HOW YOU FIND THEM #18: AJS 'K7' RACER

There is little more exciting than finding an old racing motorcycle literally in a barn, slathered inside and out with heavy oil, a solid gold tale of racing history attached.  More problematic is the task of documenting such provenance, for while any 80 year old bike is interesting, a claim that it placed in the Junior Isle of Man TT of 1927, Jimmy Simpson aboard, is very much more interesting indeed. 

This lovely AJS K7 350cc overhead camshaft machine is certainly a rare beast whether roadster or racer, and one of very few from the category 'flat tank cammies', a super exclusive club.  Overhead-cam drive was typically adopted post-1927 by the motorcycle industry; the 'saddle tank' was the fashionable thing by that date, thus only early adopters such as Velocette (1925 - 'K' model) and AJS in 1927 with their model 'K', K7 (349cc) and K10 (498cc), but in this case, the letter referred to the year of production.  At first glance, the pannier tanks look to be the real deal, a factory racing item never sold to the public, and it bears a small plaque with '27 TT', plus the number '35'.  The early André steering and fork dampers look correct, as does the rare Binks twistgrip throttle assembly, and the Lucas horseshoe racing magneto. Curioser and curioser. (Above, Simpson making minor adjustments to his mount at the TT.)

The AJS was almost unique in using the simplest method of driving cams before the advent of rubber belts; a chain drive.  There had been plenty of chain-driven OHC motorcycles, cars and airplanes previous to this, but the recently-patented 'Weller' spring-steel blade chain tensioner (see above), used under license, meant the long travel from crankshaft sprocket to cylinder head was not accompanied by chain whip, nor the need to predict thermal expansion of the engine when setting up chain tension.  In short, it made such a drive elegant, and very easy to set up, as opposed to the Velocette/Norton/Ducati shaft-and-bevel drive, which took skills to get everthing shimmed up just right, and was therefore expensive to produce.

Specification of the 'K' engine was fairly advanced for the day, with a proper recirculating oil pump and aluminum rocker arms, although AJS had yet to discover that a camshaft acting directly on the rocker arms had different requirements from the whippy 'knitting needles' driving standard OHV engines.  The frame was a bit 'light' for a TT race, and the Druid sidespring forks primitive in their lack of movement...and in the case of this machine, the André friction fork damper would have simply slowed down the meager 1" of motion.  The brakes are nothing to celebrate either, for while the rear will lock the wheel, the front is good for one strong squeeze, then expect nothing further!  I speak from experience, having owned a 'Big Port' ohv from the same year... That said, while the chassis was strictly traditional, these 'flat tank' AJS' steer to a hair, even if they weave a bit at speed.

The oil coating under which this racer was found means somebody cared to protect it, even if the machine sat for decades.  The current owner first encountered the AJS 5 years ago, sitting in a cattle shed in Scotland, although the owner did not wish to sell.  Five weeks ago he was passing the same farm (370 miles from home), and stopped in to ask after the bike, on the off chance.  "The farmer had recently gone into an old persons home, to which his son directed me, and that was that!  He told me the bike had stood in the barn for the last 60 years; it was full of oil - the engine, tanks, every part that could hold oil did and then some...a sort of very heavy oil all over.  He said it was Jimmy Simpson's 1927 TT bike, but could not find the paper work. Still hope of this turning up."  Yes, hope will be necessary; if the story pans out, this is quite a discovery.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #18: AJS 'K7' RACER

There is little more exciting than finding an old racing motorcycle literally in a barn, slathered inside and out with heavy oil, a solid gold tale of racing history attached.  More problematic is the task of documenting such provenance, for while any 80 year old bike is interesting, a claim that it placed in the Junior Isle of Man TT of 1927, Jimmy Simpson aboard, is very much more interesting indeed. 

This lovely AJS K7 350cc overhead camshaft machine is certainly a rare beast whether roadster or racer, and one of very few from the category 'flat tank cammies', a super exclusive club.  Overhead-cam drive was typically adopted post-1927 by the motorcycle industry; the 'saddle tank' was the fashionable thing by that date, thus only early adopters such as Velocette (1925 - 'K' model) and AJS in 1927 with their model 'K', K7 (349cc) and K10 (498cc), but in this case, the letter referred to the year of production.  At first glance, the pannier tanks look to be the real deal, a factory racing item never sold to the public, and it bears a small plaque with '27 TT', plus the number '35'.  The early André steering and fork dampers look correct, as does the rare Binks twistgrip throttle assembly, and the Lucas horseshoe racing magneto. Curioser and curioser. (Above, Simpson making minor adjustments to his mount at the TT.)

