The Shed Logo
SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW

From Rust to Rrroarrr video part six

Restoring a 1952 AJS Part 6 – electricals (breadboard testing), suspension, controls, petrol and oil I'm continuing the rebuild of an old ("1952") AJS 500cc motorbike. This is the second rebuild it has had; the first was by someone else.  I have ownership papers which indicate a rebuild in the late 1960s, and it seems to have been a very broad collecting effort, pulling in different parts from different machines. The web makes it easier to identify the bike’s parts, and mine date from 1947 to at least 1956: I feel that I'm not constrained by concerns over authenticity.  I can change parts if I want to: personalise the machine a little.  Readers of my first article will know that I used part of a barbecue hotplate to fix a broken cooling fin on the motor, using nickel electrodes.  I have been electroplating using nickel as a replacement for decorative chromium. I can hear The Who singing "Substitute".  

Restoring a 1952 AJS Part 6 – electricals (breadboard testing), suspension, controls, petrol and oil

I’m continuing the rebuild of an old (“1952”) AJS 500cc motorbike.
This is the second rebuild it has had; the first was by someone else.  I have ownership papers which indicate a rebuild in the late 1960s, and it seems to have been a very broad collecting effort, pulling in different parts from different machines.
The web makes it easier to identify the bike’s parts, and mine date from 1947 to at least 1956: I feel that I’m not constrained by concerns over authenticity.  I can change parts if I want to: personalise the machine a little. 
Readers of my first article will know that I used part of a barbecue hotplate to fix a broken cooling fin on the motor, using nickel electrodes.  I have been electroplating using nickel as a replacement for decorative chromium. I can hear The Who singing “Substitute”.  

Share:

More Posts

Work, life and play

3 June 2020

Most people have separate places for work, play, accommodation and their hobbies but Malcolm Anderson has successfully managed to combine them all into one.
Malcolm’s father, Bruce Anderson, has a passion for collecting and restoring motorbikes to the highest standard. One of his projects, a 1929 Harley-Davidson OHV Two-port Special that he restored from a pile of parts, now resides in the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee in America.

Classic Manx Norton flourishes

5 January 2023

The legendary Manx Norton was
the first single-cylinder motorcycle
to lap the famous Isle of Man TT
circuit at an average speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/hr).
Made from 1946 until 1962, the bikes became a favourite of privateer racers and in more modern
times, a popular choice for classic
motorcycle racing.
Today, half a world away from the original Birmingham factory, a small Kiwi company is restoring and supplying parts to Manx Norton owners around the globe.

A king-sized country shed for an ex city boy

11 July 2023

When Phil Kindberg decided to escape the Auckland rat race and retire to rural Taranaki with his precious collection of old Studebaker cars, he didn’t dream of the massive shed that was waiting for him.
Two years ago he made the shift south and purchased the 100-year-old Riverdale dairy factory, not far west of Hawera.
The big factory, which in its heyday specialised in cheese production, already had a bit of a past with motor vehicles, having been a panel beating shop for a while and also once housing a huge collection of old Citroen cars.
Now on display in the factory are Phil’s seven Studebakers from 1947 to 1962, a 1958 Packard, a mate’s collection of 40 motorbikes, including some classics and home-made bikes, and other weird and wonderful machines.