Living with: AJS Model 16S

Do you need more than a 350 British single? Oli finds out by buying an

AJS Model 16S, which is almost identical to the Matchless G3L

Oli has gone above and beyond for this month’s buying guide – he’s actually bought one! Here is his real account of buying and living with an AJS Model 16S single...

IT WAS ONE of those serendipitous moments. My mate Johnny had posted a picture online of his latest acquisition, a 1954 BSA M21 with an old Watsonian chair attached. As he already owned several desirable classic motorcycles, I needed to know how he managed to keep coming across them. He revealed a few closely guarded secrets... and then he mentioned that he had heard of a 1956 Matchless G3 that was for sale, complete with the famed Jampot rear suspension. Now, I had fancied a Heavyweight AMC single for ages, and this seemed right up my street.

Arrangements were made to come and view the bike, which turned out to be not a Matchless G3, but an AJS 16MS (S for sprung), which is pretty much the same thing.

WHAT IS A 16MS?

THE MID-1950S AMC single is, as a collection of parts, as simple a modern motorcycle as it gets. The M16 and the Matchless G3 are to a large extent the same bikes with different badges on them. There are 19in wheels, full width hubs, Teledraulic forks and a smart headlamp nacelle. The 1956 model had an SR1 Lucas magneto with automatic advance retard which makes life easier for the novice and means the bike will run without a battery. The mag is mounted in front of the cylinder block. There is a tall cast iron cylinder with big pushrod tubes and an alloy head.

Behind the cylinder there is a dynamo, driven by a chain from the crankshaft behind the primary drive, and there’s a four-spring clutch. A separate four-speed Burman gearbox transfers the power to the back wheel. The frame is a cradle with a bolted on rear subframe, which holds the famous Jampot shock absorbers. The electrical system is six volts, with positive earth. And that’s about it. If you were asked to create a list of the things a motorcycle needs to be a motorcycle – say wheels, engine, frame, etc – the 16MS/G3 fits the bill.