Renold Chain Facts & News

Helpful information and requests for assitance and advice
ClassicChainGuru
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Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by ClassicChainGuru »

Hi All,
I had the pleasure of meeting some of your folks recently at the Motorcycle live show & had a good chat about the current & future Renold Chain situation.

As in all bike forums I've searched, I've seen the same hearsay & "bloke down the pub" comments here & everywhere. Where possible, I've sought to put any such hearsay to rest. I won't post my usual fact list at present but I will at least introduce myself & briefly detail what I'm working on from inside Renold.

I started with Renold in 1983 as an apprentice & now work in product design. My personal passion though is with old British bikes & although I don't at present have an AJS or Matchless, I'd need even more sheds than I have to fit one in ;)

I can't go into any specific detail right now but i will say that it's all very positive for all classic bike riders & not just you folks. For the past few months, I've been writing a master replacement chain catalogue from all the records in our company archives. This database will be used as a basis of an online chain selector so although I can't guarantee it will be perfect, it's important that I make every effort to ensure what we do publish has been researched & vetted as best possible.

So far I've completed 1946-1975 & working back in time. Over the years, the records format has changed & I've reached a point where bikes are no longer recorded with a CC but a HP. This makes a mess of the database sort order & searching so I'm hoping your folks will be able to help.

These records go from the very first chain driven bike in 1900 to just after when Meriden shut. I've so far transcribed almost 8k individual records

Although the database will contain the HP figures & other basic facts, I'd like to determine what CC the bikes were also. If I post details of the bikes in question, I was hoping that you could let me know details such as CC & years of manufacture.

In the meantime, if any of you need information on what chains your bike would have been originally fitted with, I'm more than happy to provide what information I have.

Cheers,
Phil Toogood
Last edited by Guest on Thu Jan 02, 2020 8:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mick D
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Re: Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by Mick D »

Sounds like an interesting initiative Phil :)

Is it Renold's intent to put it into the public domain?

Based on your research, do Renold's intend to re-introduce chains currently not available?

Regards Mick
ClassicChainGuru
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Re: Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by ClassicChainGuru »

Hi Mick,

The database in it's current format won't be posted in the public domain but the data within it will be in the form of a searchable chain selector. However, I'll not dismiss the potential of publishing a range of printed catalogs once complete. I'm currently up to 7700 individual records for just 30 years of bikes so once I'm done, I'm expecting to at least double that.

At the NEC show, I gave a pair of catalogs covering 1952-1975 to the guys on your stand along with a bundle of Renold pens so they at least have a copy of what I've been working from for that date range. These catalogs are not to be reproduced due to copyright but can be used as reference by the club.

The idea is to give you the ability to filter against, make, model, year etc. to give you all the original chain details that would have been fitted as OEM equipment to your bike.

If that chain has a modern equivalent manufactured by Renold then that will be listed against the search results.

I'm afraid I can't share any further specific information right now but I will say it's all very positive for classic motorcycles everywhere.
When I'm able to share more news I will certainly do so.

As an example of the data I've recorded, I've pasted below an excerpt of just 1 model, the G3L.

Make Country Model CC Year Drive Renold No. Pitches
Matchless Great Britain G3L 350 1946/1955 P 110046 66
Matchless Great Britain G3L 350 1946/1948 R 110056 91
Matchless Great Britain G3L 350 1949/1955 R 110056 94
Matchless Great Britain G3L 350 1946/1951 M 110038 58
Matchless Great Britain G3L 350 1952/1955 M 110038 46
Matchless Great Britain G3L 350 1949/1953 D 110038 49
Matchless Great Britain G3L 350 1952/1955 D 110038 47

In addition to this, I've also been developing an extensive chart of all the bike chains Renold have ever made with dimensions, strength etc. that I should be able to share once complete.
ClassicChainGuru
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Re: Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by ClassicChainGuru »

Posted below are all the AJS/Matchless listings I'm currently working on covering the range of late 1920s to mid 30s. Ideally, I'd love to get hold of a full list of models specifications covering this range so I can fill in the gaps myself. Otherwise, if any member can help to at least identify the CC, I'd be very grateful.

