Seeking an Ex Army AJS 350 M16 - Hampshire/South
Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 11:07 am
Hi,
my father used to own an ex Army AJS350 M16 (edited from G3) which I am very keen to trace. Its started it's working life in Singapore and he had it from the 1960s when he was in the RAF in North Africa. It came off the road when my brother and then I arrived and languished in his garden for the next 30 years, when he and my mum moved to Scotland and he sold it. At the time I was up to my elbows in my own kids and had stopped riding myself so dad didn't even offer me the bike. To be fair I would most likely have said no.
He ended up selling it to the brother of a friend of his called Bevis. I don't know the name of the brother, or their surname so have no way of contacting them.
Why am I so keen to trace it? The bike was owned by my dad since the 60s. He had it in North Africa when he was in the RAF and rode it from Tobruk to Petra amongst other adventures. Later on he honeymooned on it, taking my mum on an extended tour of Europe in the summer after they married. She was already pregnant by the time they went on the honeymoon and she has enduring memories of racing back from East Germany as the bump of my brother got bigger and bigger and worried her that she'd have to sit on the rack.
Roll forward to 2017 and I lost my brother to a very unexpected heart attack at just 49. I'd always associated him with the bike, as well as my folks obviously, but it wasn't until I lost him that I really realised what the bike meant. My folks are both nudging on to 80 now so, whilst I know it's just metal and rubber, I really want to try to trace this bike and that is what has brought me here.
Can anyone help? The bike was sold to Bevis's brother around 2004, when my folks still lived in Basingstoke. I have not idea where it went but gather it was back on the road soon after.
What I want to do is contact the current owner and ask to be offered first refusal should it ever come up for sale.
I'd really appreciate any help you can give me.
Cheers,
Stewart.
my father used to own an ex Army AJS350 M16 (edited from G3) which I am very keen to trace. Its started it's working life in Singapore and he had it from the 1960s when he was in the RAF in North Africa. It came off the road when my brother and then I arrived and languished in his garden for the next 30 years, when he and my mum moved to Scotland and he sold it. At the time I was up to my elbows in my own kids and had stopped riding myself so dad didn't even offer me the bike. To be fair I would most likely have said no.
He ended up selling it to the brother of a friend of his called Bevis. I don't know the name of the brother, or their surname so have no way of contacting them.
Why am I so keen to trace it? The bike was owned by my dad since the 60s. He had it in North Africa when he was in the RAF and rode it from Tobruk to Petra amongst other adventures. Later on he honeymooned on it, taking my mum on an extended tour of Europe in the summer after they married. She was already pregnant by the time they went on the honeymoon and she has enduring memories of racing back from East Germany as the bump of my brother got bigger and bigger and worried her that she'd have to sit on the rack.
Roll forward to 2017 and I lost my brother to a very unexpected heart attack at just 49. I'd always associated him with the bike, as well as my folks obviously, but it wasn't until I lost him that I really realised what the bike meant. My folks are both nudging on to 80 now so, whilst I know it's just metal and rubber, I really want to try to trace this bike and that is what has brought me here.
Can anyone help? The bike was sold to Bevis's brother around 2004, when my folks still lived in Basingstoke. I have not idea where it went but gather it was back on the road soon after.
What I want to do is contact the current owner and ask to be offered first refusal should it ever come up for sale.
I'd really appreciate any help you can give me.
Cheers,
Stewart.