HERE’S THE NEW AJR TSS 350 MK2
It’s a bit of art wrapped up as a replica
Fifty years ago, in 1969, Bultaco presented the TSS 350 Model 29, a simple road-racing bike by design, which was well-received due to its light weight and fantastic stability.
This TSS was a larger evolution of the famous Bultaco TSS 125 and 250 that were economical and effective weapons in national championships all over the world in the 1960s and 1970s. They also provided the springboard to compete in the world championship for international pilots like Dan Shorey, Tommy Robb, Barry Sheene, Luigi Taveri, Eugenio Lazzarini, Jean-pierre Beltoise, Jack Findlay, Kevin Cass and Barry Smith, to name a few, but in the hands of Ginger Malloy the 350 obtained its best results. The formula for Bultaco was always the same: mechanical simplicity and great performance. However, with the arrival of the Japanese production road-racing bikes in the early 1970s, Bultaco disappeared from the starting grid.
The story continued 25 years later with the advent of AJR Motorcycles, a project of two industrialists passionate about classic racing motorcycles: Armando Molí and Javier Pérez de Vega. They were joined by Freddy San Juan, thus forming the team that developed the AJR TSS 350 Replica’, a bike that followed the guidelines of the original model and was accepted in most of the European championships, being a very competitive option at a good price. They were only excluded by some organisations that had protectionist regulations implemented to favour local or specific brands and riders. A batch of around 60 AJR motorcycles were originally sold and ultimately, over time, they have become collectors’ items – worth more than their original purchase price. Some of them never turned a wheel on the track and are kept in private collections as works of art.
Another 25 years later (2018) – as the original TSS 350 turned 50 years old, the future of AJR was in doubt due to Armando’s retirement. This was resolved with the sale of AJR Motorcycles, including all the spares, tooling, and trademark rights, to the industrialist Vicente Ballester – a keen Bultaco enthusiast and collector. He incorporated the AJR company into the Blumaq group, well-known in the world of construction machinery components for their product quality and
excellent customer service. Taking advantage of the production and technical expertise of Blumaq, with Omar Piquer as technical director of the project, the processes have been modernised and the entire production process has been made more efficient.
Despite being a small production, all the components have been redrawn and improved as needed to achieve the objective: a faithful and accurate replica of the beloved
Bultaco TSS with improved performance and reliability to offer maximum satisfaction to the owners who use them in classic motorcycle championships.
The new AJR TSS 350 MK2, available since the beginning of 2019, has already proven its effectiveness this season with numerous victories.
For more information visit www.ajrmotocicletas.es or Facebook: @replicatss350