JLA855 Square 4
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2026 11:42 pm
My father had about 20 Motor Bikes but his last few were all Ariels and I know the last couple were Square 4’s.
I know he had a 600 Sq4 at the end of WW2 which he drove to the Alps with a friend who then had to operate the throttle by hand from the
pillion half of the way home because the linkage broke. A story he told me several times and I have wondered about the contortions that may have entailed.
He then bought a 1000 in 1947 and built an open top sidecar for it and he took my Mum on a tour of Italy for their honeymoon in it. I was told I was carried in the sidecar with my Mum as a baby but that my arrival provoked its sale so they could buy a car.
I inherited a drawing of it with the sidecar showing its registration JLA855 and I recently decided to check outthe Government registration site and it
showed a new log book had been issued in 2023.
So I am assuming someone still has it. It would be nice to know if it does still exist.
All the Best
Peter Powell
I know he had a 600 Sq4 at the end of WW2 which he drove to the Alps with a friend who then had to operate the throttle by hand from the
pillion half of the way home because the linkage broke. A story he told me several times and I have wondered about the contortions that may have entailed.
He then bought a 1000 in 1947 and built an open top sidecar for it and he took my Mum on a tour of Italy for their honeymoon in it. I was told I was carried in the sidecar with my Mum as a baby but that my arrival provoked its sale so they could buy a car.
I inherited a drawing of it with the sidecar showing its registration JLA855 and I recently decided to check outthe Government registration site and it
showed a new log book had been issued in 2023.
So I am assuming someone still has it. It would be nice to know if it does still exist.
All the Best
Peter Powell