Fig.1: The “New” 900cc Triumph Bonneville Thruxton, at the Germantown, Maryland British and European Motorcycle Day, May 2004
(Author’s Photo)

Fig.2: The Gold Standard— A 1961 Triumph Bonneville, at the Germantown, Maryland British and European Motorcycle Day, May 2004
(Author’s Photo)

Fig. 3: More British Cubes—
A Royal Enfield 750cc Interceptor Mark II, at the Auburn, Massachusetts British Motorcycle Meet, May 2004
(Author’s Photo)

Fig. 4: AMC’s 500cc Parallel Twin in CSR Specification— A 1959 Matchless G9, still Undervalued in the Current Market. (Photo by Classic British Bikes, Northwich, England)

Fig. 5: A 1960 Matchless 650cc G12, at the British and European Bike Show in Pensacola, Florida, September 1999. (Photo by Jim Downey)

Fig. 6: A 650cc BSA Rocket Gold Star (or a Very Good Knock-Off), at the 1997 British Motorcycle Day in Germantown, Maryland. (Author’s Photo)

Fig. 7: A 1967 500cc Velocette Thruxton, at the 1997 British Motorcycle Day in Germantown, Maryland. (Author’s Photo)

Fig. 8: The AJS 350cc 7R, the “Boy’s Racer.”  This is a Later Version, with a Tuned Reverse-Cone Megaphone Exhaust. (Photo from the Archives of the AJS Matchless E-Group)

Fig. 9: A Matchless 500cc G50, Pretty Close to Factory Specification, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, July 2003. (Photo by Allan Wren)

Fig. 10: One of Only Twenty-Five Matchless G50 CSRs the Factory Made, Sold in the US in 1962 as Golden Eagles. (Photo from the Archives of the AJS Matchless E-Group)

Fig. 11: It Fits Right In—The Honda GB500 Tourist Trophy, at the May 2004 British and European Motorcycle Day, Germantown, Maryland. (Author’s Photo)

Fig. 12: The Matchless G45 500cc “Production Racer,” at the Coupes Moto Légende Historic Races at Montlhéry, May 2003. (Photo by Serge Rossi)

Fig. 13: The Muscular Proportions of AMC’s 650cc Twin—an AJS 31 CS—at the Auburn, Massachusetts British Bike Meet in May 2004. (Author’s Photo)

Hierarchies of Meaning and Value
in the Classic British Bike Scene

James J. Ward, Ph.D.
Cedar Crest College

In March 2004, the Business Section of The New York Times discovered the classic British bike scene.  “Before the Japanese began volume production of large-displacement motorcycles,” the paper’s correspondent wrote, “the most popular import bikes came from England.   Owners endured many of the same frustrations that bedeviled drivers of British sports cars, including oil leaks and balky electrical systems, but the bikes’ powerful engines and excellent cornering compensated for those drawbacks…. Acquiring the top-grade machines today is no different than dabbling in fine art—an expensive proposition” (Brooke).  There is no arguing the last point.  In market terms, it is difficult to identify another investment that has paid off so handsomely as two decades’ ownership of a top-of-the-line British two-wheeler from the 1950s and ’60s.  A mint condition, low mileage 500cc Velocette Thruxton, for example, that changed hands in 1978 for $1,500 easily commanded $15,000 twenty years later, an average annual appreciation of better than 12 percent.*1  At current exchange rates, the same Thruxton from a British vendor today could go for as high as $20,000, a continued appreciation that has not been shared by all sectors of the collectibles market.*2  The appeal of classic British motorcycles is not limited to collectors and portfolio managers.  The success of the Guggenheim Museum’s 1998 “Art of the Motorcycle” exhibition demonstrated the popular resonance of historic racing and sporting machines.  The “Art of the Motorcycle” set attendance records for the museum that still stand and brought people into the 5th  Avenue landmark who would almost certainly have never otherwise visited its famous spiral exhibition space.*3

Interest in the classic British bike scene continues to grow, as examples are retrieved from lock-ups and barns, private collections go on the market, and an array of “new” machines, built up from “bitsas” or assembled from original or remanufactured components, find purchasers.*4  In Britain, where US-export models are quickly snapped up on re-entry, a small universe of suppliers, restorers, and other specialists satisfy the requirements of enthusiasts and fill the advertisers’ pages of the two major monthlies, The Classic Motorcycle and Classic Bike.  Annual get-togethers like the Classic Grand Prix at the Isle of Man and a variety of regional meets keep the competitive spirit strong, and well-attended shows like the Stafford show grounds extravaganza each spring, the latter usually in combination with a big-name auction sale, reinforce interest, enthusiasm, and above all desire.  The Goodwood Festival of Speed, now in its second decade, includes a growing number of two-wheelers, and homage is paid past heroes like Mike Hailwood and John Surtees.  Admirers of British iron can watch Norton Manxes, AJS 7Rs, Matchless G50s, and the occasional Vincent running at (reasonable) speed.  Even the smell of Castrol “R” is present, and an occasional burst of British invective when someone gets over-zealous and prangs a $35,000 piece of machinery adds to the fun. 

