BUYING AND SELLING
Taking the plunge into the world of vintage bikes doesn’t have to cost the earth
A look at the charm of vintage motorcycling and buying Banbury Run-elegible bikes
If you’ve ever yearned to sample the delights of vintage motorcycling, maybe now’s the time to scratch that itch. Pre-1931 bikes might be very different to the more familiar post-war classics, but they have a charm all of their own. As CB’S Rick Parkington has proved, keeping a vintage bike in good, rideable fettle often takes no more than time, effort – and sometimes a little ingenuity. But it’s not rocket science. And it is rewarding.
If you thought owning a Banbury Run-eligible bike was only for the well-heeled, think again. This 350cc 1929 AJS M5, on sale at Andy Tiernan’s Framlingham emporium (andybuysbikes.com) for £6000, proves otherwise. Launched in 1929, the M5 was AJS’S ‘standard sporting’ side-valve model and this example looks like a decent prospect for a prospective first-time vintage motorcycle owner.
It’s got most of what you’d expect of a vintage machine – a threespeed gearbox with hand change, girder forks, a low, sprung saddle and a commendably svelte weight of just 253lb (114kg). Throw in an unintimidating 349cc side-valve engine and you’ve got the ideal machine to master the art of vintage riding. But it’s got more than you might expect, too. As standard, the £45 M5 came without lights or a speedometer back in 1929, but this one has the benefit of both. Andy says the bike came to him from the estate of a retired engineer from Cambridgeshire, who had undertaken a considerable amount
of work on it prior to his death, and some invoices and receipts relating to that are with the bike. Looking largely original (aside from a nonstandard exhaust and silencer) and complete, the matching-numbers bike will still require a thorough checking over before returning to the road. But, following a four-mile road test, the Tiernan workshop found it started readily from hot or cold, despite the timing being a little retarded, the brakes worked reasonably well and all gears selected successfully with good clutch operation. That doesn’t sound too bad a starting point.
A bike like this can open the door to a whole host of new experiences – like the Banbury Run, for a start. There’s good reason for it being oversubscribed most years, but there are plenty of other vintage only runs throughout the year – and a growing band of dedicated (and often surprisingly youthful) new vintage fans. If you need a new challenge, maybe a vintage machine like this could be what you need.