My AJS 250 !!

stevewatkin · Post by **stevewatkin** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 3:13 pm

quote:
Steve
What sort of mpg do you get out of it, the rebel used to be quite frugal. But also reliable. Does it have electric start as well

Ian

Dunno really but it seems to go on forever on a tank full so I guess it's just as economical as the Rebel. As far as I can see the engine is EXACTLY the same as the rebel inside. Differences are that the AJ has water cooling and twin carbs. Bike also weighs a little more and it's geared a bit higher, which seems wrong, but as long as you remember to change down on the hills it all works well.
I does indeed have an electric start, which is a good job 'cos it has not got a kick start!
I know I keep saying it but it's not a bad bit of kit. A little old fashioned compared to modern Jap but at least it still sounds like a motorcycle !! Considering I picked it up for well under a grand and it was in mint condition I'm happy.
As an aside, the first motorcycle I ever rode when I was about 15 was a 500cc trials Matchless then followed by a 125 plunger Bantam then a C15, Bond mini-car (197 Villiers) and so on. In the garage next to the AJ is an old Mobelette moped that hopefully will make it back onto the road one day.
So for me it doesn't need to be an authentic old bike to be an AJS just a nice machine that I can enjoy, and it's quite nice to have the AJS logo on the tank. Sort of gives one a warm glow!

BTW forgot to mention the 9 bicycles also in the garage!!Edited by - stevewatkin on 01 Aug 2012 1:17:52 PM

bigwol · Post by **bigwol** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 5:36 pm

Enjoy it, keep it maintained and ride safe.
Chinese bikes are coming along in leaps and bounds, there is now a 650 twin Kawasaki er6n copy on it's way.
Won't be long before they have a healthy share of the european market, same as the japs in the '70's. The AJS branded ones need some serious styling re-thinks for my money, but whatever rocks your boat.

Cerberus · Post by **Cerberus** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 6:01 pm

My wife (age 54) who is learning to ride has brought an AJS ECO-125. I quite like the looks of it, however, so far we're not impressed by the dealer as the clutch and rear brake were badly adjusted and if I hadn't been there to sort it she would have been really put off.

NoodleHead · Post by **NoodleHead** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 6:24 pm

Steve, thats a nice and shiny beauty. The tank with famous logo and the special wheels. Are they manganese? Fitted with screen and panniers, it looks really good.

Regal Raptor DD125E-5 Eos

stevewatkin · Post by **stevewatkin** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 8:49 pm

quote:
Steve, thats a nice and shiny beauty. The tank with famous logo and the special wheels. Are they manganese? Fitted with screen and panniers, it looks really good.

Let you into a little secret, those AJS logos came from ebay (item number 221071241115 )
I didn't like the Regal Raptor ones that were on it 'cos they looked like exactly what they were, a nasty imitation of the Harley logo!!
Wheels are standard and i guess they are made out of aluminium and painted gold to "NOT" match the rest of the bike! I'm pretty sure they are a rip off of the wheels Honda used way back, can't remember what they were called. By modern day standards they are quite heavy so it won't handle quite like Valentino Rossi's bike! Do i care? Not really just as long as it's rideable. You tend to get used to all the quirks and cope with them. Doesn't put me off.
Thanks for the comments.

RAY BOWMAN · Post by **RAY BOWMAN** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:00 pm

Thingking of Lada cars wern't they associated with
Skoda cars a while back Rob. So look at Skoda
now, where is the British Motor Industry?. GONE!.

stevewatkin · Post by **stevewatkin** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 2:11 pm

quote:

Thingking of Lada cars wern't they associated with
Skoda cars a while back Rob. So look at Skoda
now, where is the British Motor Industry?. GONE!.

Skoda is now a major player in the world car market but once upon a time they were laughed at! Bit like the Chinese bikes I think.
Don't think Skoda and Lada were connected though. Lada was Russian and Skoda Czech I think.
Back in the day I had an original rear engined Skoda and it gave me good service, especially considering the awful treatment I gave it off road and the like!
Got to keep looking outside the box.

DWS · Post by **DWS** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 2:35 pm

I believe Skoda are now owned by VW and share VW's research and development facilities (and probably finance), which is what makes them pretty good cars now. Though it's good to see they haven't lost their sense of humour in their advertising

bigwol · Post by **bigwol** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 1:00 am

Skoda (yes Czech) have been a subsidiary of VW since 2000 I believe and their cars are reputed to be decent quality since the fall of the East European block opened up trade. They certainly have good results in rallying. I too like the adverts but doubt i'll buy one of the cars, that badge is awful!

stevewatkin · Post by **stevewatkin** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:08 pm

OK, that's enough about cars, let's get back to posting about an old "modern" AJS please.
Funny that there have been a couple of comments on the line of "cruiser style bikes are not for me" and I must say I was amongst those a couple of years ago. When I decided to come back to motor bikes I didn't have much money so bought just about the first bike I came across that I could afford. This one had been looked after well by another mature owner and after a little research off I popped by train to Christchurch to get it. Paid my money and rode it back home to Orpington. Bit of a baptism by fire really but it wasn't that bad and I really enjoyed being back on a bike. Since then I have tried to replace the rather garish chrome bits with something a little more subdued when possible and it's starting to look better. So now when I go out to the garage I like what I see and I never thought I would say that about a cruiser! I think it's just about enjoying what you have and not getting too blinkered.Edited by - stevewatkin on 04 Aug 2012 11:01:24 PM