This has to be one of the least-known motorcycles built since the end of World War II, with an Ariel 4G Mark II Square Four engine bolted into a Roger Slater frame. The photo model is one of the two prototypes, and lacks some of the amenities of the production versions – such as the side panels.

The Healey 1000/4 does not appear to be listed in any of the popular motorcycle encyclopedias, and the only major mention to be found in motorcycle histories are some three pages in Roy Bacon’s “Ariel – The Postwar Models.” I remember reading something about it in an American motorcycle magazine in the early 1970s, but that is about it. After punching a few keys on my computer a dozen different sites come up, with varied information. Any number of articles have probably been written about this bike in British magazines, but apparently those stories are not online.

Starting at the beginning means back to the first 997cc OHV Ariel 4G engine. An earlier, smaller, OHC version existed, but we’ll leave that out. That 4G was around from 1936 to 1959, with Ariel advertising Squariels that last year, along with the new two-strokes.

The biggest problem with an air-cooled square four is that the front cylinders do fine, but the rear pair can overheat. Over the quarter-century of the 4G’s production – minus a couple of years due to the war – there were continuous upgrades in the run that totaled some 12,000 bikes. The final Mark II version had an alloy cylinder block with pressed-in barrels, and a lightweight alloy cylinder head with a slightly X-shaped induction manifold feeding all four cylinders via just one SU carburetor. A single transverse camshaft operated the eight valves. Two separate cast aluminum exhaust manifolds ran four separate header pipes, better for cooling. The dry sump engine had eight pints of oil in the reservoir. The oil-bathed primary chain ran back to a dry clutch, and the four-speed gearbox was a Burman GB.

The original purpose of this model was to haul sidecars, so it did not have much in the way of horsepower – around 40 with the 7.2:1 compression – but bags of torque. Sprinting, the British word for drag racing, was popular in the 1950s, and a stock Mark II, being rather hefty, ran in the mid-15s with a speed of around 85 mph. One fellow put a supercharger on a Vincent V-twin and turned 11.3 seconds in 1958, but when somebody tried that with a 4G, it ended with a big BANG! as the cylinders separated from the crankcase.

A pair of brothers, George and Tim Healey, liked playing around with the 4Gs, and were sprinting them in the 1960s. Some time after Ariel shut down 4G production, the Healeys began gathering up the unsold stock. They had a shop in Redditch, a few miles south of the Ariel factory, and by 1967 the spares were running out and building replacement parts had become their full-time business, called the Ariel Sq4 Specialists. Then they decided to build their own motorcycle.

The old Square Four had a rather basic, and heavy, cradle frame, with an Ariel fork and Anstey-link plunger suspension at the back. The boys got in touch with Slater, who was making tubular spine-type frames for Vincents under an agreement with Fritz Egli (read about the Egli-Vincent here). Could he make a similar design for the Square Four? Not a problem. Essentially the engine was suspended from the frame, using half a dozen through-bolts. Up front a turnbuckle went from the steering head to the crankcase – just in case there might be a similar BANG!, this would prevent the crankcase from falling to the road. Slater built the prototypes, and production versions were manufactured in Redditch. The oil supply was held in the backbone, with the Healeys putting in an improved lubrication system and bolting an oil cooler on up front.

Metal Profile, a noted company that supplied forks to many British motorcycle companies, made the front fork, with tapered roller bearings used at the head. Rear shocks were by Girling, with two-way damping. Brakes were Italian, a powerful alloy drum having a pair of two leading shoes to slow the front wheel, single leading shoe at the back. Spoked wheels were both 18-inchers, with a 3.25 tire on the front, a 4.00 on the rear. The large gas tank on this prototype was a Slater design, but when the bike went into production, a more refined style was used. Instruments were speedo, tach, ammeter, sitting above a seven-inch headlight; a little clock was added to the production dash.

End result was somewhat impressive. Better cooling and lubrication allowed the compression ratio to be upped to 7.5:1. The Healey advertising said the 1000/4 put out 50 horsepower, 10 more than the old Mark II. Potential self-destruction kept radical changes at bay. Wheelbase was 57 inches, seat height 30 inches, and ground clearance at the unprotected sump was 7.5 inches. Most impressive was the weight, 355 pounds dry, 80 pounds less than the Mark II.

The first showing of a production bike was at Britain’s big motorcycle show in late 1971, and improvements went on over the next six years, ending with disc brakes and mag wheels, Italian fork and shocks. But the price was high, more than the new-in-1975 Gold Wing, and the company shut down in 1977. Precisely how many production models were built and sold is not known, but 18 seems to be a fair number. Plus nine or 10 kits for people who already had the 4G engine. Collectability? A Healey sold at auction for $40,000 in 2016.

