AJS & Matchless Owners Club

Hi

I have just posted some pictures ;

REF : AJS 350 16 MC Motorcycle 1950 Trails Bike Working Order.
I have this bike and it is fitted with 19inch wheels and road tyres
Also a road ratio gear box and footrests.
The original 18inch and 21inch wheels and tyres together with gear box low 1st,2nd &3rd also foot rests , exhaust etc came with bike.
The clutch is the 5 spring competition tyre. The forks are fitted with 1 & a quarter inch stanchions
The frame No is 2362
The engine No is 50-16-12521 ( 50 s over 16 M then 12521

The 12 volt lighting is powered by an ALTON alternator
The bike was reregistered in 1996 underneath the road modification it is very original 1950 trails bike.

I have the above mentioned gear box ; GB 28E55 l234 with the numbers 917 in a small box.

Is this/was an original 1950 AJS trial bike ?

You do not show the frame number. Is frame number 2362 correct? If so, this is not a competition frame number.
2362C would be a competition frame number.

Hate to say it but in addition to the frame number the c on the engine does not look to be in the factory script, too small. The timing cover is Matchless the engine crankcase AJS. It all points to a bike that has been built up or modified for trials with an Alfin barrel. Having said that i have a bike i built from a calculated 22 donor bikes and i am very happy with it. Not many have survived as original, ride and enjoy.

GB28E55 is from a 1955 G80S.
Dave

One of the clues is that the competition engines were only stamped with 4 digit numbers and not 5 as yours.

The highest competition ENGINE number I noticed was starting No. 4958 in 1964 Roy.
The bike in question has a 1950 16M engine number. CS is certainly not a factory stamping.

clive wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 8:24 pm Hate to say it but in addition to the frame number the c on the engine does not look to be in the factory script, too small. The timing cover is Matchless the engine crankcase AJS. It all points to a bike that has been built up or modified for trials with an Alfin barrel. Having said that i have a bike i built from a calculated 22 donor bikes and i am very happy with it. Not many have survived as original, ride and enjoy.

That intresting how can you tell that the crankcase difference ?

db133 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 18, 2021 7:52 am That intresting how can you tell that the crankcase difference ?

Hi

By the serial number stamped into it - 'M' is an AJS designation, in this case a M16 which is a 350 single, if it were Matchless it would be 'G', G3LS which is the equivalent model

Regards Mick

I noticed you have now posted your AJS bike pictures in the " Photo's " section. They are of, engine and gearbox numbers and one showing a Matchless timing cover. There is also a club dating certificate. ( but no photo, of the frame number ) The certificate is dated January 1996. At the bottom two more stamping's have been added, the round stamping shows the date March 1996. The square stamping states the bike is registered PFO. I think you will find PFO is an age related number issued during 1996. The bike consisting of parts from various years and models.
Dating has come a long way since 1996. Far more information is now available and in digital format. The club dating officers have gained another 25 years knowledge since 1996 to add to this. Roy is probably now the most experienced Dating Officer the club has ever had. DVLA rules have also tightened up lot. Just enjoy your bike for what it is. An old bike built from many models & years to enjoy riding.

From looking at Roy Bacon's book, the Post War Models, the CS stamping was introduced in 1951 ?
The frame number could be correct for a G3LC, the AJS would of had an F stamped frame for a 16MC 1950, the Matchless seems to not of had the suffix.
Also the S would mean it was a springer and the wheel base for a Trials would be a short 53 inches.
There were kits though available then to up rate a rigid frame to a springer.