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Ajs S3, 1931, One of 10. The Ajs S3 was produced in an attempt…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Auckland
Date:
18-Mar-2009
Lot No.
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Description:
Ajs S3, 1931, One of 10. The Ajs S3 was produced in an attempt to revive the flagging position of the Ajs company which had over-diversified on the cusp of the great depression. As a result, the Ajs activities were broken up and sold. The motorcycle business was acquired by Matchless, an everyman's brand that was well known for no-nonsense hard-working machines. Unfortunately the design philosophy of the S3 was a long way off and Matchless squashed the innovative promise of the transverse V-twin and according to authoritative reports, only 10 examples of the S3 were ever built. The history of this example, as told by Alan Black, is well documented: sold new in Blenheim in 1932, the machine changed hands and belonged to the uncle of Trevor Harris (of vintage Harley-Davidson fame). By the late 1940s, it belonged to Peter Coleman who used it daily (Peter, at one stage, identified to Alan a small strengthening repair he had made). Alan Black acquired the machine from Peter Snell, who had found it in a fowl house in Washington Valley, Nelson where he and a friend were doing a spot of gardening. The machine was given to Peter as part-payment for his labour! It then languished for a number of years in a basement under the Black Cat Dairy in Annesbrook, Nelson, and from there landed in the talented and patient hands of Alan Black. Black spent eight years ensuring the machine was recommissioned to the highest possible standard, to the extent that even the burred nuts and bolts were carefully dressed so the originals could be used again. As a result, the machine won the 1989 New Zealand national vintage rally concours. The S3 was one of the earliest practical applications of the simple engineering logic that said that by mounting the V-twin transversely in the frame it would be lined up for shaft drive. It also allowed more efficient airflow across the cylinder heads. Other exotic features of the S3 were that the side valves were operated by chain-driven cam shafts on the outside of the cylinders, and that it applied a dry clutch. In 1931, Ajs's development rider, George Rowley, was instructed to enter the S3 in the truly gruelling Scottish six-day trial and to find two other riders to make up the team. However, the bike's poor (and unwarranted) reputation deterred any other rider from accepting the ride! In the end, against all odds, Rowley won the Gold medal astride his lone Ajs S3. For all its faults, it stayed the distance, just as this S3 has done.
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Motor Vehicles: Motor Cycles