AJS V-twin
The Tassie terror
One such was Eric Fernihough, who established a new World Record for the Flying Kilometre on a solo of 169.7 mph on 19th April, 1937 on a supercharged Brough Superior JAP. The venue was a public road in Gyon, Hungary and as well as the solo record, he set a new Sidecar Flying Kilometre mark of 137mph on the same machine with an unmanned chair fitted. Fernihough was an internationally successful motorcycle racer, with notable victories at Brooklands, and on the Continent. In 1935 he set an absolute lap record at Brooklands of 123.54 mph on the Brough – a time that stood until just before the track closed in 1939 when it was bettered by Noel Pope. Going back a few years to 1939, the Wolverhampton firm of AJS (before it was acquired by the Collier brothers and merged with Matchless to form Associated Motor Cycles) hit upon the idea of constructing a motorcycle purely for record attempts by using the top ends of their overhead camshaft R10 500cc racer on a special crankcase with the cylinders set at 50 degrees. The chain-driven overhead camshafts ran in an electron casting with an extension at the front for the drive to the twin BTH magnetos. Five separate oil pumps controlled the lubrication; one for delivery from the oil tank, a scavenge mounted on the crankcase, two pumps driven by the ends of each camshaft for draining the rocker boxes, and a further pump to lubricate the supercharger. Quoted power was 104hp at 4,800 rpm. Apparently considerable trouble was encountered with the chain drive from the engine sprocket to the Power Plus eccentric vane
type supercharger, which broke frequently so most of the early running was done without a blower which otherwise sat behind the rear cylinder head. A three-speed Sturmey Archer gearbox was fitted. The frame had a large diameter top tube which could hold oil if required (in supercharged form, the blower sat where the oil tank would normally reside). A 23 inch front wheel and 21 inch rear wheel were used. In unblown form, the AJS was ‘unofficially’ tested on the Wolverhampton to Bridgenorth Road by AJS works rider George Rowley. Then in August 1930 it was taken to Arpajon, in northern France for a Records Meeting where Captain Oliver Baldwin did a two-way run averaging 134.5 mph. Attempting a better time, a piston collapsed and the top speed of the meeting went to a BMW rider at 137.58 mph. After further development and with the addition of a supercharger, AJS works riders Joe Wright and George Rowley managed 136 mph at Southport in England in May 1933. However limitations with this venue resulted in identifying Pendine Sands, on the shores of Carmarthen Bay in Wales as a more suitable site, and with Wright aboard, a one-way run of 156 mph was achieved (beating the existing World Record of 150.74 mph). However the effort was too much for the blower, and the required second run in the opposite direction could not be made in the allotted time. By this stage AJS was under new ownership and AMC had problems of their own, so record breaking went on the back burner. Noted Brooklands rider Charles Mortimer purchased it from AMC in Plumstead, London for 85 Pounds in 1934 and used it a few times at Brooklands. The following year, Mortimer sold the AJS to Eric Fernihough to use as a back-up to his Brough Superior, which he intended to take back to Gyon in 1938 for an attempt to regain his World Record which had been usurped by Ernst Henne on a supercharged 500cc BMW at 173.68mph. The road south of Budapest had been completely resealed and widened for record breaking, with a dead flat five kilometre stretch especially for that purpose. However prior to and following the flat straight was a curve, and to reach maximum speed through the timed section, this curve had to be taken flat out. Since his previous attempt, Eric had clothed the Brough in an all-enveloping aluminium alloy shell, which was very susceptible to side winds. Whatever the cause, he lost control on the curve and was flung into a ditch at full speed, perishing instantly. Later in the year, his family began disposing of his assets and an advertisement was placed in a British motorcycle publication offering the AJS for sale. Far away in Tasmania, the Jowett brothers, Trevor and Wilf, who were the AJS agents in Launceston, spotted the ad and cabled an offer, which was accepted. The AJS was crated and shipped to Launceston, arriving in 1939. However Trevor Jowett had by this stage enlisted in the Australian Army and was soon serving in Palestine, and his family was convinced they would not see him again, so they agreed to sell the AJS to Reg Munro. When Trevor Jowett heard of this sale he was mortified, but it was too late. Munro took the AJS to Bakers Beach in 1940 for the annual
Speed Weekend where despite various problems it was timed at 113.2 mph on a one-way run. One year later, with the machine still supercharged, he averaged 119.19 mph with a best run of 128.5 to set a new outright Tasmanian record. Soon after, Munro also went overseas to serve in the war effort, as a pilot based in Britain. During and after the war, the AJS was stored at an aircraft hanger near the present day Launceston Airport owned by Jock Walkem, who was also a pilot during the war, based at Deniliquin, NSW. After discharge, he returned to Launceston and opened an auto electrical business, and the AJS was transferred to his workshop in town where it was fettled by one of his apprentices, David ‘Bluey’ Dowd, who actually rode it the 14 miles from the airport to the city and reported that it “near impossible” to pull the clutch in. At some stage the supercharger was located at the front of the engine, rather than above the gearbox, but troubles persisted. The supercharger had a habit of blowing seals which defied all efforts to rectify, so it was removed and a Stromberg carburettor from a Ford V8 fitted, with compression in this form reset at 10.5:1. Later a pair of large-bore Amal carbs were fitted, and in this form Jock Walkem rode the AJS at Bakers Beach Speed Trails in 1952, recording 115.3 mph. This encouraged Walkem to consider record attempts, but according to Bluey Dowd, “Jock’s wife Alcie was not very happy about him riding it solo, so a non-passenger sidecar was constructed. My small part in the preparations was to re-cork the clutch, a part I had a bit of experience in. The bike languished in our workshop for some years, it usually being my job to wheel it out, usually at Christmas, for tourists to take photographs. Jock was later to die in a power boat accident at Coles Bay on the Eastern side of Tasmania. I have since learned that another Automotive Electrician, who worked at Repco in Launceston, rode the big AJS at Bakers Beach. His name is Graham Clifton and he received an official Trophy – the Eric Slater Memorial Trophy – for achieving 123.2 M.P.H. The Bike was ridden solo for these records, certainly a great achievement back in the ‘50s.”
Its glory days over, the AJS remained in Australia until it was advertised for sale in a British motorcycle magazine in February 1981 by Revell Munro, Reg’s son. This time, the successful bidder was Gerard Batt, from Guildford, UK, but upon receiving the bike he quickly decided it was not for him, and on-sold it to Geoffrey St. John of Gloucestershire, who had bid on the bike but had not been successful. St. John painstakingly restored the AJS to better-than-new condition, including replacing the supercharger. When the restoration was complete, the AJS was displayed at various shows and locations, including its traditional home of Brooklands in Surrey, before being sold to Vic Norman, owner of many famous racing cars and a competitor in historic racing, whose main business was stunt work mainly involving aircraft. It was later transported to the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham for permanent exhibition. Miraculously, the AJS was not involved in the disastrous fire that swept through the museum in September 2003, destroying or severely damaging three of the five exhibition halls and 400 of the 850 motorcycles on display. Equally miraculous is the fact that the museum reopened just 15 months later with most of the damaged bikes restored. Today, the old warrior, which has actually covered very few miles (and usually in a straight line) since 1929, sits in pride of place amongst other examples of Britain’s best in the museum. The National Motorcycle Museum is open seven days a week from 8.30am to 5.30 pm.