AJS & Matchless Owners Club

The Model 8 is running really well now, managed a 25 mile relatively high speed run yesterday with nothing going wrong, apart from the tappet cover oil leak that seems impossible to stop - I'll have another go when I fit the missing head steady in a few weeks time.

Current issue is that since fitting a pair of new old stock shock absorbers (which are the correct length and about half an inch longer than the previous ones) the stand no longer supports the bike securely and there is the constant risk of it toppling over unless I park it on a piece of planking.

Question is, where do these stands wear and how best to fix them? I've read somewhere here on the Forum that they are difficult to fit with the spring etc, can someone advise me please?

Steve S

Hi Steve

I'm not familiar with the Lightweights, but one thought that springs to mind is the possibility of welding extra steel to the feet of the stand?

Malc

Is the angle at which the stand sits when fully deployed correct? (80 degrees ideally). Does the stand lift the rear wheel clear of the ground as it deploys in the middle of its arc (@ 90 degrees), then lets the wheel down as it deploys fully? If so, the stops may be worn & a little weld applied to both stops equally may help. Otherwise it may be the stand pivot holes are worn oval. TTFN Jack

Usually the triangular shaped stops get worn or split at the weld causing the stand to rotate too far forward. Also, the early ones had a flimsy stand anyway but the late ones had a more solid affair (interchangeable if you can find one)

The same thing happened on my G3 when the tyres were replaced!