignore the lower hp number , forget what you know from riding a superbike on track and slowly work it in becaue once I switched to B-mode and bike was warmed up I got rolling and eased into 50mph and even Jsut easing up to 50 I knew it was a different matching . 50+ I dropped back to 2nd gear to thrash onit for a little and see what it could do(I always assumed it'd feel MUCH slower than the higher hp and lighter R1 and it was a stupid thing to thing. That was my first naked bike or Supernaked I guess,in 2nd I slid up to the tank and leaned forward to nail it and keep some weight on the nose . I pinned the throttle open , alreAdy in gear (no clutch-up)and nearly backflipped at 55 mph it came up SO fast!!!! I nearly wrecked between that and then getting the front wheel down. Scared the shit out of me how hooliganish the MT10 is! What I learned was , Supernakeds require a respect for the Torque and for Supernakeds in genera!!!!! All those changes from yamaha from the R1 and a sportbike extremely nimble and flickabld and a total wheelie machine to my surprise and if you are pushing the bike, the wheel comes up in 5 of the 6 gears , wheelies up on corner exit all the time. Thrashing it around d town it's Jsut wheelies and hooliganism !!!!! The MT10 makes you a holliga and so easy to,..when next to a vehicle and they yell do a wheelie ,..it's the easiest wheelie around accept the superduke. Making more toque than the r1 and down lower and everywhere , the wheel is Jsut constantly lifting which made the MT10 , and my first Supernaked my ABSOLUTE. Most fun bike I've owned and rode. Forget the less hp claim it's the torque and where it makes it that you need to be careful of , SO in this burn ,.. a 1300+ cc v4 ,... totally spec'd out and over 200+hp IN a SUPERNAKED format I'll bet it's a total pant-shitter!!!! 😍. Saying it makes 200+ hp An already torquey 1300 v4 makes me think the torque number from this v4 must be crazy!!!!!! And a bike you need to really really respect. Surely it has wheelie control????i was also shocked the wheel wasn't comming up Mr. Faaggan???? Is it the weight??? I'd think this thing would make the MT10 look like a front wheel land livin. Matching?

Good on Ariel for having a go. They must be doing something right if the Ace R is polarising opinion.

Great seeing you riding some of my regular roads while reviewing this beaut

I think owning a '47 Ariel VB as a first bike should qualify me for a 50% discount and first option to buy.

Nothing sounds quite like a big v-four. Such a nasty engine note. ❤️

Hell Yes!!! I've been waiting for this for some time!

I was an Ariel Atom owner for 7 years. Sold it. Now, I see I will have to buy this bike...

Very cool bike & review although I fail to see why they'd choose to buy a VFR engine & almost completely rework it at great expense to themselves & the customer as well as taking ages, when they could just buy a Panagale or RSV engine instead. They'd need to do next to nothing to it other than a full system & some remapping for the same if not more bhp. It'd probably knock £20k off the asking price too!

Great little insight, nice to see you on the local roads to where I live, good trip down!

Why did i not know a thing about this??? Cool bike but I'm still in love with the Yamaha 3 cylinder.

Brilliant. The frame looks excellent in that darker colour. Well done lads.

That switch from Boooooawwwwww to waaawaaaawaaaaaaaaaaa Is insane!

I like the gold bits but not the lack of wheelies!

Overtaking the last car in a queue on zig zag lines before it’s cleared the crossing completely? Tut tut. Naughty boy ;-)

I didn't know this existed but now I want one

G*damn that bike sounds amazing. Who knew a boring ass VFR secretly housed such magic.

I'll probably never have enough spare change to warrant buying one of these but honestly I think for someone that does it's worth every penny of the £60k price tag.

I would love to know how they do the stress testing on the frame. Software? Stress it in a machine till it breaks?

If it has vfr connections, then it must be amazing.. Never forgotten 1991 750 vfr...

Is it in conformity with Euro "what so ever" regarding loudness? 😬

Brilliant vid Al! What an absolute beauty of a ride. Thank you.

How do you guys not have 1,000,000 subs??!?!?!

With over 200bhp from the v4, they could put it in the atom and it wouldn't be slow

They should have given it a sexy fairing

Holy smokes, mother of piston!

Omg this thing sounds unbelieveably good

This is how honda vfr1200 sounds.. Perfect

would they do something with a busa or zx-14 engine maybe with supercharging??

Thank christ they are all sold, I just got my hands on my pension fund 🔥

They should have used Aprilia V4 engine

I'm pretty sure I have the exact same indicators on my bike - cost delivered from China $15 on eBay. Cutting corners on a £60k bike?

love the gold, love the carbon, LOVE THE BIKE!!!

Someone needs to build a conjoined-crank V8 version of the crossplane R1 engine.... essentially a crossplane V8 2.0L engine sounding like a Coyote 5.0 V8 in a small package. That said, I hated the VFR1200 engine sound the day it rolled off the assembly line. The firing interval makes it sound like a sinus infection on a bass saxophone. A proper sounding V4 is a Yamaha Vmax, VFR800, Tuono 1100, or similar.

Is it just me, or is the rake on that thing crazy straight? I wish Ducati would get off their arses and panigale a naked street from the ashes of the cartoon bedroom designed monsters they ruined in 2009. This is exactly the right direction. Fabulous.

I expect that a tuono v4 would murder it on any road or track. And 40-odd grand change in the bank.

If the ACE is the motorcycle-version of the ATOM, why not build a bike-version of the NOMAD?? The CRF1000/1100 Africa Twin would make a good donor.

Is it good for a beginner?..looks somewhat tame..

The Aerial is the only naked bike I like, it’s beautiful 😍

Where's the corner Al was getting his knee down? 😉

I'd be curious to see track times from this thing. We know the Atom is fast as hell compared to most cars but so many motorcycles come from the factory as essentially race-spec will millions poured in to development. I have my doubts this is to motorcycles what the Atom is to cars.

Are those aftermarket Highsider Sempion mirrors?

Please get a better mic to capture the exhaust sound. Absolutely love your content but when it gets loud, all the detail gets lost!

So, how does this compare to the latest Tuono ?

Any idea how many Decibels at 5000 Rpm?

Great Britain and yes expensive but hey rich people who can afford to buy one have premium engineering and its sounds awesome like a big bore rc30 bloody well done