Web Analytics

 AJS - 350 7 R usine
 Back to brands list


AJS 7 R usine motocyclette motorrad motorcycle vintage classic classique scooter roller moto scooter
Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
8401

Capacity : 350
Model : 7 R usine
Production : 1938 - 1938
Category : (R) Racing

AJS

350 7R Works Racer -1938

Only two of these splendid machines were built, to allow AJS works riders Bob Foster and George Rowley to race in the 350 class while Matchless (both companies were then part of the Associated Motor Cycles group) competed in the 500cc category with its supercharged water-cooled, four-cylinder machines designed to contend with BMW and Gilera.

7R or Not 7R?

Some motorcycle historians contend that the prewar racing AJS 350s should correctly be called "R7" and that only the post-WWII "Boy Racer" is really the 7R. That's just splitting hairs. The few racing AJS 350s sold to private owners from 1931 on were officially catalogued as the Model 7R. The two works bikes built in 1938 were a logical development of these "straight-from-the-crate" chain-driven ohc singles.

Special Suspension

These machines were really very special. They had light-alloy cylinder heads with screwed-in valve seats, aluminum cylinders with iron liners, heavily-ribbed magnesium crankcases and heavily reinforced crankshafts. Their gearboxes were made by Burman to AJS specifications and had magnesium covers. In an attempt to improve roadholding, AJS used - for the first time - a rear suspension with a sturdy triangulated swing arm in combination with plunger dampers fixed to the frame, on similar lines to the 1937 DKW layout. These 7R Works Racers failed to live up to expectations in the Isle of Man but had more success at Brooklands, where speed and good suspension counted for more than roadholding alone.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 348cc (74x81mm) air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke

Power Rating: 28 hp @ 6800 rpm

Valves: chain-driven overhead-camshaft

Fuel System: Amal racing carburettor

Transmission: Burman-AJS 4-speed, chain final drive

Suspension: Webb girder forks (front); swing arm with plunger springs (rear)

Brakes: drum (front & rear); magnesium front hub

Wheels: 3.00x21 inch (front); 3.25x20 inch (rear)

Weight: 335 lb

Maximum Speed: 106 mph


The direct ancestor of the immortal post-WWII A]S "Boy Racer" was this very special 350cc 7R Works Racer built in 1938.




Le fichier Moto Passion réalisé par François-Marie Dumas réunit près de deux mille photos accompagnées d'un historique très complet des machines présentées.
Il sera progressivement mis à jour ici et toute information complémentaire est la bienvenue sur info@moto-collection.org.

Cette documentation unique, qui constitue sans doute l'encyclopédie la plus exhaustive jamais écrite sur l'histoire de la moto, a été réalisée avec l'assistance de nombreux spécialistes dont principalement Didier Ganneau, Christophe Gaime, Mick Woollett, Jean Goyard, Bernard Salvat, Christian Rey, Yves Campion, Helmut Krackowizer, Michael Dregni, Michel Montange, etc. que je remercie ici.

Disponible sur demande :
- Les fiches originales sur papier
- Les photos et archives signées de mon nom en haute définition ou les documents originaux.
Me contacter sur info@moto-collection.org pour les conditions et droits d'utilisation.