AJS & Matchless Owners Club

The front brake on my G15 Mk2 that is, would the brake plate and hub outer edges have been polished or left natural finish?
I only ask as I was about to get them polished after blasting but have lost confidence in the 'geezer' who was going to do the job. Then it occured to me, perhaps I was guilty of trying to 'over restore'??? I wouldn't want that or you thinking I was building a bobber or something else pointless.
If you know the answer please tell me before I polish the goodness out of it or build the wheel as it is and miss another chance of a rosette.

Hi Steve,
I asked the same question for my 1965 G12.
Here is Rob Harknett's answer : The alloy hubs are just bare clean alloy, the side plates slightly polished, but for todays restorers quite often everything gets highly polished.
When I visited The National Motorcycle Museum several months ago, I was looking at the hubs fitted on Domies and late AJS/MATCHLESS : Rob is right, even if I have seen several ones silver painted. I think it was a mistake in restoration.
I suggest you to have both hubs water blasted, and the flanges and brake plate polished (but not the rings where the spokes are fitted.
Hope this can help you.
Cheers

I was actually relating to 1956, as it was then I got my 9 month old 55 G3LS. The hubs looked clean castings. The side plates , I guess pressed from shinny, not highly polished sheet alloy. 60 years later it would not be easy to duplicate that finish, without a little Solvo Autosol to polish up the side plates a bit. Back in the 50's Gunk got the hubs clean, but even then, I used Solvo Autosol on the side plates. 60 years of slovo polishing may be the cause of the plates now being seen as polished, that fresh pressed alloy finish long gone..

If the brakes are the Norton hubs, I'm pretty sure only the front hub was polished which included the whole drum face including both the spoke flanges and brake plate. The inner fins were just left as cast. The rear hub was left as cast but was fitted with a bright mirror polished alloy dish which was screwed on and later riveted on.
On the front hub, the the outer flange quickly dulled as polishing it with the spokes in place was pretty difficult and if you did take the effort you would end up with polished spoke nipple ends and which eventually wore away the cadmium plating... BTW all early Commandos had the same front hub so check out images of these bikes....Les

Mostly it was as finished except for fork sliders and rear suspension, I think alloy chaincases were fairly shiney too. Also the previous comments.

As an aside if you can remember 1967, you wern't there

There is a large picture of a 1967 G15CSR, in ROY BACON restoration book, page 176. It is obvious that rear hub is not polished. Brake plate is polished, and the shadow of front mudguard stay can be seen on it. But this shadow is not on the hub itself. I am sure that drum fins and internal flanges for spokes were bare alloy. It seems that the ring (external) where the spokes are fitted are not "natural", but no shiny. This can be verified looking at the picture of an AJS 33, in the same book, page 190. You can also see a 1965 M 33 page 160, page 83, page 67 (1967 M 33), page 29...

Hi all and thanks for all your replies. I have already had them vapour blasted and I was only planning to get them a basic polishing rather than a mirror finish. Jean-Noel, I don't have a copy of the Bacon book, but is the bike you mention a restoration or an original example?
I'm not aiming for any prizes or points with this, it will never be a 'show' bike while I have it. I like the idea of what you describe, leaving the spoke flange as is, and polishing the main hub side and brake plate. I have no intention of polishing the ribs on the drum circumference! Way too lazy and wouldn't like it anyway. If I can find the cetem polishing kit I bought years ago and never used, I may have a go myself. Probably end up needing them blasted again...

Oh and Alf-I WAS there but too young to realise i needed to swot up on G15's!

Hi Steeve,
the pictures in Roy Bacon's book are, I think, shooted in show rooms of the related year. Obviously these pictures show brand new bikes, not restored ones.
I think you must buy this book, or loan it, for a first class restoration. It was for me very usefull.
Cheers.

JEAN-NOEL wrote:Hi Steeve,
the pictures in Roy Bacon's book are, I think, shooted in show rooms of the related year. Obviously these pictures show brand new bikes, not restored ones.
I think you must buy this book, or loan it, for a first class restoration. It was for me very usefull.
Cheers.

Thanks Jean-Noel, you are right I should get a copy and glad to hear the bikes were in showrooms as well. I will be heading that way then!

bjork wrote: ....and glad to hear the bikes were in showrooms as well. I will be heading that way then!

The showrooms are closed now

Rob C