Diamond in the Rough: 1931 AJS S8 DeLuxe

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by Kurtis Kristianson
1931 AJS S8 DeLuxe

Finding a gem in the rough is a fantasy for everyone in the classic motorcycle hobby. You know the dream, the one where you open a heavy door on creaking hinges, revealing the inside of a dim and dusty shed. Peering into the gloom, soft light glints off the faded chrome of a handlebar. Slowly, the hulking form of an abandoned machine begins to take shape.

It can happen, and the world of the internet has made it easier — don’t believe that all of the “barn finds” have been snapped up, because this story is proof that old motorcycles are out there just waiting to be found.

Less than two years ago, restorer and rider John Whitby of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was going through his morning routine of combing Kijiji.com, an online ad site. He was in the Classic Cars section of the Saskatchewan listings and paused when he saw a post for a Mercury. Curious about the car, he clicked on the ad.

“I was looking at the photos of the car, and in one picture I could make out the remnants of a motorcycle,” John says, adding, “I could see a girder fork, a bit of chrome on a gas tank and handlebars that were tipped up like cow horns.”

  • Published on Aug 9, 2016
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