The American side of the pond shows a similarly positive trend, if at something of a remove.  British bikes, together with other classics, have asserted a growing presence at the premier US venue, Florida’s Daytona Bike Week, and the same holds for the Mid-America Bike Meet in Ohio.  British marques dominate, naturally, at regional gatherings like the annual British Motorcycle Meet in Massachusetts, the British (now British and European) Motorcycle Day in Maryland, and the British and European Motorcycle Rally in Houston, Texas.  Perhaps the most striking sign of resurgent interest in British classics in the US is the success of the revived Triumph Motorcycle Company.  Looking ahead to the 100-year anniversary of its nameplate in 2002, and undeterred by a spectacular fire that devastated its Hinckley, England factory, the new Triumph has scored with a series of thoroughly contemporary models wearing venerable names like Daytona, Tiger, and Trophy.  The company has done as well, if not better, with its “classically styled” Thunderbird and Bonneville models, the latter in particular drawing customers into dealerships in England and the US.  In an even more explicit nod to its illustrious past, Triumph recently (re)introduced the Bonneville Thruxton, replicating the café-racer look of the 1960s with clip-on handlebars, a bum-stop seat, and twin upswept exhausts. [Fig. 1]  Listing at $8,000, the Thruxton has proven irresistible to latter-day coffee-bar cowboys on both sides of the Atlantic.  Thanks to Triumph’s success, a biker can ride up to the reopened Ace Café, still at its historic location on London’s North Circular Road, on a parallel twin with all the proper fitments and none of the worries that the evening will end in a breakdown.*5

The market success of the new Bonneville and, in lesser measure, of the India-made 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet, says a good deal about the interaction of advertising, consumer taste, and perceptions of “meaning” and “value.”  Triumph’s promotion of its classic models puts heavy emphasis on “heritage,” “character,” “legendary style,” and “timeless design.”  The Thruxton in particular, with its café-racer looks, is advertised as a direct link to “the glorious past.”  Enthusiasts who opt for a Bonneville or a Thruxton are making a statement about their individuality—at least according to the Triumph sales literature—as well as their appreciation for “honesty” and “authenticity.”  What the latter terms mean, other than in appearance, is not especially clear, and it is likely that the sales success of the new Triumph parallel twins owes a good deal to the company’s prompt response to criticisms that greeted the first retro models, in regard to both performance and fine points of styling.*6  Nor is it clear whether Triumph’s classic models are meant to bring back to the showroom affluent middle-agers who may have owned, or simply longed for, an original Bonnie in their youth or to attract a new generation of customers looking for a statement-making alternative to the raft of lookalike v-twin cruisers that currently dominate the highway rider market.*7  Royal Enfield, with a much more credible claim to authenticity since the contemporary Bullet replicates a fifty-year old design, is even more adamant about marketing the past.  Both in engineering and appearance, the advertising claims, the Enfield 500cc single is “unlike any other motorcycle” today’s consumer can buy and offers the most direct route to “living in the past.”  Under-powered and over-priced, the Bullet has nonetheless carved a market niche in both the UK and the US to the extent that several variations are available and accessory dealers have begun offering a wide range of performance modifications.  In contrast, Kawasaki’s most recent attempt to commodify the past—the parallel-twin W650, a deliberate imitation of the original Bonneville—failed in the US market and was withdrawn after only a couple of years.  Despite positive reviews in the enthusiast press and high marks in face-offs with the new Bonneville, buyers judged the W650 not “British” enough, suggesting once more how precisely the measure of authenticity can be applied.*8

Lest there be any doubt that the new Triumph is on a roll, the magic seems to have reached back to its Meriden-built predecessors, products of arguably England’s most famous motorcycle factory.  “Smile if you own a pre-unit Bonneville or Trophy,” Classic Bike headlined a story in its July 2003 issue.  “Currently, pre-unit Bonnevilles have eclipsed even DBD34 Gold Stars and are heading towards the dizzy heights of Vincent territory,” the magazine continued.  “In doing so, they are dragging along all of the other once bread-and-butter pre-unit Triumphs in their wake.”*9 [Fig.2]  There is more than motorcycle history, of course, in the glamour attached to both the old and the new Bonnevilles.  Advertising for the new Bonnie plays up well-remembered associations with the movies, most notably The Wild One (1953) and The Great Escape (1963), even if more pedestrian Triumph models were used in both films.  And, although more frequently identified with heavyweight machinery like a Harley or a Vincent, it’s pretty sure that Jay Leno has at least one of each version of the Bonneville in his collection.  Even the British monthlies like it when a Hollywood type demonstrates affection for so famous an export as that 650 twin with the unmistakable two-tone paint job.

