The Richard Johns Collection, AJS 780cc V-twin OHC World Speed Record Attempt Replica

• Beautifully crafted machine
• Believed to be the only replica of the original
• Built to exacting standards by a professional engine designer
• Ride something truly different!

Between the wars there was massive public interest in breaking the world land speed record. The motorcycle on which this replica was based was the one-off machine built by AJS in 1930 for this express purpose. The engine was a 990cc 50 degree V twin which is said to have generated 70bhp. Captain Oliver Baldwin, who had already broken the record in 1928 on a Zenith-JAP, was engaged to ride it. The bike was tested at Brooklands in July 1930 before the record attempt at Arpajon the following month. The record was then just under 135 mph which had been set by Ernst Henne riding a supercharged 743cc BMW. The AJS team believed that something close to 150 mph should be attainable, so it was a crushing disappointment when, after edging just past 130 mph, they suffered a piston seizure in the rear cylinder. By now AJS had run out of money and the project was effectively abandoned. A little later Matchless, who had acquired the machine in their 1931 takeover of AJS, also saw the attraction of breaking the record, but by this time Henne had pushed the benchmark up to 151.86 mph. A supercharger was fitted to give the bike its best chance, and Joe Wright achieved 136 mph at Southport, and later just under 145 mph in Hungary: huge speeds in the early 1930s, but sadly quite not enough to take the record. Subsequently the machine went through the hands of Charles Mortimer Senior and Eric Fernihough, but following the latter's tragic death in Hungary in April 1938, it was sold to the Jowett brothers who ran the AJS agency in Launceston, Tasmania. It then passed through various hands, remaining in Tasmania until 1981 when it was sold and shipped back to England. Shortly afterwards it was acquired and restored by the late Geoffrey St. John, and it now resides in the National Motorcycle Museum.

In September 2019 Richard Johns wrote in his blog: "I wish I could pinpoint the moment when I decided to do this project......after I had completed the AJcette, with which I was very satisfied, I decided to use more of my stock of early Velo bits and make a V-twin version". The template that he chose was the aforementioned jaw droppingly handsome machine which AJS had built for the failed attempt on the world speed record. He continued: "It would not be an exact copy, and it wouldn't be 1,000cc, but I would try and make something that closely resembled this amazing looking bike. The idea in its basic conception would be to use 2 x mark 1 OHC Velocette cylinder barrels, heads and camboxes and to make the rest of the engine. A chassis and gearbox etc would then be added to make the rest of the bike. What could be simpler....?"

Richard never intended to build an exact replica of the original machine, but a road bike inspired by it, and like the original it was to be a complete one-off. Many of the major components had to be built from scratch, most specifically the engine. To give a very small insight into the nature of the work, consider just the crankcases: two pieces of 10 inch diameter aluminium bar were purchased to make the patterns, then suitably machined and with bits added for the crankcase webs and lugs, cylinder base mating surfaces etc. These were then cast in LM25 aluminium, heat treated for strength, and only then could the extremely complex machining begin. The top ends are based on Velocette ohc components, but the camshafts are chain driven in the style of the original machine, with that very distinctive three-legged timing cover which of course also had to be specially cast. The bore and stroke of this engine are 76mm x 86mm giving a swept volume of 780cc. Richard reckons that the creation of this extraordinary machine took 3,500 hours and three and a half years. He observed: "As far as I am aware, this is the only replica (albeit approximate) that has been made of this bike". We strongly encourage all interested parties to use the following link to access Richard's blog which records the building of this remarkable motorcycle in considerable detail:

Blog Link

The frame, along with some of the other components including the Sturmey Archer AJS type gearbox, forks, and front hub, are from a 1931 AJS 500cc SB8. This was one of the last models to come from the Wolverhampton factory, and because of its sloper type engine, there was just enough room between the downtube and the saddle tube to accommodate the new V twin engine and the gearbox. The frame and registration numbers are both of course from the SB8 donor bike. The accompanying V5C records the original SB8 engine's number of 154389 and its capacity of 498cc rather than the new engine's 780cc. In the AJS tradition, a plaque bearing the number R14/154389 is riveted to the left hand crankcase.

Also supplied are an A3 size illustrated coffee table book recording the whole build history, a continuation buff logbook from 1942, a spare set of unmachined timing-case castings, various spares and some special tools. 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. The new owner should please take note 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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