AJS Motorcycles 39/2 And Swallow Sidecar 1939
A little known motorcycle from a manufacturer better known for its single cylinder and vertical twin machines.
This is early “badge engineering” a Matchless motorcycle with AJS badges. AJS (Wolverhampton UK) were bought by Matchless in 1931 and production then moved to the Matchless factory at Plumstead in London. The merged company later became Associated Motorcycles.
Originally the two marques were made to look slightly different with the positioning of the magneto. AJS mounted it in front of the engine, Matchless behind the engine. Even this was eventually dropped and both machines were the same except for the nameplates.
This bike is from a time when a lot of UK manufacturers made large V twins. The big question is why they didn’t pick up the manufacture of V twins after WW2. Instead all the larger firms went down a dead end street and made Vertical Twins which in larger sizes suffer dreadful vibration if not fitted with balance shafts.
This bike was restored in the 1960s in NZ by George Light and has participated in many NZ rallies. It is fitted with a 1939 Swallow Hurlingham Adult/child sidecar and is often seen out and about on the streets of Nelson, as it is used as the NZ Classic workshop runabout.