None of this is particularly good news for the average enthusiast who doesn’t already own a piece of the precious Meriden iron or isn’t prepared to liquidate most of his assets to acquire one.  Still, the Triumph story suggests how malleable the market for classic British bikes is, first and foremost in the UK, but spilling over to the States as well.  The traditional top-ranking few—BSA Gold Stars, Velocette Thruxtons, just about any Vincent—continue to appreciate in value.  But more commonplace machines, the mass-produced Triumphs and BSAs, along with workaday products from AMC (AJS and Matchless), Norton, Royal Enfield, and other smaller manufacturers, command top dollar (or pound), especially “original condition,” mint, and professionally restored examples.*10 [Fig. 3]  Amidst this general inflation, the actual value a particular model from one of the British manufacturers can claim on the open market is a more complicated matter.  Historical importance is one element.  Marque identification, desirability, and “image” are others.  The first is easy enough to credit—relative rarity, engineering advances, and competition success all contribute to determining “value.”  The other factors involve something more subtle and have to do with aesthetics, cultural resonance, and regret over a previous  under-appreciation of rediscovered virtues, in any case, things not easily quantified.  This is not nostalgia alone, although that can be part of it.  As  Classic Bike conceded in an article assaying the differing values of comparable machines, “The current, and justifiable, vogue for 650 Triumphs is based, above all, on the fact that they are great looking, practical buys that take us back to a time and place we want to recreate” (Defazio, “Smart Money”).  But meaning, even more than market value, is constructed, and the component elements might seem difficult to separate out and weigh in relative importance.

In the remainder of this essay, I want to examine the relationship between monetary value and imparted meaning by considering the products of Associated Motor Cycles Ltd, remembered mainly as the manufacturer of AJS and Matchless.  A starting place can be the AJS and Matchless parallel twins, produced in a range of displacements from 500 to 750cc between 1948 and 1969.*11  Although turned out in substantial numbers and enjoying a loyal customer base, the AMC twins always took a back seat to their better known, and better marketed, Triumph and BSA equivalents.*12  A conservative company even by the standards of British industry, AMC was reactive rather than aggressive in bringing new models to the market, even as it tried to remain competitive with its more famous rivals.  As a result, the company’s most attractive machines suffered from the “too little, too late” syndrome and were perceived as derivative of innovations introduced by others.*13  The same held on the race track, at least in the postwar years, although here it was more a matter of staying with the proven—the highly successful 350cc AJS 7R “Boy’s Racer” and its 500cc sibling, the Matchless G50.  Well regarded for their quality of construction, their superior handling, and the excellence of their paintwork, AMC’s bikes lacked the charisma of the Meriden and Birmingham heavyweights.  An effort was made, particularly with US-export models, to sharpen their identity, fiddling with paint schemes and tinwork and using names like “Monarch” and “Majestic” instead of the home market number/letter designations.  But these were hardly a match for “Lightning,” “Super Rocket,” “Daytona,” and “Bonneville,” or, for that matter, AMC’s own Norton Atlas.  More effectively, performance upgrades applied to the base-line AJS and Matchless twins, signaled by the suffixes CS (street scrambler) and CSR (sports roadster) broadened their appeal.  Local wits, unfortunately, turned the latter into the uncomplimentary tag “Coffee Shop Racer.”*14 [Fig. 4]

Relying on an established fan base, and on the racetrack victories of its competition models to add lustre to its road machines, AMC did not make its products available to the motorcycle press for test rides—again, not the best of public relations strategies.  Regardless, the magazines treated the output of the Plumstead works with respect, testing customers’ bikes and finding them solidly made, technically competent (save for braking), and, in the case of the CSR models, competitive with BSA’s and Triumph’s roadburners.*15  The magic that attached to the latter, however, always eluded the AMC twins.  Well before BSA and then Triumph watched the market collapse, AMC was in financial trouble, and increasingly frantic parts-swapping in the mid-1960s—occasioning a run of AJS-Matchless-Norton hybrids—did little to halt the decline.  First AJS, then Matchless, ceased trading, while Norton lived on, thanks to the 750 and 850cc Commandos, cocooned in the Department of Trade and Industry-subsidized Norton-Villiers-Triumph conglomerate.*16

