Fifties Classic Bikes

The famous firm of AJS was founded at the beginning of the last century by Albert John Stevens, in Wolverhampton, England. Fast forward to the day its factory gates shut for the final time - in the late Sixties - and AJS had been through so many changes of ownership, that one of its bikes might have been forgiven for not knowing quite what it was. In 1931, AJS was subsumed under London's Matchless - and as a result, the AJS Model 30 ended up being the self-same machine as the Matchless G11 - save for the company livery and the exhaust set-up! Matchless were keen to hang onto AJS devotees, and so the 'two' bikes were twinned. Seven years later, the hybrid marque merged into AMC (Associated Motor Cycles), and the Model 30's identity crisis continued...right up until AMC were taken over by Norton Villiers, in 1967! By then, some of the AJS machines were being fitted with Norton parts...and the Model 30 was probably lying on its side in confusion!

At the racetrack, it was a different story. AJS knew exactly who they were, and where they were going - to the finish line, in double-quick time! In 1914, AJS had taken the Junior TT title, but finer feats were to follow. AJS made history by winning the first 500cc world championship - Les Graham piloting a Porcupine twin to victory, in 1949. Probably the most iconic of the AJS racebikes was aptly known as the Boy Racer - the single-pot 350cc 7R first appeared in 1948. The bikes's motor was subsequently re-sized to 500cc, to power the Matchless G50 - and so that 'mixed-up kid' mentality did eventually extend to the racetrack.

The Model 30 roadster laid no claim to the exoticism of its sporting brethren. It was quiet and subdued by comparison. But it was far from lacking in virtue! Its 593cc engine took it to a very respectable top speed of 95mph. The bike handled well, was comfortable, reliable and economical. In short, the Model 30 was a model bike! So, AJS clearly knew what they were doing, through all of the marque's vicissitudes. Ultimately, the company was around for six decades - so it must have been doing something right! The Model 30 bears rock-solid testament to that fact.

The Ariel Square Four is, without doubt, one of the most iconic classic motorcycles of them all. Amongst the bike's many claims to fame is the fact that it was designed by Edward Turner, who would go on to become the legendary head of Triumph in its glory days. But this was back in 1928, when Bonnevilles and Tridents were but a distant blur on the horizon.

Effectively, the famous Square Four engine configuration was a couple of parallel twins fore and aft. The upside was that it produced plenty of power - the 1958 model was good for 105mph - enough to satisfy the ton-up boys to whom Turner would in due course cater. The downside was that while the front brace of cylinders enjoyed lots of lovely cooling air, the rear set did not - which made them a mite cantankerous on a hot day! Mind you, that ton-plus top whack was still more impressive, given the Square Four's 'lardiness' - its 465lb girth needing some gentle guidance through corners.

So while no supermodel then, the Squariel nevertheless has a robust visual appeal. It looks like a motorcycle should, with no flim-flam to distract from that fact. The components all sit nicely with each other - particularly so, the telescopic front and plunger rear suspension units and the very tidy four header exhaust set-up. All in all, Ariel's Square Four can hold its head high in the 'lofty' company of those mythical machines toward which Edward Turner would soon be moving.

It was apt that it was in the first year of the new decade that the Golden Flash made its début...a bike as synonymous as any with the 1950s. A perfect example of a parallel twin, the A10 points back to an era when the Brit bike held sway. The Birmingham firm of BSA - and its legendary Small Heath factory - produced many of the machines which dominated the Fifties motorcycle world. Sadly, 1971 witnessed the once-great marque hit the buffers financially. They were bailed out by the Norton Villiers Triumph conglomerate, but BSA's best days were gone. The last of the bikes wore the Triumph logo - no disgrace, but far from a fitting end.

It is probably fair to say that the Flash was fêted more for functionality than form. While British-made bikes are rightly revered, they were known to suffer from the odd oil leak back in the day. Not so, the A10! It made a virtue of practicality. Economical and efficient, reliability was its watchword. The bike went back to basics, but did so with aplomb! Its 35bhp motor was tractable, but far from tame...the A10's top speed was only a tad shy of the mythical 'ton'. The 1954 model came complete with a shiny new swing-arm, in place of its plunger predecessor. All in all, both handling and acceleration were more than acceptable.

Though no beauty, the Flash was not a bad-looking bike. The BSA motor is a masterpiece of mettalurgy, and the downpipes swoop and splay into a sumptuous semi-frame. While the rest of the design is not quite in that league, it is pleasant enough, in a restrained kind of way. Replete with British reserve, one might say! Flash by name, but not by nature, BSA's A10 harks back to a golden age when the UK blazed a trail...with those behind in hot pursuit!

In the hit parade of the best classic bikes of all time, the BSA Gold Star would shoot straight into the top ten with a bullet. Of the plethora of products forged at the 'Birmingham Small Arms' company, few could match the velocity of the DBD34. Dubbed the Goldie, the bike elicits awe and affection in equal measure. The name is a tribute to Walter Handley's 100mph-plus lap of the Brooklands banked oval on a BSA - for his pains, he was given a Brooklands Gold Star.

In terms of looks, the bike's an absolute stunner! Race-style clip-on handlebars crouch over a chrome tank emblazoned with the famous Gold Star badge. Below, focus flows from a gaping Amal carburettor, through the single finned cylinder block, exiting by way of a stylish swept-back pipe. Such visual dynamism was echoed by the bike's straight-line speed of 110mph.

Competion-wise, the Gold Star was extremely versatile. In addition to that legendary lap of Brooklands, the bike shone not only in road racing, but also in motocross and trials. The DBD34 model 'came out' in 1956 in a stellar début at the Isle of Man Clubmans TT. It was clear for all to see that BSA's Gold Star was a café racer dream come true - after all these years, there is many a classic bike fan who still does not want to wake up.

BMW has become so synonymous with the Boxer flat-twin, that it has become almost a propietary engine configuration. Other marques, though, have adopted this layout over the years - among then, the Bristol firm of Douglas. Early models had the pistons 'punching' fore and aft - but the definitive Dragonfly saw them slung across the frame - à la BMW! Quite how a motorcycle resembled a dragonfly was known to the Douglas designers alone! At any rate, the bike made good, steady progress at 60mph (which may or may not be what a dragonfly can muster), but performance was less exemplary on either side of that 'benchmark' figure. Ultimately, this led to the Dragonfly's decline.

In styling terms, the Dragonfly is in a league of its own. Nothing else looks quite like it! Does the way in which the headlamp nacelle 'flows' into the fuel tank look a bit like a dragonfly? Perhaps not! Certainly, the Earles forks and solid rear shocks echo each other nicely - and above them, the make and model are elegantly scripted. While doubtless requiring plenty of polish, that flat-twin engine is itself a marvel of metal.

In 1923, Douglas even won a TT - in the sidecar category, Freddie Dixon doing the 'driving'. That historic outfit had its Boxer motor inline with the frame. The year before, a Douglas racebike had featured a delicate-looking little disc brake. So in various ways, then, the Douglas team were designing 'outside of the box', which is in keeping with that Dragonfly name - far from the raunchiest title for a motorbike, but probably the most poetic.