The Richard Johns Collection, c.1927 AJcette 348cc

• A unique vintage roadburner
• Built by a time served, now retired, professional engine designer
• Beautifully engineered
• "It performed faultlessly - and it goes really well!"

"In a moment of idleness I mused "I wonder if I could convert my side-valve 350 AJS to overhead cam" ....and that was how the AJcette project started" - so said Richard Johns. It is called the AJcette because the engine is a mix of AJS and Velocette. We encourage interested parties to refer to Richard's extensive blog for full details of how the extraordinary OHC AJcette was built:

Blog Link

The extremely abbreviated bones of this story are that the frame is from a side valve AJS and the crankcases are 1931 AJS SB6 (which are much sturdier than the earlier pushrod AJS cases), but what makes this machine very different is the use of a Velocette barrel, head, cambox, and a piston copied from a KTT original, all beautifully combined with the AJS underpinnings to make a superb vintage cammy special. A spacer of about 0.4" between the crankcase halves was required to allow the use of the wider Velo barrel, but lack of space in the crankcases prevented the use of Velo's bevel drive to the cam, so the drive was by chain in the AJS manner, and new timing covers were cast accordingly. This meant that an oil supply to the cambox had to be provided because in the Velo engine the oil comes up the bevel drive. A one-off crankshaft and conrod were commissioned from Alpha Bearings. A new close ratio gear cluster was fitted, and the more efficient Velo oil pump was used in preference to the lazier contemporary AJS item. Richard tells us that the petrol tank is a copy of an AJS works item. This makes it all sound fairly simple, but it must have required all of Richard's extraordinary engineering skills and his 45 years of experience as a professional engine designer to achieve the finished result. Richard advises: "This bike has been thoroughly shaken down. I took it to the Manx GP in 2019 to use as a run-around bike and it performed faultlessly - and it goes really well".

The accompanying V5C records the engine number which was previously fitted to the frame, but please note that although the crankcase halves are stamped with mating numbers, no serial number is stamped on this engine. It should also be noted that the frame number is stamped on the headstock rather than under the saddle. The AJcette comes with an A4 coffee-table book which records an account of the build. As with all the machines in this collection, Richard will be happy to advise the new owner in relation to any technical queries. Please take the time to view the running video on our website. It should be noted that it runs on "R". Prospective bidders must satisfy themselves regarding the motorcycle's provenance, condition, age, completeness, and originality prior to bidding. Sold strictly as seen
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