Owners of AMC twins may be excused for a bit of impatience at the relative inattention given their mounts.  Lately, however, there have been suggestions of a change.  In comparison tests of ’60s British twins, the magazines have given high marks to the Plumstead machines, both for build quality and sporting performance.  Measured against their Triumph and BSA equivalents, the AMC bikes excel in handling, are reasonably free of excess vibration, and generally seem less temperamental to maintain (Minton; Duckworth, “Battle”).  In individual tests, the big Ajays and Matchlesses acquit themselves well.  Testing a 1958 Matchless 600cc G11, Roy Poynting found little wanting in terms of performance (“Middle of the Roadster”).  The front brake may have felt pressed at speed, but in virtually every other regard the bike represented a near perfect combination of the attributes sought by many classic bike enthusiasts.  For Classic Bike Guide, Steve Wilson rode the CS version of the G11 and discovered all the old virtues associated with AMC’s products confirmed. “The combination of tearing exhaust note and eagerness to go made you forget a certain harshness from both the engine and the suspension,” Wilson wrote.  Handling could not be faulted, and “acceleration was solid and strong, if not breath-taking.”  Riding a 1961 650cc AJS 31 CSR (which had started off as a Matchless G12) fitted with all the café-racer goodies for The Classic Motorcycle, Nigel Clark encountered a nasty patch of vibration at 65mph, but was free of it with just a bit more throttle, while the sound on over-run from the twin reverse-cone megaphones more than compensated for the momentary rattle. Last year, Classic Bike  awarded similar accolades to another Ajay 31, also in café racer set-up.  “From a distance, it radiated a refined, sporting elegance that one might associate with a Vincent, or perhaps a Velocette,” Mark Cain reported.  On closer examination, and with a ride under the belt, the AJS confirmed the judgment (quoted in the report) by AMC historian Roy Bacon: “It is difficult to envisage a more desirable classic British bike than a late fifties or early sixties CSR.”  For Classic Bike Guide, Jim Reynolds rode a late model G12 CSR and was pleased to discover “just how fleet and just how much fun a 650 Matchless sports twin can be.”  Even if it was not built as a semi-racer like the hottest Bonnevilles or Lightning Clubmans, the Matchless was as sleek as British performance roadsters get and is “definitely a bike to covet.” [Fig. 5]

If the magazines are finding more and more to like about the AMC twins, has there been a corresponding up-tick in the market value for Plumstead iron?  A quick survey for the last few years indicates a modest increase in prices asked, but hardly one to match the soaring values of the Triumph and BSA glamour models.*17  Top condition AMC 650s have been listed in a range of £2,200-3,200 or $3,960-5,760.  In contrast, mid-range BSA and Triumph 650s have been offered for as high as £5,000-5,500 or $9,000-9,900, the highest prices going to Triumph T110 Tigers and T120 unit-construction Bonnevilles.  The cream of the crop, outstripping even the pre-unit Bonnies, has been BSA’s 650cc Rocket Gold Star, original versions of which have sold for £6,000-6,500 plus ($10,800-11,700), with an exceptional example able to claim £10,000 ($18,000).*18 [Fig. 6] Norton’s big twins, by contrast, have ranged between £2,500 and £5,000 ($4,500-9,000) for 650cc Dominators, while 750cc Atlases, their fearsome reputation for vibration notwithstanding, have been sold for as much as £7,000 ($12,600).  The vibration-free Commando, in both 750cc and 850cc iterations, has been marketed by the major vendors in a range of £2,500 to £6,500 ($4,500-11,700), prices depending on specifications and condition.  Soaring beyond all these admirable double-bangers, of course, is BSA’s iconic single-cylinder Gold Star, with the 350cc DB32 variation commanding £6,000-6,500 ($10,800-11,700) and the even more desirable 500cc DB34 type requiring £8,000-9,000 ($14,400-16,200) for acquisition.*19  Velocette’s Gold Star-challenging Thruxton inhabits the same stratosphere. [Fig. 7]  

Interestingly, AMC’s 500 and 600cc twins, the AJS 20/30 and Matchless G9/G11, match the prices of its 650s, reflecting the smaller models’ favorable reputation as well-balanced, smooth-running machines.*20  The British magazines have had something of a belated love affair with the smaller Ajays and Matchlesses, especially the 600s, which seem to possess just the right mix of solid construction, performance, and dependability, along with a certain measure of “class” or “classiness.”  Ten years ago, testing a 1957 AJS 30, Classic Bike admitted, with a wistful note, “Never a best seller, the 600cc AJS lacked the exciting styling of contemporary Triumph twins, although its steering and handling were infinitely better.…AMC did market CS and CSR super-sport versions of the Model 30 and G11, but the 600s never stood a chance against slightly larger-capacity models capable of speeds beyond the magic ton.”  The same report also described the Ajay’s “magnificently torquey engine,” which “sounded rorty enough to be a racer” and encouraged the rider to leave “a three-foot scar in the road surface of a corner” (Dobson).  Not bad for a Plumstead plodder and, at the time, available for as little as £1,200, or $1,800 (at a 1.50 $/£ exchange).   More recently, Classic Bike Guide tested a 500cc AJS 20 and praised its excellent handling, spirited performance, and flawless gearbox.  “To many riders,” the magazine concluded, “this type of bike may not be sufficiently fast or flashy and may not have the appeal of more exotic machines, but as a classic bike for regular use, it’s hard to beat” (Hoare).  The same magazine put another AJS 30, carefully restored by its owner, through the paces and found it “a crackling good example of its kind.”  The AMC twin rode hard, powered by “a good, strong engine that pulled well from low revs” and produced “a great sounding basso profundo” on acceleration (Fryer).     