Source: RiderMagazine.com

This little charmer was in the first wave of Japanese bikes to enter the U.S. market, thanks to Hap Jones, a motorcycle racer and businessman of considerable note. Hap had been selling British bikes in the 1950s, and then decided to get out of the retail business, focusing on his more profitable distribution side. And the Japanese manufacturers were just getting interested in American buying habits, with Honda opening up for business in 1959, Yamaha in 1960.

So Hap got on the phone to Japan in 1961 and had a chat with the Tohatsu suits, who were undoubtedly very happy at the thought of getting into the burgeoning U.S. market, especially with a well-known and highly respected gent like Hap Jones. They arranged for a couple of 50cc Runpet models and several 125s to be sent over, a deal was struck and Hap introduced them to the world with a full-page ad in the January 1962 issue of “Cycle” magazine…quite unusual for a start-up to spend that kind of money. Then he had the good fortune to have a rider on a Tohatsu 125 win the lightweight Sportsman road race at Daytona, which gave him great publicity. Within a few months he claimed to have 300 motorcycle dealers and a number of sporting-goods stores carrying the Tohatsu line.

What was this little Runpet Sport? And this Tohatsu Company? The word is a combination of Tokyo and “hatsudoki” (engine factory), the origins going back to 1922 and the Takata Motor Research Corp., which made its reputation by building a small motor for a highly successful rail-track car. The name was changed to Tohatsu in 1939, and the company became focused on producing military equipment, including small motors to run little generators. War came and went, the factory survived, and it began selling these little motors to other companies building motorized bicycles. “Heck, we can do that ourselves,” some executive said, and Tohatsu began selling kits for bicycle owners to mount themselves, with gas tank, exhaust system and bracketry.

Better yet, it would build a sturdy bicycle, with a telescopic fork. In 1953 the Puppy appeared, powered by a 58cc two-stroke. Not a very attractive vehicle, but mildly efficient. In the mid-’50s the Japanese were all desirous of personal transportation and some 80 companies were competing in the motorized two-wheeler market. By 1956 Tohatsu was the biggest of the lot, selling 70,000 motorbikes, twice the number that Honda was. But competition was getting fierce, and the serious outfits like Honda, Yamaha and Bridgestone were busy modernizing their products, while dozens of the small operations were shutting down. Unfortunately Tohatsu’s success was followed by some major financial mismanagement, with lots of borrowing going on to keep the company afloat. In 1960 the government, through something called the Rehabilitation Act, arranged for Tohatsu to be bought by the Fuji Electric Manufacturing Corporation, the presumption being that this larger concern might be able to get Tohatsu back on its financial feet.

Motorcycles were just a part of the Tohatsu Company, with marine hardware, from bilge pumps to outboard motors, being more important. However, the two-wheeler R&D boys had been hard at work with new models now at hand, including the 50cc Runpets, the Japanese advertising saying in translation, “…with the accent on having fun!”

The Runpet Sport was indeed a sporty creature, with a highly tuned 49cc piston-port engine, fed through a TK carburetor that, like the Amals of the day, had both a tickler and a choke. A single-disc clutch connected to a three-speed gearbox. The factory claimed it put out 6.8 horsepower at 10,800 rpm and was capable of speeds in excess of 60 mph. Quite astounding for a street-worthy little single! It should be noted that 50cc racing was quite popular back then, especially in Japan.

Unfortunately Tohatsu did not get into developing automatic oiling, and owners had to do things the un-fun way, mixing the oil with the gas. As well as kickstarting the tiny terror. Tohatsu had put an electric starter on its basic Runpet with a lower state of tune, intended for the commuter and housewife, but the Sport was to live up to its name.

Chassis was simple, with a large tubular steel backbone frame from which the engine hung, two bolts securing the head; two more were down at the back close to the swingarm pivot. A telescopic fork up front. Two pairs of arms went back from the main frame to hold the saddle and places for bolting the tops of the two shock absorbers.

The 17-inch wheels had drum brakes, and the distance between axles was 44.5 inches. A 100 mph speedometer (rather optimistic) sat in the headlight nacelle, and a very small windshield served to enhance the sport look. A short saddle and no passenger pegs indicated that this was a one-up ride. But you could get the groceries, as there was a small luggage rack and two tiny pannier bags, made from the hide of a Nauga. Total weight was 135 pounds.

There were several options as to presentation, and this one has the scramblerish high pipe and small skid plate. Shiny chrome fenders and nice paint on the tank and side panels enhanced the image. The company was also putting out new two-stroke models, designed with American riders in mind, like a 125 parallel twin with four gears and 15 horsepower.

All to no avail. Bankruptcy was declared in 1964 and the motorcycle side was shut down. We don’t know how many Runpet Sports were sold by the 300 dealers Hap Jones claimed were carrying the brand, but there don’t seem to be many in the used-bike lists.

Source: RiderMagazine.com