The AJS was almost unique in using the simplest method of driving cams before the advent of rubber belts; a chain drive.  There had been plenty of chain-driven OHC motorcycles, cars and airplanes previous to this, but the recently-patented 'Weller' spring-steel blade chain tensioner (see above), used under license, meant the long travel from crankshaft sprocket to cylinder head was not accompanied by chain whip, nor the need to predict thermal expansion of the engine when setting up chain tension.  In short, it made such a drive elegant, and very easy to set up, as opposed to the Velocette/Norton/Ducati shaft-and-bevel drive, which took skills to get everthing shimmed up just right, and was therefore expensive to produce.

Specification of the 'K' engine was fairly advanced for the day, with a proper recirculating oil pump and aluminum rocker arms, although AJS had yet to discover that a camshaft acting directly on the rocker arms had different requirements from the whippy 'knitting needles' driving standard OHV engines.  The frame was a bit 'light' for a TT race, and the Druid sidespring forks primitive in their lack of movement...and in the case of this machine, the André friction fork damper would have simply slowed down the meager 1" of motion.  The brakes are nothing to celebrate either, for while the rear will lock the wheel, the front is good for one strong squeeze, then expect nothing further!  I speak from experience, having owned a 'Big Port' ohv from the same year... That said, while the chassis was strictly traditional, these 'flat tank' AJS' steer to a hair, even if they weave a bit at speed.

The oil coating under which this racer was found means somebody cared to protect it, even if the machine sat for decades.  The current owner first encountered the AJS 5 years ago, sitting in a cattle shed in Scotland, although the owner did not wish to sell.  Five weeks ago he was passing the same farm (370 miles from home), and stopped in to ask after the bike, on the off chance.  "The farmer had recently gone into an old persons home, to which his son directed me, and that was that!  He told me the bike had stood in the barn for the last 60 years; it was full of oil - the engine, tanks, every part that could hold oil did and then some...a sort of very heavy oil all over.  He said it was Jimmy Simpson's 1927 TT bike, but could not find the paper work. Still hope of this turning up."  Yes, hope will be necessary; if the story pans out, this is quite a discovery.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #17

Manuel from Cometa Restauracions sent in these photos with a query: 'Is this a Matchless?  Did they ever use a Blackburne engine?'

A wolf in sheep's clothing...clearly the saddle tank, which looks bloated over that delicate chassis, is a later addition, meant to modernize an obsolete (by the 1940s)  but very sporty Vintage machine, with legs, so to speak.  The front brake (Enfield), gearbox (Sturmey-Archer), carburetor (Amac), and engine (Blackburne) all appear to have left the factory together.

Blackburne-engined sports bikes are rare and desirable as the engines are beautifully engineered and gave terrific performance in their day, doing well in the TT and at Brooklands.  I'm waiting for the motor and frame numbers, which will prove definitively if the engine is a racer, and the chassis is what it appears to be.

But I leave it open to you to suggest...what is the make of this mystery machine?

HOW YOU FIND THEM #17

Manuel from Cometa Restauracions sent in these photos with a query: 'Is this a Matchless?  Did they ever use a Blackburne engine?'

A wolf in sheep's clothing...clearly the saddle tank, which looks bloated over that delicate chassis, is a later addition, meant to modernize an obsolete (by the 1940s)  but very sporty Vintage machine, with legs, so to speak.  The front brake (Enfield), gearbox (Sturmey-Archer), carburetor (Amac), and engine (Blackburne) all appear to have left the factory together.

Blackburne-engined sports bikes are rare and desirable as the engines are beautifully engineered and gave terrific performance in their day, doing well in the TT and at Brooklands.  I'm waiting for the motor and frame numbers, which will prove definitively if the engine is a racer, and the chassis is what it appears to be.

But I leave it open to you to suggest...what is the make of this mystery machine?

HOW YOU FIND THEM #16

A friend who is deeply and professionally involved with motorcycles has been looking for a good, unmolested Norton Manx for a couple of years now, and his search has yielded results beyond my imagining.

The machine is a matching numbers, barely used 1962 Manx 30M, the last year of full production at the factory, with the best equipment of this long-lived series. Double-overhead camshafts, rotating-magnet racing magneto, fabulous double-sided four-leading shoe magnesium front brake, long-range (Isle of Man) petrol tank, and the list goes on.. it even sits on the original triangular Dunlop racing tires.

