1964 AJS Model 16

1964 AJS MODEL 16 BACKGROUND

Parent-company AMC secured some lucrative contracts from the British government to build, among other things 80,000 Matchless G3s and G3/Ls. After the war, these became the basis for their civilian middleweight line. As always, every Matchless motorcycle had a near-identical twin in the AJS lineup. This was the AJS Model 16. Prior to 1964, AJS and Matchless built nearly identical bikes, with one difference: AJS mounted their magnetos in front of the cylinder and Matchless mounted theirs behind. But, by 1964, Lucas had stopped making magnetos (which is the reason BSA killed off the Gold Star), having replaced it with points and a coil, so the differences almost vanished. Gone was the huge chain case on the right side (the timing-side) of the engine. In the middleweight 350 singles market, the AJS Model 16 and Matchless G3 were able entrants, and very competitive in their market set. And they were fast, reliable and handled well.

1964 AJS Model 16 SPECIFICATIONS