In the dealerships, Plumstead iron occasionally draws top pound or dollar.  In November 2003, Phil Cotton Classic Motorcycles advertised a 1955 Matchless G9 Clubman “in superb condition” for £4,650 ($8,370), not a bad sum for a relatively early example.  Cotswold Classics had an almost identical machine, in similar condition, for £4,500 ($8,100).  The 650 Matchlesses have been trading for prices as high as £4,695 ($8,450) for a 1960 G12 “in outstanding condition” and £4,750 ($8,550) for a 1962 G12 CSR, fully restored and “absolutely gorgeous.”  At the auctions, the AMC machines come to the block less frequently than their more charismatic counterparts.  The biggest auctioneer in the States, Mid-America, had two Matchless G12s for sale in Dallas in the fall of  2002, attracting bids of $5,500 and $6,000, not enough to take home either bike.  At its Las Vegas sale in February 2003, Mid-America sold a 1964 G12 CSR for a high bid of $6,000, but also put up two other G12s that failed to meet their reserve prices.  In contrast, three BSA 650cc twins topped reserves with bids of $7,000 to $10,500, three Norton Atlases made their reserve prices of $5,000 to $7,500, and two unit-construction Bonnevilles sold for $11,750 and $13,500.  In St. Paul, in April 2003, Mid-America sold a 1962 Matchless G12 for $5,500, compared with a 1967 off-road model Bonneville that traded for $9,000.  At its Las Vegas auction in February 2004, Mid-America sold a 1965 Matchless G12 CSR for $6,200.  At the same sale, a 1966 Bonneville went for $11,000, and a pre-unit 1961 Bonnie sold for $16,500.*21

With good condition examples selling at $5,000-6,000, AMC’s road-going twins remain under-valued. The company’s pure race machines, however, present a different picture.  Both AJS and Matchless boasted proud competition pedigrees, going back to victories in the first Tourist Trophy Races on the Isle of Man and setting records that stood for years.  After the companies merged in 1931, the racing flag was carried by AJS, leading to a run of memorable machines that included a supercharged 500cc V-4 introduced on the eve of the Second World War and the conventionally aspirated 500cc “Porcupine” twin, which captured the newly established World Championship in 1949.*22  The year before, AJS had introduced a new overhead-cam single-cylinder 350cc racer, designated the 7R, that was to become one of the most successful, and best loved, competition bikes of the postwar era.  Never as quick as the Norton Manx or the Velocette KTT Mark VIII, the 7R had the advantage of simple construction and great reliability, along with ease of maintenance.  It also benefited from continuous development by AMC’s race shop, the results of which were shared with the company’s customers.*23 Often outlasting its more esoteric rivals, the 7R became the motorcycle on which an entire generation of British sportsmen earned their first wins and, over the years, accumulated a mountain of victories in amateur and club events.  The 7R was also, by common impression, the best-looking British competition single of the period, not least thanks to the eye-catching gold paint used to prevent corrosion on its magnesium alloy engine castings, and its venerable black-and-gold AJS bodywork.  “To many enthusiasts,” Mick Walker writes in British Racing Motorcycles, “the AJS ‘Boy’s Racer’ was unquestionably the prettiest racing motorcycle money could buy” (21). [Fig.8]  And the money, even in the lean circumstances of the late 1940s and early 1950s, was not that much.  A privateer could obtain a track-ready 7R for a little over £300 (less than $500) in 1948, and AMC did not raise the price for several years.

In 1953, AMC developed a three-valve version of the 7R to contest the 350cc Championship.  While this machine finished one-two in the Junior TT on the Isle of Man and achieved wins elsewhere, the results were not sufficient to sustain a works team at the championship level.  After the 1956 season, AMC announced its withdrawal from factory racing, but continued to produce competition bikes for public sale.  In 1958, AMC introduced the Matchless G50, a 500cc version of the 7R that copied the original right down to the gold-colored engine casings.*24  Although it had the same winning attributes as the smaller bike, the G50 was frequently outclassed by Norton’s 500cc Manx and the even faster European multi-cylinder racers (Woolley, “G50”; Walker, British Racing Motorcycles 50-57).  In 1962, AMC pulled the plug on both machines.  All told, the company built 500-600 7Rs and somewhat less than 200 G50s, the latter not counting twenty-five G50 engines mounted in the sports roadster frame, produced in 1962 and shipped to the US for homologation purposes as the Matchless G50 CSR.  Marketed as Golden Eagles, one of these machines carried Dick Mann to the American 500cc championship in 1963.  Looking back on the G50 CSR, motorcycle journalist Mick Duckworth speculated about what might have been: “This gem surely deserved to be made in hundreds rather than tens, in which case it would surely have eclipsed the over-stressed 500cc BSA Gold Star as the most fabled British single” (“Flying Like an Eagle” 67).  The G50’s career, however, had hardly ended.  In 1966, British frame specialist Colin Seeley acquired the rights to the AMC race shop and soon began producing updated versions of the G50, along with a handful of road-equipped models that he marketed as the Condor.  Other specialist builders also kept the G50 on the racetrack, and, with the growth of interest in classic racing, AMC’s big single has come into its own, emerging as the dominant force in the 500cc class. [Fig. 9] Since 1991, George Beale has been building and selling replica G50 racers, as well as an ultra-lightweight version that has proven highly competitive.*25 More recently, former TT racer and Gold Star specialist Steve Tonkin has installed George Beale-built G50 engines in a modified version of the Seeley frame to produce a road-going racer that he has dubbed the Typhoon.  For Tonkin, the G50 has an irresistible appeal.  “To my mind the G50 is the most attractive motor ever,” Tonkin told The Classic Motorcycle, “and I wanted to build something that would be the ultimate classic sports roadster.  It was an obvious choice” (Wheeler 35).

