As we took the pics of Gerry Minshall’s superb AJS just before the start of the Baa Classic Two Day Trial in North West Durham it was clear the stunning machine was creating a lot of interest from everyone at the event. Rightly so, as it is a superb bit of kit and Gerry has an engineering background so it was well put together as well as looking good. One of the comments made by someone seeing the make on the tank was along the lines of: “Oooh, an AJS, we don’t see many of them in pre65 up here,” which made me think a bit as I was lining up the bike against the misty background. Another comment gave me the inspiration for the title as the speaker laughingly said: “AJS – is that Actually Just Stunning,” to the amusement of all around. I’m not going to say who said it as they might demand a pint from me but I’m happy to pinch it for this piece.
Way back in the days when the sport had been just embraced by the Spanish Armada and the idea of a trial for the old British machines languishing in sheds and garages was gaining ground, an arbitrary date for a machine cut-off point was decided as December 31, 1964, being the date the AMC14 started on AMC’s Matchless or AJS makes.
