Book Review

BOOK REVIEW

AJSTHE HISTORY OF A GREAT MOTORCYCLE, by Gregor Grant, Published by Patrick Stephens, Ltd., $4.95 (plus 5 percent California sales tax and 12 cents for mailing and handling) from CYCLE WORLD BOOKS, P.O. Box 20220, Long Beach, CA 90812.

The nucleus of this colorful (and oldest) motorcycle marque was an engineer and his small company, Joe Stevens and the Stevens Screw Co., Ltd. It was during the last decade of the 19th century that Joe foresaw the value of small displacement internal combustion engines in all types of industry. He visualized them as in fact they are now, power sources for pumps, saws and, of course, motor vehicles etc. But in those days gasoline engines were so new that there was precious little commercial production of them. Most pioneering manufacturers were assembling composite engines from imported bits and pieces, mainly De Dion.

So with the help of his four sons, Harry, George, John and Joe Jr., the father disassembled and analyzed components of every gasoline engine made at that time. It was in 1897 that the first Stevens motorcycle saw daylight. It featured an American Mitchell engine mounted on the front downtube of a bicycle frame. Within the next several years the company rapidly gained momentum with its first regular production gas engine. This powerplant utilized automatic valves, trembler ignition and a surface carburetor. And by 1910, the small firm had begun to realize its dream: commercially produced motorcycles. The AJS name was adopted, this from the initials of the eldest brother, Albert John Stevens.

The fabulous string of AJS successes at the Isle of Man is founded in the strong belief of the Stevens family in the value of racing: since the TT pageant’s inception, AJS machines have missed the yearly bout only twice in the past 58 years.

Along with these accounts of the firm’s modest beginnings and subsequent racing victories, the AJS book chronicles the development of the splendid AJS 7R, one of the most successful production racing machines of all time. Based on the prewar overhead cam Ajay, the 7R was produced between 1948 and 1962. Costing less than $1000 in its earlier days, it was the bargain of the year for budget minded racers, leading to its nickname, the “Boys’ Racer.”

Then there is the astonishing record in trials, especially between the years of 1947 and 1962 when Hugh Viney and Gordon Jackson held a virtual stranglehold on the Scottish Six Day events.

Indeed, the history of AJS is a dramatic one, full of both successes and conflicts, prosperity and hard times. Author Grant’s inquisitive and researching manner serves the reader extremely well. Characters in this story are not merely described but reproduced with sufficient faith and dedication to bring each and every Ajay into throbbing, albeit nostalgic life. -Mike Griffin