With so much going for them, the demand for AMC’s racing singles on the classic market has been strong for years.  Always at their best on short, tight circuits, the 7R and G50 represent ideal mounts for classic racing, especially as a ready supply of spare parts is available from specialist manufacturers.  Added to such practical considerations is the bikes’ aesthetic appeal.  When classic racing was just getting started at the end of the 1970s, Classic Bike observed, “With their elegant, understated lines and beautiful detail work, the AJS 7R and Matchless G50 epitomise all that was best in British racing motorcycle design in the postwar period.”*26  Twenty years later, with the G50 established as the bike to run in the 500cc class, factory specification examples, in top condition, could easily pull £20,000, or $36,000 at the current exchange rate.*27  One restored factory spec G50, sold by Brooks Auctioneers in London, went for £29,000, around $50,000 at the current rate.  Replica G50s produced by George Beale were listed between £15,750 and £18,000 ($28,350-32,400) in 2004, and a replica Seeley Mark II was offered at £19,000 ($34,200).  In 2003, one of the road-going G50 CSRs, restored to concours condition, was offered at £15,000 ($27,000), well ahead of the best Gold Stars and Thruxtons.*28 [Fig.10]

Reflecting the larger number produced and the tougher competition represented by Manxes and KTT Velocettes in the 350cc class, 7R prices have run somewhat below those for the G50.  According to Miller’s Classic Motorcycles, top auction prices for the Ajay racer have ranged between £13,000 and £15,000 ($23,400-27,000), while the major vendors have been asking £12,000 to £14,000 ($21,600-25,200) for excellent examples.  In comparison, 350cc Norton Manxes have been offered at £10,000 to £14,000 ($18,000-25,200), and KTT Mark VIII Velocettes have been listed at £12,000 to £16,000 ($21,600-28,800), the highest prices going for perfectly restored examples or machines with a history as works racers.  In the US, Mid-America Auctions sold a 1960 7R for a high bid of $16,500 at its Las Vegas sale in February 2003, compared to a 350cc Manx that went for a high bid of $19,500 and a KTT Mark VIII that went for $12,000, the latter price suggesting a somewhat tatty machine.  Dealers’ notices in the magazines for the last year or so have included a 1956 7R, “100 percent original,” at £11,500 ($20,700) and a 1949 7R, evidently even more desirable, at £13,500 ($24,300).  The top price for a 7R, a 1960 example with racing history listed by George Beale Motorcycles, was £18,000 or $32,400.

Perhaps the greatest compliment paid AMC’s racing singles came from one of the companies that helped put an end to motorcycle manufacturing in the United Kingdom.  When Honda decided there were sales to be made from the burgeoning interest in classic British singles, the machine its design wizards came up with, the GB500 TT (for Tourist Trophy), was a close knock-off of the 7R, without gold engine casings but with the reverse-cone megaphone that AMC had used on mid and late-series “Boy’s Racers.”*29  With its proven overhead-cam four-valve engine and, in a nod to the market, electric start, the GB500 should have sold in big numbers, although the $4,200 list price was a bit high for US buyers.  In Cycle World, Peter Egan observed that in trying to re-create the past, Honda had to meet to some lofty standards, in both performance and aesthetics.  “The British motorcycle industry had a long time to develop those proportions,” Egan wrote.  “Simplicity and grace are never out of style, and the GB is a simple, handsome bike” (33). [Fig.11] Sales, however, were a disappointment, and the bike, available in the States only in 1989 and 1990, was discontinued.  Ten years later, low mileage GB500s were being traded in a range of $2,500 to $3,500, reflecting little in the way of collectors’ interest.*30  But in the last two or three years, GBs have appreciated significantly and have acquired something of a cult appeal among self-identified cognoscenti of “classic singles.”  In November 2003, Baxter Cycles, an Iowa dealer known to all British bike enthusiasts, listed a 1990 GB500, literally “still in the crate,” on its website for $8,650, a big gain in just a couple of years.  Other listings peg the GB500 at $5,000 to $6,000, while enthusiasts, on one or another of the online exchanges, regularly hail the bike’s excellent value for the dollar.  The same appears to hold in Britain, where resentment over the exploitation of one of its star racing machines by a Japanese manufacturer might be expected to linger.  Some wags, according to the magazines, have taken to applying AJS or Matchless transfers to their GBs, vindicating, albeit belatedly, Honda’s original intention.  In its September 2003 issue, The Classic Motorcycle listed a 1991 GB500, “in showroom condition,” at £3,500, or $6,300—not the price of a 7R, but certainly the price of a good AMC 650 CSR.

