www.williswheels.co.uk as the website. Thanks for that!
Growing up in the the San Fernando Valley (near Los Angeles), in my teens (late 1970s), you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a Triumph / MG / British motorcycle mechanic or parts store. Sadly, these guys have now moved on, and any auto parts stores left are chain stores that only carry "vanilla" products. The big loss is the years of knowledge the older mechanics had, that at 16 I didn't have time for, other than the minimum to keep my old MGB running for more than 3 months out of the year, between work, school, sports, girls, in no particular order... Even the few local second-generation mechanics I've found nearby say that, while their dads worked on AJS or Matchless bikes, they never have. They have always been "too busy" to try, but maybe since 2 out of 3 motorcycles I see are Harleys, my guess is that they would rather stick with what's familiar to them. So, correct, I was unaware of Mr Willis, until now.
Rebuilding this bike ('52 AJS 18S) has often felt like I'm working in a vacuum, with little outside information. Special tools and parts are realistically non-existent or financially out of reach (who is going to spend $50+ for a special tool to be used once in a very specific way? Probably not me! And no loaners within 500 miles). The one real oasis has been this forum. I've tried to not post unless I'm truly stumped, and have successfully used the search function to find information I need to know how to approach a problem ("opportunity"). For someone whose mechanical skills are a somewhat logical mind, a set of sockets & wrenches and a willingness to get oily, this forum's help has been invaluable! I've had the pleasure to exchange emails and speak with several other members, who have been nothing but patient, helpful and genuinely nice. It's been great! It'll be great as well to get all the pieces of my bike out of their boxes & off the garage shelves, and put together a single running bike!
Thanks, and all the best!Statistics: Posted by Chris2023 — Thu May 04, 2023 11:44 pm
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