“AJS? I DIDN’T KNOW THEY WERE STILL GOING”

If you’re into your bikes, you’ll have no doubt heard of AJS before. Founded in 1909, the Wolverhampton-based bike builder made a name for itself with some seriously competitive race bikes throughout the early 20th century. By 1931, AJS held an impressive 117 world records. Not bad, right? But things weren’t plain sailing. Financial trouble struck, and the same year AJS went bankrupt. Bought by Matchless and Crossley Motors in 1931, the next 30-odd years were marked by even more success on the race circuits, a load more bikes and a fruitful relationship with Matchless – before the AJS name eventually ended up in the hands of Norton-Villiers in 1966. Over the next few years, AJS began to be known for its off-road machines, but it didn’t last forever, with Norton-Villiers collapsing in September 1974.

JS was then taken on by the late Fluff Brown. He was working as the off-road competition manager at Norton Villiers, and bought out the ailing company and the entire stock of AJS Stormer scrambler parts.

Fluff’s eldest son joined the company in 1987 and started looking at the array of small, affordable motorcycles which were being built in China.

The Jianshe Coyote-80, a copy of the world-famous Yamaha PW80, caught his eye, and kick-started AJS’s affiliation with the Far East, as the resurgent brand began importing and distributing the 80cc tiddler in 1998.

They’ve continued in much the same vain ever since, working to bring in exciting and unique motorcycles and scooters from Asia – with a big focus on value for money.