Experience With A Tempest Two Years On (2022)

Having written the previous article not long after finishing the running in period with the AJS Tempest that I bought new at the start of 2020 I thought that it was time for an update now that I have been using it for a couple of years. I have so far done just around 2000 plus miles on it, which is not a great deal I must admit. However, what with the Covid problems and the fact that I didn’t buy it to be my main motorcycle, I think that it is enough to give a reasonable appraisal of its qualities.

The running in of it was quite a pain and now that it is out of guarantee anyway I will admit that I did not always stick to what it says in the handbook. As long as the engine felt free and not stressed in any way I let the engine rev to a slowly increasing amount as the miles (Kilometres indicated on the odometer) went by. As stated in the previous article the 5000rpm limit quoted in the handbook for running in is not even in the power band for the engine and with such a limited amount of power available anyway I feel that it does more harm to the engine by trying to stick to that than it does by letting the engine run as it feels happiest. Admittedly you have to use common sense and mechanical sympathy in this regard though.

Anyway, with the running in out of the way I could use the engine to its full capacity and as I mentioned in the previous article the power band for the engine seems to be between 6000 (I actually said 6500 but it pulls well from 6000) and 8000 rpm. I have found that its happiest cruising speed seems to be about 50 to 53 mph and at this speed the engine is turning over at between 6500 and 7000 rpm. The handbook says maximum power is at 7500rpm and I have found that this is actually the optimum point for changing up a gear when accelerating as the engine seems to get a bit harsher after that and acceleration starts falling from then onwards in any case. It will hold this speed all day on level going but obviously steeper hills and headwinds require a changedown of gears to keep the revs up. It will of course trickle along happily at lower revs than 6000, such as when in towns etc, but you will not get any really useable power without changing down at least one gear when you open the throttle much at those revs. In the past I have never really seen the point of a tachometer on a road bike but with this one I find it is not only useful but almost a necessity. Having said that though, now that I can use the engine to its full potential I am very pleased at how it goes and is more or less what I expected from an engine of its stated power output. It can exceed its happiest cruising speed and exceed 60mph under favourable circumstances but I see no real point it doing so as it cannot really hold it once the going is not so favourable and it therefore needs a thrashing to try and keep it there. There is only so much power you can get from an 8.5bhp 125cc engine.

The initially very hard suspension seems to have settled down and doesn’t seem so hard now (or maybe I have just got used to it). However the seat still feels rock hard. The furthest I have travelled on the bike in one stint so far is about 80 miles, but I have to admit using a gel pad on top of the seat for that one. More typically I use it for runs between 20 and 40 miles at a time and for that it seems bearable as it is. The steering rake gives it a “quicker” type of steering (ie more trials bike than custom cruiser) than the older bikes that I am used to and this tends to make it more susceptible to being unsettled by gusty side winds than with my older lightweight bikes of similar size, weight and power and this also unsettled me a bit at first until I got used to it.

For most of the first year I was never able to get a luggage rack for it as AJS were out of stock. When I did manage to get one it seemed well made enough but when I tried to fit it I found out why my local dealer, who had had prior experience of them, didn’t want to fit one for me as I had to spend a lot of time modifying the fittings in order to get it to fit at all. However, now that it is on it does seem to be a sturdy thing and looks able to cope with any weight (within reason) that you want to put on it (a top box in my case).

For all of the first year I really only used it in the best of weather as I wanted to keep its finish pristine for as long as I could. For most winters I resort to My Matchless G5, mainly due to its deep mudguards and it being the easiest of my bikes to clean the muck off after a wet and salty journey. Unfortunately this winter (2021-2022) I had a bit of trouble with water in the fuel of the G5, putting it off the road for a while and so the Tempest was pressed into service during one of the worst periods so far this winter, with plenty of salt, mud and water on the roads. So it is now no longer pristine and so looks much like the rest of my bikes and now is getting used regularly during the winter because it is so easy just to wheel it out each time, check the fuel in the tank then turn on the ignition and press the start button. Also it is quite ok with ethanol in the fuel.

One thing that I have found was that it is very important to keep the drive chain adjusted to its correct setting as even a small amount of slackness results in a certain amount of transmission backlash when pulling away from a standstill unless you are very careful when doing so. The Tempest is not alone in this though and to me it was very reminiscent of a Honda CD200 Benly which I used to own that was exactly the same in this respect. It can be annoying but you get used to it eventually once you realise that there is no serious problem with the gearbox.

After its first trip on wet, salty roads in the rain the zinc plated fittings quickly “grew” the furry signs of corrosion just like any other of my bikes. In this respect it is no better or worse than any other bike I have owned. Like with all my others I will just have to keep as much corrosion at bay as I can with my usual treatment of oily rag, Scottoil FS365, WD40 and GT85 fluids. The area of most concern to me is the rear brake master cylinder and calliper, with the master cylinder and reservoir being situated right near the edge of the rear tyre it gets full blast and needs constant cleaning in bad weather. I have never liked rear disk brakes for this reason but now with compulsory ABS or linked brakes in this instance we are stuck with them now and the Tempest is no different from any other bike in that respect. As for the brakes themselves, I find them fine and not having any experience of the sort of brakes fitted to modern sports bikes these days I cannot see why I would ever need any more braking power on a bike like this and they are certainly more powerful than those on any of my older bikes.

The Tempest wheel rims are a very nice looking alloy type and I thought at first that the spokes were stainless steel, but the first trip on a wet salty road showed that the shine on them was just bright zinc which instantly corroded, so will now need a lot of attention from the oily rag. I would have much preferred the dull grey of properly galvanised spokes but I suppose that bright zinc plating looks better in a sales brochure and is probably cheaper as well.

Curiously the centre stand, which looks quite strong and holds the bike securely, needs quite a heave for such a light bike to lift the bike on to it. It seems to need just as much effort as my heavier Matchless G5 and interestingly they both need more effort than my even heavier pre-unit Royal Enfield Bullet. I suppose that it is all down to design and weight distribution and with unit engines it seems that most of the weight tends to end up in the wrong place for the stand pivot. However, the Tempest does also have a very good side stand so it is not so much of a problem. One thing that does irritate me a bit though is that the mirrors fitted do not extend far enough, I get a good view of my shoulders and forearms plus the grass verge but nothing behind unless I lean one way or the other first. Still I daresay aftermarket mirrors are available to fix that if I eventually get around to it.

Finally, to sum things up, I hope that I have not seemed to be too critical of what is, after all, a cheap bike ; but I thought it best to mention all that I have found so that anyone who is contemplating one will know what to expect and so not be disappointed to find out these things after buying one. Nothing that I have found has really put me off the bike at all so, am I pleased with my Tempest, yes. Am I glad I bought it, yes. Does it perform as well as I expected it to do, yes. Do I think that it was good value for money, yes. I think that it will have a place in my garage for some time to come yet as I find it an ideal general use runabout lightweight and, as I get older, lightweight, with all its meanings, is increasingly relevant.

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