As you can see from the photos, there is a hint of corrosion on the cadmium-plated (or is it satin chrome?) nuts and bolts, and the paint has oxidized a bit, but those are necessary clues to the bike's originality, strictly as per factory catalogue.

My friend says he'll replace the perished fuel lines, but that's about all - it's perfect as it sits.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #16

A friend who is deeply and professionally involved with motorcycles has been looking for a good, unmolested Norton Manx for a couple of years now, and his search has yielded results beyond my imagining.

The machine is a matching numbers, barely used 1962 Manx 30M, the last year of full production at the factory, with the best equipment of this long-lived series. Double-overhead camshafts, rotating-magnet racing magneto, fabulous double-sided four-leading shoe magnesium front brake, long-range (Isle of Man) petrol tank, and the list goes on.. it even sits on the original triangular Dunlop racing tires.

As you can see from the photos, there is a hint of corrosion on the cadmium-plated (or is it satin chrome?) nuts and bolts, and the paint has oxidized a bit, but those are necessary clues to the bike's originality, strictly as per factory catalogue.

My friend says he'll replace the perished fuel lines, but that's about all - it's perfect as it sits.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #15

When you've been looking for a good Vincent Black Shadow for a while, you realize: 1. they're fairly common, 2. they're expensive, 3. most of them are lousy, 4. when you find the One You Want, grab on with your teeth and don't let go until you've done a deal.

So it was with this machine and its new owners... when ebay and various dealers failed to produce a machine which 'felt right', it took the Old Boy Network, and many months of persistence, softening up, and raising the ante, to view a '52 Black Shadow. It has matching #s, and had been sold originally as a Lightning in the US, spending almost all of its working life on dragstrips and salt flats - to no tremendous avail actually, but the modifications added to the charm of the beast, which had sat in boxes for 35 years.

Something about the history of the machine, its completeness and low mileage, and its charisma, convinced the heroes of our story that they absolutely wouldn't settle for another Vincent, this had to be the one. Thus the queries began, tenative at first ('would you consider selling?'), then more bold ('would you take x?'). Finally an audience was granted.

The story improves: on the appointed day, sitting discretely in another box was a second Shadow engine, and just about all the rest of the bike, which had been drag-raced in the 1960s, using an overstretched Egli-style backbone for a frame... and the humorous indignity of having its crankcases chromed. That's just not going to come off! But, perhaps it could be painted black....

It seemed natural to make a package deal for the entire lot, taking the former owner out of the Vincent business completely, and perhaps adding significantly to his retirement fund. A deal was struck, a handshake, a hug, a trip to the bank, the renting of a truck to haul it all home, and two Vincents will, within 12 month's time, be on the road and roaring again. The new owner is no slouch.

HOW YOU FIND THEM #15

When you've been looking for a good Vincent Black Shadow for a while, you realize: 1. they're fairly common, 2. they're expensive, 3. most of them are lousy, 4. when you find the One You Want, grab on with your teeth and don't let go until you've done a deal.

So it was with this machine and its new owners... when ebay and various dealers failed to produce a machine which 'felt right', it took the Old Boy Network, and many months of persistence, softening up, and raising the ante, to view a '52 Black Shadow. It has matching #s, and had been sold originally as a Lightning in the US, spending almost all of its working life on dragstrips and salt flats - to no tremendous avail actually, but the modifications added to the charm of the beast, which had sat in boxes for 35 years.

Something about the history of the machine, its completeness and low mileage, and its charisma, convinced the heroes of our story that they absolutely wouldn't settle for another Vincent, this had to be the one. Thus the queries began, tenative at first ('would you consider selling?'), then more bold ('would you take x?'). Finally an audience was granted.

The story improves: on the appointed day, sitting discretely in another box was a second Shadow engine, and just about all the rest of the bike, which had been drag-raced in the 1960s, using an overstretched Egli-style backbone for a frame... and the humorous indignity of having its crankcases chromed. That's just not going to come off! But, perhaps it could be painted black....

It seemed natural to make a package deal for the entire lot, taking the former owner out of the Vincent business completely, and perhaps adding significantly to his retirement fund. A deal was struck, a handshake, a hug, a trip to the bank, the renting of a truck to haul it all home, and two Vincents will, within 12 month's time, be on the road and roaring again. The new owner is no slouch.