Make - Model - HP - CC
AJS - 33/2 - 982cc
AJS - 34/10 - 495cc
AJS - 34/12 - 249cc
AJS - 34/2 - 982cc
AJS - 34/5 - 348cc
AJS - 34/6 -
AJS - 34/7 - 346cc
AJS - 34/8 - - 499cc
AJS - 34/9 - -
AJS - 34/B6 - 3.49HP -
AJS - 34/B8 - - 498cc
AJS - R2 - 9.96HP - 996cc
AJS - R4 - 3.49HP - 346cc
AJS - R5 - 3.49HP - 349cc
AJS - R7 - 3.49HP - 346cc
AJS - R8 - 4.98HP - 498cc
AJS - R9 - 4.98HP - 498cc
AJS - R10 - 4.98HP - 495cc
AJS - R12 - 2.48HP - 248cc
AJS - S2 - 9.96HP - 998cc
AJS - S3 - - 498cc
AJS - S4 - - 400cc
AJS - S5 - - 348cc
AJS - S6 - -
AJS - S7 - - 346cc
AJS - S8 - - 498cc
AJS - S9 - -
AJS - S10 - - 495cc
AJS - S12 - - 249cc
AJS - SB6 - - 348cc
AJS - SB8 - - 498cc
AJS - T2 - - 982cc
AJS - T5 - - 348cc
AJS - T5 - - 348cc
AJS - T7 - - 346cc
AJS - T8 - - 499cc
AJS - T9 - -
AJS - TB6 - -
AJS - TB8 - -
AJS - T10 - - 495cc
AJS - Unknown - 2.48HP -
AJS - Unknown - 2.75HP -
AJS - Unknown - 3.49HP -
AJS - Unknown - 4.98HP -
AJS - Unknown - 7HP -
AJS - Unknown - 9.96HP -
Matchless - 33/C - -
Matchless - 33/C/S - -
Matchless - 33/D2 - -
Matchless - 33/D3 - -
Matchless - 33/D5 - -
Matchless - 33/D5 - -
Matchless - 33/D7 - -
Matchless - 33B - -
Matchless - 33CS - -
Matchless - 33D/S - -
Matchless - 33X.R.4 - -
Matchless - 33X/4 - -
Matchless - 34/C - -
Matchless - 34/CS - -
Matchless - 34/D2 - -
Matchless - 34/D3 - -
Matchless - 34/D7 - -
Matchless - 34B - -
Matchless - 34D/5 - -
Matchless - 34D/8 - -
Matchless - 34DS - -
Matchless - 34F - -
Matchless - 34F7 - -
Matchless - 34X/4 - -
Matchless - 34XR4 - -
Matchless - A - - 400cc
Matchless - A2 - -
Matchless - C33 - -
Matchless - CSC - -
Matchless - D - -
Matchless - D/5 - -
Matchless - D/6 - -
Matchless - D/S - 2.46HP -
Matchless - D8 33 - -
Matchless - L/R - 3.47HP -
Matchless - L/R2 - 3.47HP -
Matchless - M - 5.91HP -
Matchless - M/2S - 9.9HP -
Matchless - M/3 - - 990cc
Matchless - M/4 - 9.96HP -
Matchless - R - 2.46HP -
Matchless - R/2 - 2.46HP -
Matchless - R/3 - 2.46HP -
Matchless - R/4 - - 250cc
Matchless - R/5 - -
Matchless - R/6 - - 250cc
Matchless - T - 4.98HP -
Matchless - T/2 - 3.47HP -
Matchless - T/3 - 4.98HP -
Matchless - T/3 Export - 3.47HP -
Matchless - T/4 - 3.47HP -
Matchless - T/5 - - 500cc
Matchless - T/R - 3.47HP -
Matchless - TS2 - - 350cc
Matchless - V/2 - 4.95HP -
Matchless - V/3 - - 500cc
Matchless - V/5 - 5.86HP -
Matchless - V/6 - - 590cc
Matchless - X - 9.9HP -
Matchless - X/R - 9.9HP -
Matchless - X2 - - 1000cc
Matchless - X3 - -
Matchless - X3 2-stroke - -
Matchless - XR/SC - -
Matchless - XS/C - -
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Eamonn
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Re: Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by Eamonn »

Philip, you may find this information useful:

http://www.jampot-germany.de/html/ajs_prewar.html
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ClassicChainGuru
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Re: Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by ClassicChainGuru »

Thanks for the link. It will certainly help me add some flesh to the bones of my database. As I've transcribed these records, I've been amazed as to how many manufacturers there have been & no longer with us.

The further I go back, the less clear the information is & although the later catalogs are well presented, by default, any bikes that were manufactured before the catalog date have simply been dropped.

This master catalog will have every single Renold chained bike through all the years covering the lifespan of every model.
I know it's not going to be perfect but it will be far better than any chain record produced before.
I've no doubt that the catalog will evolve from here on & there will be constant updates as & when new information is received.

It's going to be an interesting piece of reference work what it's done.
SPRIDDLER
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Re: Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by SPRIDDLER »

ClassicChainGuru wrote: The database in it's current format won't be posted in the public domain but the data within it will be in the form of a searchable chain selector. The idea is to give you the ability to filter against, make, model, year etc. to give you all the original chain details that would have been fitted as OEM equipment to your bike.
I assume the catalogue is to enable Renold to answer owners' enquiries as they occur one by one.
I'm not sure how it will speed up your laborious catalogue compilation but the info (chain size, number of links, engine c.c., etc.) for almost every AJS/Matchless/AMC model is already in the public domain and can be accessed online by Renold and by individual owners although thy don't give the Renold number (so you'll still have a job to see you through to retirement!). Have a look at the Owners and the Workshop manuals and in particular the Spares Lists available free of charge (donations welcome) under the 'Books' heading in the privately maintained Archive on the website here:

http://archives.jampot.dk/
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Which taken at the flood............'
ClassicChainGuru
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Re: Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by ClassicChainGuru »

The records will be available via the Renold website so you will essentially find the information yourself by filtering make, model etc.
I'm fortunate in that Renold record do at least cover all the chain details. What some of the records lack though are model names, CC, years of manufacture.

For now I've left them blank as per the records I've transcribed from but I do intend filling any gaps as & when I can.
Right now, I'm on a fairly tight schedule & hoping to complete the lion's share by late spring this year so the web & database people can turn it into a friendly web page.

Had a quick look at those manuals & there's certainly a lot tor ead there!
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jackstringer
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Re: Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by jackstringer »

I am working on transcribing some of the Piston data from the archives and putting it into a nice Excel File.
https://1drv.ms/x/s!AoQU31lH3_fGhYJ6_Qu ... A?e=txUmHa

It is still a work in progress.
ClassicChainGuru
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Re: Renold Chain Facts & News

Post by ClassicChainGuru »

jackstringer wrote:I am working on transcribing some of the Piston data from the archives and putting it into a nice Excel File.
https://1drv.ms/x/s!AoQU31lH3_fGhYJ6_Qu ... A?e=txUmHa

It is still a work in progress.
All such work trying to make sense of the many data sources in all formats to make it available in an easy to use format is always commendable.
You database as with mine & many others will always be a work in progress with such work being invaluable & should be shared to keep it alive.
If not finished in our lifetimes, it can easily be picked up by someone else with such a passion.
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