New Bike - 83 Years Old!
Discussion
We’ve had a difficult start to 2021 - my Dad died the last week in February after a short battle with lung cancer.
Whilst I was growing up, for many years, Dad had an old 1939 250cc AJS. It was his pride & joy, he was a member of the VMCC, did loads of runs & shows, won quite a few prizes & genuinely loved his bike. Here he is on some VMCC run or other, enjoying his old AJS:
Dad had a longstanding back issue, and we lost my sister Jane in a road accident in 1994, so a combination of struggling to ride the bike and grief meant he lost interest in his AJS & sold it in late 1994. He never admitted it, but I know he regretted selling it the moment it was gone, but he found other interests and the old bike faded from memory.
Last summer, before Dad became ill, I managed to track his old bike down via Youtube of all places. I did a Google search on the reg number “HWL 994” and a recent video popped up in the search results:
https://youtu.be/6juzbPdPVFo
It was fantastic to see that the bike was still running & being enjoyed, although it was significantly modified from when my Dad owned it - the tank had been chromed, the engine modified, but it was definitely the same bike, with the number plates I’d made for it & a few other recognisable parts.
Dad & I managed to speak to the owner, with the plan that he might want to sell it back to us, but on speaking to him, it was clear that he loved the bike & had no intention of selling. We left it with an agreement that we’d pay the chap a visit & Dad could see the bike again some time in 2021, but, alas, cancer beat him to it.
Fast forwarding to the day after Dad died & this came up for sale on Car & Classic:
A 1938 AJS model 22 250cc. Identical to Dad’s bike, except for a twin port cylinder head & twin exhausts. It was, in fact, more like my Dad’s old bike than his actual old bike is now - black tank, original condition etc.
Of course, I had to buy it! So the deal was done very quickly & it was delivered a couple of weeks ago:
I was pretty impressed with the condition - it’s unrestored but has been kept in very nice running order all its life. On the day it was delivered, I got it running & managed a short run around the block, but it was clear that everything wasn’t perfect - it kept stalling under load & starting wasn’t the easiest of jobs. To be frank, I was knackered when I got back home!
It does look lovely in the garage though:
And it’s just a bit dwarfed by my GS:
Unfortunately though, I’ve been completely unable to start it since the day it was delivered. I was fully prepared to accept that it was my own hamfistedness & lack of old bike knowledge, but a friendly mechanic has taken a look at it today & found that the carb was badly bunged up with filth & then on cleaning it found that it was badly worn & in need of a refurb.
Surprisingly, Amal Carburettors still exist and even more surprisingly, they’re able to build me a brand new carb from new, old stock parts. It’s ordered & should be with me in 4-5 weeks. A Youtube video will, of course follow once it’s running properly!
I honestly can’t think of a better memento/tribute to Dad. This one is definitely a keeper!
Whilst I was growing up, for many years, Dad had an old 1939 250cc AJS. It was his pride & joy, he was a member of the VMCC, did loads of runs & shows, won quite a few prizes & genuinely loved his bike. Here he is on some VMCC run or other, enjoying his old AJS:
Dad had a longstanding back issue, and we lost my sister Jane in a road accident in 1994, so a combination of struggling to ride the bike and grief meant he lost interest in his AJS & sold it in late 1994. He never admitted it, but I know he regretted selling it the moment it was gone, but he found other interests and the old bike faded from memory.
Last summer, before Dad became ill, I managed to track his old bike down via Youtube of all places. I did a Google search on the reg number “HWL 994” and a recent video popped up in the search results:
https://youtu.be/6juzbPdPVFo
It was fantastic to see that the bike was still running & being enjoyed, although it was significantly modified from when my Dad owned it - the tank had been chromed, the engine modified, but it was definitely the same bike, with the number plates I’d made for it & a few other recognisable parts.
Dad & I managed to speak to the owner, with the plan that he might want to sell it back to us, but on speaking to him, it was clear that he loved the bike & had no intention of selling. We left it with an agreement that we’d pay the chap a visit & Dad could see the bike again some time in 2021, but, alas, cancer beat him to it.
