Deriving its name from that of founder Arno Dietrich, the Ardie company built motorcycles at Nürnberg, Germany from 1919 to 1958. Ardie’s first models were powered by its own two-stroke engines but after Dietrich’s death in a racing accident in 1922 the firm passed into the ownership of the Bendit family and switched to the British JAP from 1925. During the early 1930s the firm was notable for a range of refined, well-equipped models featuring Duralumin frames, though the latter were soon supplanted by cheaper tubular steel types. Forsaking the JAP, Ardie used a variety of engine suppliers from the mid-1930s onwards but after WW2 returned to making its own two-stroke units, which were used to power a range of commuter models. Representing the zenith of Ardie production, this wonderful, Duralumin-framed, JAP-engined Silberpfeil (silver arrow) was rescued in 1962 by Professor Ehn’s father, who purchased it from a scrap metal dealer intent on cutting up the valuable alloy frame! The machine remained in storage, untouched, for the next 20 years before being placed in the Museum soon after its opening. Visitors and other collectors assisted in tracking down missing parts, including an original silencer from which patterns were made, and in 1995 the Ardie’s restoration commenced in the Museum’s own workshops. A magnificent sight, the machine is presented today in fully restored condition, with only the tank transfers needed for final completion.