No one has done more to celebrate the history of AMC’s racers, and to put the machines themselves back on the track, than the US equipe, Team Obsolete.  Operating out of its Brooklyn, New York headquarters, Team Obsolete has a combative, if not controversial, reputation in the classic bike scene, in large part due to the style of its founder, lawyer and AMC loyalist Rob Iannucci.  Starting with a nucleus of California-sourced G50s in the 1970s and recruiting a cadre of veteran competition riders, Iannucci has built a team whose record of success speaks for itself.*31  In 1986, Team Obsolete entered one of the three-valve 7Rs at the Daytona Vintage Races, the bike’s first competitive appearance in over thirty years.  A little earlier, the team had acquired a 1954 E95 “Porcupine” racer, minus engine internals, and had initiated a collaborative effort, with American and British participants, to rebuild a complete, track-ready machine.  A lengthy, and litigious, involvement in pursuit of the MV Agusta racing department put the Porcupine project on extended hold.  At the Stafford show in 2000, Team Obsolete bid successfully for a complete E95 engine that had passed through the hands of both Colin Seeley and legendary AMC factory tuner Tom Arter.  At £78,000 (about $140,000 at today’s exchange rate), it was the highest price ever paid for a motorcycle engine.*32 Mated with what in all probability had been its original chassis, the rebuilt Porcupine had its shakedown on the nighttime streets of New York.  At the Scarborough Gold Cup Races and the Goodwood Revival Races in the autumn of 2000, British enthusiasts saw and heard the famous AMC racer run in anger, a half century after its championship-winning season.*33  In 2003, Team Obsolete ran one of the two three-valve 7Rs it has restored at venues in North America and, later in the year, had both “Triple Knockers” up and running for British classic events.  The two rare AMC racers are now in the custody of the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham where, fortunately, neither was on hand when a carelessly started fire destroyed hundreds of historic bikes in September 2003.*34  

There is another fascinating piece to the AMC story, one that shows how meaning, even if variously defined, can transform value.  Between the early successes of the 7R and the later development of the G50, AMC produced another over-the-counter racer that, for a long time, has resided in relative obscurity.  In 1951, to back up the Porcupine and showcase the Matchless name, the Plumstead factory shoehorned a competition version of its 500cc parallel twin into a 7R frame.  With high cams and short pushrods, and three main bearings to support the crankshaft, the AMC twin seemed an inspired choice for a production racer.  The prototype had its first test at the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man, where it finished a creditable fourth.  The following year, the same machine led the GP from start to finish, setting a series of new lap records in the process.  Based on this promising start, AMC introduced the Matchless G45 “multi-cylinder production racer” as part of its 1953 catalogue, the “45” indicating the new bike’s quoted horsepower maximum.  In that year’s TT, no fewer than fourteen G45s were entered, but the highest finish was ninth.  Riders found the bike fast enough, but crippled by oil leaks, valve train failures, and a tight power band that required almost constant full-out running.  In the 1954 TT, ten G45s were on the starting grid, but the best result the bike could manage was fifteenth.  Neither the works team nor privateers got much satisfaction from the factory in sorting out the G45’s problems, as AMC engineers concentrated instead on the 7R and Porcupine racers.  To the disappointment of many AMC fans, who thought they saw a potential winner, the G45 became something of an orphan, with little, if any, attention turned to its further development.  After 1956, AMC ceased producing G45s, although a few additional machines were released in 1957 and 1958.  The total run of G45s was about eighty machines, some of them engineered for sidecar racing and others shipped to the US for adaptation as flat-trackers.  In the end, rumor has it, the factory gave away the last examples just to be rid of them.*35

Compared with AMC’s other racers, the G45 had to be called a failure.  Yet there was something about the bike that made the failure especially poignant.  Much of this was because the G45 looked so right.  AMC’s twin-cylinder motor never shown better than when it was mounted in a road racing chassis, and the G45’s other fitments, adopted from the 7R, complemented it perfectly.  Finished in black and silver, the G45 was an undeniably attractive machine. [Fig. 12]

