Just like Buddy
The Classic MotorCycle|January 2020
This genuine Ariel Cyclone twin, Sel Oak’s rare export sports 650, goes a well as it looks. And Buddy Holly bought the third one dispatched.
Steve Wilson
Just like Buddy

The Ariel Cyclone 650 is a relatively rare and undoubtedly glamorous by association model, so the first thing to get straight is that Steve Carter’s machine is a genuine Cyclone.

It’s number 19 on the Cyclone Register, where the most famous owner, Buddy Holly’s, is number three. Steve got his eight years ago, with neither buyer nor seller realising what it was. The engine has been out and used in another of Steve’s three Ariel 650s, and with his Irish sense of fun he also admitted, to wind up fellow club members, to creating a ‘pseudoCyclone’ with approximate red paintwork and stainless mudguards.

But the Cyclone you see here is the real deal, with chromed steel mudguards as found on the Ariel HS scrambler single, and Glamour Red paintwork (rather than the lighter, more tomato-like Cherokee Red), both features which lifted the Cyclone’s looks. The Club’s Cyclone expert, Sandy Stewart from Canada, confirms that those two were key identifiers from new for genuine Cyclones, along with the ‘HS8’ stamped by the engine number. All can be duplicated of course, so after Buddy’s bike made $450,000 at auction late in 2014, it’s a case of ‘Cyclone buyer beware.

A mighty wind

Steve covers up to 20,000 miles annually on his twins, mostly in connection with his work as a roving specialist insulation contractor (See TCM, February 2019 for further details).

We'll return to the back-story, and questions of provenance, but right off it should be said that this Cyclone is a cracking motorcycle. Its looks have real style and, well, glamour. The red 4% imperial gallon tank, with its round red badges and white-lined black centre section, topped by a broad, bolt-on, ribbed chrome centre strip surrounding the petrol cap, is absolute eye-candy. The slim chrome HS mudguards lift the looks of the whole plot.

This story is from the January 2020 edition of The Classic MotorCycle.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the January 2020 edition of The Classic MotorCycle.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE CLASSIC MOTORCYCLEView All
Runs should be fun
The Classic MotorCycle

Runs should be fun

The club run is an integral part of the old motorcycle scene. During 2020, a variation on the usual theme emerged, enabling people to ride in the company of like-minded souls.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2021
Hybrid chicken
The Classic MotorCycle

Hybrid chicken

BSA Bantams come in many forms, and the ability to interchange parts between different models permits an almost endless number of variants.

time-read
7 mins  |
February 2021
Green WITH ENVY
The Classic MotorCycle

Green WITH ENVY

Life aboard a 1950s 350cc British single is perhaps as good and as uncomplicated as it can get.

time-read
9 mins  |
February 2021
Worth the wait
The Classic MotorCycle

Worth the wait

Captivated by sight of one as a small boy, finally our man has the chance to try an NSU Max.And a ‘Spezial’ one at that…

time-read
10 mins  |
February 2021
The Motorcycle: DESIGN, ART AND DESIRE
The Classic MotorCycle

The Motorcycle: DESIGN, ART AND DESIRE

The concluding part of a two-part feature, in which the history of motorcycle evolution is examined and a new book’s author interviewed.

time-read
7 mins  |
February 2021
Cream rises
The Classic MotorCycle

Cream rises

There were several ‘star performers’ at Bonhams’ winter sale, as the choice machines achieved huge sums.

time-read
4 mins  |
February 2021
The Giant of Provence
The Classic MotorCycle

The Giant of Provence

With so few events to report from, it’s time to look back over a spectacular French event and look forward to its hopeful resumption.

time-read
8 mins  |
February 2021
Store cupboard special
The Classic MotorCycle

Store cupboard special

A big box of presents? Must be Christmas! More deliveries keep the project on track.

time-read
6 mins  |
February 2021
By 1929, CJP Dodson was a bona fide top level road racer, pretty much unbeatable on the sand, too.
The Classic MotorCycle

By 1929, CJP Dodson was a bona fide top level road racer, pretty much unbeatable on the sand, too.

The diminutive Charlie Dodson was the last man to win a TT, the 1928 Senior, on a ‘flat-tank’ machine, then the next year became the first (and only) winner of a TT on a saddle tank Sunbeam, as well as recording the last ever success in the Island for the Marston maker.

time-read
3 mins  |
February 2021
Cassandra the Canadian Commando
The Classic MotorCycle

Cassandra the Canadian Commando

After landing a new job and with time on his hands, a young man in Vancouver decided to restore a British motorcycle considerably older than him.

time-read
8 mins  |
February 2021