1951 AJS Model 18 Review
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- A video review of an AJS desert sled from the 50's. Working without a script or much of a plan, I did get a few facts wrong (when AJS was founded 1909) and the first name of the Stevens brother it was named for -- that being Albert not Alfred.
Love your bike and the way you handle it , my first bike was a matchless G3l from 1955 stripped and i wrung its neck all the time with no complaints.
That was in 1978.
Now i ride a sportster from 1996 everyday!
Cheers!
Love the styling. Sounds great too. Wish they were still around.
Handsome machine with a lovely sound, it looks like it'd be really fun to ride. Makes me wish I hadn't sold my old M20.
Desert sled, yes. The handle bars for sliding leveredge, and body lean. A lot of fun together when new and plenty about. I like my 1940s-early 50's BSAs.
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Beautiful machine. I think the AJS/Matchless big single is the best-looking engine there is.
I've also got a 1951 18cs, ready to restore and a huge box of spares
Slightly different though
mines got Jampot rear suspension
Loved the sound!
Very cool. The "C" indicates it's an off-road, competition model, the "S" is a swingarm model (mine was a road bike with rigid rear end - a plain Model 18,). I have a '54 Matchless G80CS (similar to yours) awaiting restoration too. Great old bikes.
this video definitly deserves more views, keep up the good work!
Letting the kick start lever slam back like that cracks the casings after a while. I miss my old 500. I commuted to work on it every day for 6 years and shined it up at the weekends to impress the girls, none of them would get on the back when it was covered in mud and oil.
thra5herxb12s Ditto, I learned the expensive way on a1970 Triumph Daytona. Let the kickstart lever up with your foot, don't let it flap back by it's spring. Also valve guides failed on that bike, and one of the coils. With Lucas being the prince of darkness, the moon outshined the headlight at night.
I have matchless 1956,g3ls, 350cc 1956....you can change the carburetor with suzuki TS 125 1998 - 2000....same diameter... Or u can order originally amal carburetor but is too expensive 😋, i think british bike from 1948 - 1960 its a good production era, cmiiw
Lovely bike with a lovely sound as well, just great! :)
super old Brit bike still going strong
@olive1913
Glad you enjoyed it. I'm working on improving the content and technique of my videos about old motorcyclles.
Beautiful bike Sir.
Thank you kindly
Beautiful lines
Pretty bike.
im currently working on a simson s51 (east german gdr fabricated 2-stroke bike) to transform it into a nice desert sled. might upload some pictures when i get finished. but the frame work is a pain in the ass, especally the shocks :(
Beautiful 💖💖💖
Glad you enjoyed it. I own and love new and classic bikes; but except for a retro Ducati Scrambler (looks like one I lusted after in the '70's) classic designs say "motorcycle". New designs just say "get outta my way".
@@JustPlainBill0 like 12 years ago buy all disassembled engine and transmission from a ajs m18 that was in santiago of chile, and was impossible get the nuts and bolts so talk with machine shop and they do for me all new bolt in a metric size, and transmission was with no clutch I get a Japanese engine and adapt the clutch and for discs I made from aa dry clutch the pads, and many others parts, for ignition get a distributor from a 2 cilinder Daihatsu and for points plate that was all made by my. Tha oil pump was missing, try to replicate the original but doesn't work and then I put a electric gas pump for put oil pressure and it works, yes ! Well for frame i get a 1956 Jawa frame that adapt too, well finally it runs , there was super difficult to get partes for British bikes that was my moto experience 👏🏻 😀 👍🏻
@@allanherrera9549 An amazing story Allan! I love it. It is possible to get British nuts and bolts now using the internet and sites like eBay.
51-16M is what he said it is. Is it worth a couple hundred? Isn't running.. looks fairly weathered..
@JustPlainBill0 i got a Simson S50 B2 from 1979. yeah well i thought about that too, but you got a upper sitting position on this bike and for riding in the forest you will need some nice supension too feel comfortable. Here in Germany they are also very strict with modelling vehicles in generall. so i got to keep it in line :(
I'll buy it! 😁
Sorry, you're about 10 years too late.
Albert not Alfred. After a certain year model its pretty much the same bikes as Matchless.
@olive1913
Hadn't heard of Simson - looked them up (AWO, MZ) and see that before the comunists made them make moped, they made some great enduros and won lots of Six Day events. Interesting company-- which model do you have? Post videos.
You can replace the shocks with solid struts to make the back end rigid.
I came across a 1951 AJS. Looks similar to yours but cant figure out which model it is. Turns over apparently, possible barn find? How much do these value? Thanks for the video!
greg collins The year of manufacture, model number and and serial number are stamped on the engine case (which houses the crankshaft). First two numbers are the year, second two number are the model, and last set of numbers are the serial number. For example, 51/16/12345 is a 1951 Model 16, SN 12345. (A model 16 has a 350 cc single cylinder engine, Model 18 is a 500 cc single.) If you find the numbers but they don't fit that schema, let me know. In 1963 they went to a single set of numbers to provide the same info.
thanks a lot. Im trying to get more info from him. Hes not asking much.. but no idea the condition... looks like everythings there by pictures. Looks old and beat though...
greg collins If you want to continue the discussion, shoot me a mail at plain-bill@hotmail.
Love this, I have a '51 16M in the road trim, simply the 350 version of yours. Such an underappreciated bike, thousands made and now as rare as rocking horse poo! www.jampot.com/ An excellent source of spares!
I really Hate it, when people say: British Bikes Leak oil. This is so "NOT true"! Motorcycles only leak
oil, after a cowboy Mechanic has about 3 spanners and a Big hammer to make stuff fit.
Sorry, but I have heard this for years, all it does is undermine British mechanical engineering!
I have built many British bikes over the years, none of which "leaked". It is really simple, because the design
is simple, does not mean you can throw it together like a toy. Reface all the Casings, check crank end to end float.
Get the whole engine dynamically balanced. Use modern machining, so you don't let the side down.
These engines were built to last for a very long time, the only problem was they appeared so simple!
So every cowboy could buy a few tools and thought he could fix his own bike???
Here's an old saying that I was told when very young, "A little Knowledge is dangerous, - & if you are not
sure, - Ask". Please don't take this personally, but You do have a very nice bike, please look after it.
PS, if you did what I suggested, you would be amazed how smooth it would run. Thanks again & have a great day.
Thanks for a very thorough and thoughtful analysis of the problem and the solution. I don't agree that the cause was simply "cowboy mechanics". I'm sure you're aware that Britain's manufacturing/machining equipment was worn out by the end of WWII and consequently, their ability to make the same part the same size twice in a row was problematic; This was responsible for most of the difficulty English motorcycles made in 1948 and for years afterward to hold oil. Rebuilding one the way it should have been done in the first place is a great solution. Thanks again.
Is it for sale ?
It was sold several years ago. I leave the video up for people interested in old British bikes.
Email sent thanks!