Fast forwarding to the day after Dad died & this came up for sale on Car & Classic:
A 1938 AJS model 22 250cc. Identical to Dad’s bike, except for a twin port cylinder head & twin exhausts. It was, in fact, more like my Dad’s old bike than his actual old bike is now - black tank, original condition etc.
Of course, I had to buy it! So the deal was done very quickly & it was delivered a couple of weeks ago:
I was pretty impressed with the condition - it’s unrestored but has been kept in very nice running order all its life. On the day it was delivered, I got it running & managed a short run around the block, but it was clear that everything wasn’t perfect - it kept stalling under load & starting wasn’t the easiest of jobs. To be frank, I was knackered when I got back home!
It does look lovely in the garage though:
And it’s just a bit dwarfed by my GS:
Unfortunately though, I’ve been completely unable to start it since the day it was delivered. I was fully prepared to accept that it was my own hamfistedness & lack of old bike knowledge, but a friendly mechanic has taken a look at it today & found that the carb was badly bunged up with filth & then on cleaning it found that it was badly worn & in need of a refurb.
Surprisingly, Amal Carburettors still exist and even more surprisingly, they’re able to build me a brand new carb from new, old stock parts. It’s ordered & should be with me in 4-5 weeks. A Youtube video will, of course follow once it’s running properly!
I honestly can’t think of a better memento/tribute to Dad. This one is definitely a keeper!
well done you. Reg Local said:
Surprisingly, Amal Carburettors still exist and even more surprisingly, they’re able to build me a brand new carb from new, old stock parts. It’s ordered & should be with me in 4-5 weeks. A Youtube video will, of course follow once it’s running properly!
As I was reading your post I was preparing to write a reply saying "get a new Amal carb" 
. When I bought my birth-year Matchless, it had very similar symptoms, very hard if not impossible to start. New Amal carb later (about £175 iirc, twas 10 years ago tho) and it started and ran immediately and has done ever since!CAPP0 said:
Reg Local said:
Surprisingly, Amal Carburettors still exist and even more surprisingly, they’re able to build me a brand new carb from new, old stock parts. It’s ordered & should be with me in 4-5 weeks. A Youtube video will, of course follow once it’s running properly!
As I was reading your post I was preparing to write a reply saying "get a new Amal carb" . When I bought my birth-year Matchless, it had very similar symptoms, very hard if not impossible to start. New Amal carb later (about £175 iirc, twas 10 years ago tho) and it started and ran immediately and has done ever since!Sorry to hear about your Dad's passing OP.
But buying that AJS is a great tribute to his memory, and whenever you ride or even look at it I'm sure memories will come flooding back.
A mate of mine bought a 1930s Levis 350 last year that was his dad's favourite bike - he's still in negotiations with his OH about putting it in the living room!
But buying that AJS is a great tribute to his memory, and whenever you ride or even look at it I'm sure memories will come flooding back.
A mate of mine bought a 1930s Levis 350 last year that was his dad's favourite bike - he's still in negotiations with his OH about putting it in the living room!
Sorry to hear about your dad.
Congratulations on the new bike though, it looks a beaut! I’ve not ridden a 1930s 250 but I’m planning to get a Velocette MOV soon which was their version of your bike.
We have a slightly older AJS. It’s a 1928 K8 (500 OHV) that my dad bought in the late 1960s for £5 as a race bike.
This is as he bought it:
He raced it for a couple of years then it was put in the shed for ages. He put it on the road probably 30 years ago and still uses it regularly. It’s been loaned out to loads of people and is responsible for at least three other people I can think of buying one after riding it!
Here’s how it is now:
It hopefully won’t leave the family now
Congratulations on the new bike though, it looks a beaut! I’ve not ridden a 1930s 250 but I’m planning to get a Velocette MOV soon which was their version of your bike.
We have a slightly older AJS. It’s a 1928 K8 (500 OHV) that my dad bought in the late 1960s for £5 as a race bike.
This is as he bought it:
He raced it for a couple of years then it was put in the shed for ages. He put it on the road probably 30 years ago and still uses it regularly. It’s been loaned out to loads of people and is responsible for at least three other people I can think of buying one after riding it!
Here’s how it is now:
It hopefully won’t leave the family now
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