The remarkable 1940 Ariel W/NG is now in its original condition.
16:11, 19 Jan 2026Updated 18:57, 19 Jan 2026
Hugh had to source parts from all over the world for his project. (Image: )
A former Edinburgh Second World War bike has been preserved by a classical motorcycle fanatic who sourced parts from as far afield as Pakistan.
Hugh Ramsay, from Kincardine, fell in love with Ariel bikes when he was just 19 years-old. Fast forward to the present day and the 61-year-old is now in possession of seven models.
He was alerted to the availability of a 1940 Ariel W/NG 350cc through a bus driver in Peebles. After enquiring about the bike, he was able to purchase it, before setting about the goal of preserving the classic through hours of painstaking work in his home workshop.
The former agricultural machinery salesman said the war bike was built on December 28 1940. However he confesses he does not know the exact nature of its use during the war.
“The bike used to belong to an old school teacher who had taught at private schools across Edinburgh,” he said. “The old fellow lives in Duns and is in his 90s with his memory not what it was but he reckoned it was an old engineering department project bike.
“He managed to acquire it around 1969/70 and it followed him around ever since but it never actually ran. It was deteriorating to quite an extent but the bike was solid enough.
“Rather than restoring it, I decided to preserve it which is a lot more difficult. It still had its war time paint but a lot of rust.
“It took quite a lot of work, it needed to be taken to pieces. The tank needed to be lined with rust removed and the top half of the engine had to be taken apart and rebuilt amongst other repairs.
“A lot of the bike was treated for rust before being painted with army army khaki number three. There were a lot of specialised parts that were quite hard to find.
“I have seven Ariels so I could use some stuff from collections I had built up. But a rack had to be acquired from Greece and an original headlamp was sourced from Pakistan with great difficulty.
“A lot of former colonies had entire stores of stuff left behind. They have now found their way into the hands of enterprising Indians and Pakistanis who punt it to people like us for a fortune.”
Hugh detailed a long list of former Edinburgh owners such as: James McGregor of March Road 1947 who bought it from the army; then Douglas Mitchell of Bonnington Grove 1947; it was then sold to Douglas Mitchell of Fraser Avenue 1953; before John F Boyd from Duns who is still alive today.
He hopes someone in the capital may have further information on the Ariels past. He has asked for anyone who may be able to help to get in touch.
“It is a war time bike,” he said. “They were used for dispatch riding and by the military police – there were hundreds of thousands of motorcycles used during the war.
“They did not have mobile phones back then so often motorcycles were the fastest way of getting about to deliver news between units.
“I’ve put out an appeal for more information on this bike as I’m not sure if it was used abroad or domestically. A lot were brought back to depots in Kirkliston and Peebles alongside jeeps and trucks before being sold in huge disposal sales post World War Two.
“I have the old RF 60 log book which folds out. The earliest details are that it was rebuilt in 1947.
“A lot of the war bikes were bought up by bike shops who civilianised them but this one seems to have escaped that fate. Everyone at the end of the war wanted stuff painted in anything other than khaki green as they were sick of it but this maintained its original colour.
“It seems to have survived through the school system, being taken apart and put together again by students.”
Hugh is the chairman of the Scottish Ariels Owners Club and is the go to man for the brand in the country. The particular Ariel W/NG model is understood to have been in production from 1940-1945, its rugged character made it the perfect fit for army, navy and home guard personnel.
“I’m fairly well known for Ariels, I own seven of them, some pre-war, some war time and others post war,” he said. “I got my first 1939 Ariel Side Car outfit when I was 19.
“I sold it to my friend and it took me 28 years to get it back. I’ve got as far as Unst in the Shetlands and up to Skye and all over.
“I don’t own any other type of bike besides Ariels. It is amazing how far you can get on something that is 70-80 years-old.”
Hugh plans to take the preserved bike to the Scottish Motorcycle Show at Ingliston later this year.