Author Topic: AJS RS1  (Read 11367 times)

Offline mightyoxmusic

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #15 on: June 14, 2016, 09:37:47 AM »
Thank You for your help and replies we have now going to be selling  the bike as it is for around £3500.00.
If anyone knows anybody that might be interested please let me know.
The bike can be viewed in London.
Thanks again

Offline Rex

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #16 on: June 14, 2016, 10:33:01 AM »
Best of luck with that then.
Well built bikes though they are, the prices have always seemed to be lower than other similar bikes probably due to the somewhat stolid performance. I'd expect one to be in pristine (or at least, very good useable) condition for that price.

Offline mini-me

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #17 on: June 14, 2016, 10:43:32 AM »
an optimistic valuation I think.

Offline mightyoxmusic

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #18 on: June 14, 2016, 11:03:56 AM »
What sort of price should we be asking?

Offline mini-me

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #19 on: June 14, 2016, 12:24:54 PM »
Personally less than two thousand £ would be my guess.

Do you have a V5? does it run? does it even turn over?

If you have none of these that devalues it  a lot.

Its a nice bike but  not that special a bike, not rare at all and for that price you can get a very well set up ready to ride bike.

My advice to you is to either bung it on ebay and let it find its own value, or sell it via Kettering Classics who handle a lot of bikes for the owners club. They wills sell on commisssion for you.

My own personal  pessimistic valuation, as a long term Matchless/AJS owner,on a bike in this state with no current V5 and a non runner is £1000-1200.

Why? because to put it back on the road  overhauled but unrestored will cost that much again.

Mediocre old bikes are not the gold mine many people think they are. Except for the spares suppliers...It'll need new rims and ryres for  a start, 5-600£, if the engine is stuffed, and it'll certainly be in need of a major overhaul, big end £200, then you need to get it fitted, piston £50, a set of cables 50quid if you can't make your own, it mounts up alarmingly.

not so many years ago a bike like this would have been broken for parts.

good luck with it.

« Last Edit: June 14, 2016, 12:31:35 PM by mini-me »

Offline mightyoxmusic

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #20 on: June 14, 2016, 12:35:52 PM »
Thanks for your advise we paid £2200.00 i think we have got our fingers burnt. We need to make a small profit to cover expenses ect.

Offline Rex

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #21 on: June 14, 2016, 01:27:51 PM »
Stick it on Fleabay with a starting price of say £1900, put plenty of  obligatory"barn find" references in the ad and you may get lucky, but there's a valuable lesson here....to make money out of old bikes means research and experience.
Unless you chance on something really  good, it's a game for enthusiasts only, and if you somehow believed that old Ajay was an "RS1" then that's clearly not you.

Offline mini-me

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #22 on: June 14, 2016, 02:27:06 PM »
Far too many of us have got our" fingers burnt" buying and selling old bikes, and thats just those of us who are supposed to know what its all about.

Rex advice is sound, put it on ebay with a truthful description and no BS. Lots of good clear deatail  pictures will be a must,as is up todate V5. No docs is a very big turn off as its lots of hassle now to get new ones.

You may get your money back; as its in London you might do well, as you will have  more potential buyers in the catchment area.

As a matter of interest why did you buy such a bike? hopes of investment?

You may have to steel yourself for a small loss, but who knows. Knowledge is not cheap to come by in these things.


here, similar bike similar condition.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MATCHLESS-1957-G3LS-FOR-RESTORATIOIN-/282044168210?hash=item41ab247812:g:HaEAAOSwiYFXGijw

a far better bike not much more that you were asking
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MATCHLESS-G3LS-1959-350cc-/262372487103?hash=item3d169e6fbf:g:EDYAAOSwfl9XBPvv

and another,the list goes on.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1959-Matchless-G3LS-350cc-Classic-Green-Genuine-11702-miles-AFS-/262454929925?hash=item3d1b886a05:g:JnoAAOSwMHdXRuEr

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AJS-MATCHLESS-600cc-1960-SAME-OWNER-FOR-OVER-30-YEARS-IDEAL-PROJECT-/162098852195?hash=item25bdd83163:g:jnEAAOSwZG9WliTF

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1955-AJS-350cc-single-MS16-Classic-British-Motorcycle-great-original-condition-/121990864262?hash=item1c6738dd86:g:2osAAOSwYHxWQ1Dl
« Last Edit: June 14, 2016, 02:37:29 PM by mini-me »

Offline iansoady

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #23 on: June 15, 2016, 10:23:14 AM »
Agree with everyone else. I'm puzzled by the statement "We need to make a small profit" (my emphasis). Nobody needs to but everyone wants to......
Ian
1952 Norton ES2
1986 Honda XBR500
1958-ish Tre-Greeves

Offline mini-me

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Re: AJS RS1
« Reply #24 on: June 15, 2016, 11:57:05 AM »
I've "needed" to make small profits all my life, I'm still trying to work out what went wrong :'(