BSA ARIEL 3
Real ownership data from 54 UK ARIEL 3 motorcycles — mileage, MOT pass rates and the faults that actually come up, taken from DVSA test records rather than opinion.
Most common ARIEL 3 problems
Ranked by how often each fault appears in this model's MOT history.
| Fault | Severity | Share of faults |
|---|---|---|
| Tyres | fail | 26.8% |
| Other | fail | 13.4% |
| Brakes | fail | 11.3% |
| Lights and indicators | fail | 8.2% |
| Steering and head bearings | fail | 4.1% |
| Suspension | fail | 4.1% |
| Electrical | fail | 2.1% |
| Wheels | user entered | 1% |
Advisories (wear noted but not failed) are excluded above; the most common is suspension.
ARIEL 3 mileage and reliability by year
Use this to judge whether a specific bike is high or low mileage for its age.
| Year | Examples | Median mileage | Miles/year | First-time pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 6 | — | — | 92.31% |
| 1971 | 17 | — | — | 85% |
| 1970 | 15 | — | — | 91.89% |
ARIEL 3 questions, answered with data
What are the most common problems with the BSA ARIEL 3?
Across 54 UK examples, the most frequently recorded MOT faults are tyres (26.8% of all recorded faults), other (13.4% of all recorded faults), brakes (11.3% of all recorded faults).
Is the BSA ARIEL 3 reliable?
86.96% of BSA ARIEL 3 MOT tests are passed first time, with an average of 0.64 faults recorded per test. This is measured from DVSA MOT records, not owner opinion.
Based on DVSA MOT test records for 54 BSA ARIEL 3 motorcycles registered in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.