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Difference between revisions of "AJS ISDT"
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“We were on our way to Llandrindod Wells for the selection tests – riding our bikes of course – when near Earls Court a car emerged from a junction and Hugh was knocked off resulting in a badly broke his leg: one which took him a long time to recover from. It ruled him out of the ‘55 ISDT so Bob Ray was promoted to the Trophy squad and I – as first reserve – took Bob’s place in the Vase A team. | “We were on our way to Llandrindod Wells for the selection tests – riding our bikes of course – when near Earls Court a car emerged from a junction and Hugh was knocked off resulting in a badly broke his leg: one which took him a long time to recover from. It ruled him out of the ‘55 ISDT so Bob Ray was promoted to the Trophy squad and I – as first reserve – took Bob’s place in the Vase A team. | ||
The bikes themselves were just standard road bikes taken from the production line and prepared in the comp shop for the six days. During much of my time with AJS Hugh was the comp shop manager, Wally Wyatt did the engines and the rest of the crew comprised of Charlie Plummer, Fred Billot, John McClaren and Bob Manns although Bob worked mainly on his own bikes. Typical preparation for the six days would involve stripping and rebuilding the engines, changing or modifying the rear swinging arm - to accommodate a 4” trials | The bikes themselves were just standard road bikes taken from the production line and prepared in the comp shop for the six days. During much of my time with AJS Hugh was the comp shop manager, Wally Wyatt did the engines and the rest of the crew comprised of Charlie Plummer, Fred Billot, John McClaren and Bob Manns although Bob worked mainly on his own bikes. Typical preparation for the six days would involve stripping and rebuilding the engines, changing or modifying the rear swinging arm - to accommodate a 4” trials tire - and the fitment of QD wheels. Other modifications would include a two into one exhaust system, replacing the heavy pressed out guards with lightweight alloy ones, securing Bowden wire to wheel spacers, the duplication of control cables, an air bottle, a tank top bag for tools and spares and a ‘nail catcher’ on the front wheel. I’ve also got a feeling that they changed the gearbox internals for one with wide ratios; this gave the clutch an easier time in tight sections and gave a decent top speed on the open road. I can’t remember much about the event itself other than it tipped with rain which made some of the hills more like one day trials sections. | ||
The forks had hell of a pounding and prior to the broken spindle clamp I’d lost all of my damping” | The forks had hell of a pounding and prior to the broken spindle clamp I’d lost all of my damping” | ||
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| Rear suspension || Twin shock swinging arm | | Rear suspension || Twin shock swinging arm | ||
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| Front | | Front tire || 2.75 x 21” trials | ||
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| Rear | | Rear tire || 4.00 x 18” trials | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Top Speed || 90mph (estimated) | | Top Speed || 90mph (estimated) | ||
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