Among this list must be numbered the venerable Manx Norton, the Excelsior Manxman, Velocette KTT, and Triumph GP, and these are all English. Add to that BMW Rennsport, Gilera Saturno, MV Agustas – all pricey European models indeed – and more recently Bultaco, Aermacchi, Yamahas in many different capacities, Kawasakis, Hondas and RG Suzukis. But there is one model that changed little in its post-war production, yet provided privateers with a competitive, reliable and reasonably affordable mount year after year – the AJS 7R.
Actually the 7R was produced prior to WW2, but this was an entirely different animal to those built by AJS from the late ‘twenties. The model designation 7 and 10 was introduced for the AJS 350cc and 500cc OHV sporting models in 1926. A special racing model (still in pushrod form) was also listed, and as the AJS letter code for 1926 was G, this became the GR7. The following year the models were H7 and H10, and in 1928 when the first OHC models were introduced they were catalogued as K7 and K10. Thus 1929 became M7 and M10, followed by R7 and R10 in 1930 and S7 and