The British magazines have appreciated the G45’s appeal, even as they acknowledge its ill-starred competition career.  In an early issue, Classic Bike asked on its front cover, “The Matchless G45—Was It Really That Bad?” and, in the accompanying story, wondered, “Given its saga of failure, why should anyone want to own a G45 today?” (Cathcart, “Born to Lose” 13).  Two decades later, the magazine included the G45 as part of its “Legends” series, writing of the bike, “If looks could win races, then surely the Matchless G45 would have had a string of victories to its credit, as seldom had there been a machine that combined functional appearance with such good looks” (Jackson 44).  In 2003, Classic Racer featured a 1953 G45, modified to accept a set of leading-link forks, that had been campaigned at the 1954 and 1955 TTs and, unrestored, probably represents one of the most original of the surviving examples of the AMC racer.  The “old girl” had many fine qualities, the magazine’s reporter wrote, along with “loads of character” (Swallow 27).  In much the same vein, the G45 appears in Mick Duckworth’s recently published Classic Racing Motorcycles (28), where it shares pride of place with the 7R and the G50, as well as the Manx and the KTT Mark VIII.           

As a classic racing bike, vendors and buyers have had the G45 near the top of their price list for some time.  In 1997, three of the machines appeared in notices run by Atlantic Motor Cycles, at prices ranging from £21,000 to £24,000 ($31,500-36,000, at the then exchange rate), substantially more than was being asked for 350 and 500cc Manxes and about the same the very best 7Rs and G50s could command.  The following year, Miller’s Classic Motorcycles listed two G45s, one of them a 1953 example estimated at £14,000 to £16,000 ($21,000-24,000) and the other a 1954 machine, restored by George Beale, estimated at £15,000 to £17,000 ($22,500-25,500).  A 1955 G45, part of Tom Arter’s collection, sold for a high bid of £20,125 ($30,187), the upper limit of its pre-sale estimate, at the 2000 Stafford show auction.  Atlantic had another G45 for sale in 2001, priced at £25,000, or $37,500, the same amount the firm was asking for a showroom-perfect AJS 7R.  At its 2003 Las Vegas sale, Mid-America offered what appeared to be one of the earliest G45 prototypes, a machine of such historic significance that a bid of $40,000 was insufficient to meet its reserve.  For last year’s Las Vegas auction, Mid-America listed another G45, its appeal, however, diminished by some incorrect fittings.  The machine sold for $24,500, but might have claimed another $10,000 had it possessed all the proper parts.*36  A few months later, a private owner in Australia advertised a 1957 G45, which must be one of the last of the machines to leave the factory, for £15,000, or $27,000.*37  With G45 prices reaching, and exceeding the $30,000 mark, the Matchless competition twin is nearing the top level for a racing machine that, when new, the private sportsman could wheel away from the factory gate for a few hundred pounds.  The next step up takes us into the territory occupied by genuine works racers and by multi-cylinder exotics from Italy and Japan.  It is not the G45’s racetrack record that dictates the prices it may soon command, nor its relative rarity, for quite a number of the machines have been traded in the last several years.  Rather, the Matchless racer has finally achieved the success it was denied during its years of production.  The bike is now being valued not for what it was, but for what it should, or could, have been.  In the minds, or in the wallets, of its fans, it’s what a British twin-cylinder racing motorcycle of the 1950s and ’60s was supposed to look like, and when it went, it went very fast.  That it was fragile, and temperamental to boot, only increases its mystique.  In the end, it is a matter of desire, and that, after all, is what makes the market work.

Time, and prices, will tell if the latter-day appeal of AMC’s racing bikes can boost the market value of the company’s road machines.  In its January 2005 issue, Classic Bike reviewed the range of AJS and Matchless parallel twins, finding them “a cost-effective alternative to the BSA-Norton-Triumph triumvirate whose prices have risen markedly.”  Prices for the AMC roadsters are creeping up, the magazine noted, but at nowhere close to the rate of Bonnevilles, BSA Lightnings and Thunderbolts, and pre-Commando Nortons.  As at the time of their manufacture, the AMC twins remain  conservative in looks and performance, but score with their “depth of character,” quality of construction, and long-term dependability—in short, good, and still economical, buys in a rising market (Crichton, “Twins for Gents in No Hurry”). [Fig. 13] For all their intrinsic merit, then, the AMC twins are likely to stay right where they were when they were being manufactured at the Plumstead works, on the tail of their flashier competitors and only incrementally, if at all, closing the gap.  In this light, motorcycle journalist Mick Phillips’ verdict a few years back, after riding a carefully restored Matchless G12 CSR, turns out to be prophetic.  Built to challenge the Bonneville, Phillips wrote, the CSR fails to pose that much of a threat.  It’s a push to crack the ton, Phillips reported, although a strong tailwind helps, and the big twin’s rev limit doesn’t hesitate to make itself noticed. Where the Matchless does excel is in its relative rarity, especially if it comes fitted with the factory speed kit that promised several additional horsepower (Phillips, “Promises, Promises…”).  How today’s classic market values exclusivity against performance, trend-setting styling, and an iconic image—which the Bonneville has in spades—will be a major factor in fixing prices for motorcycles that never quite made it to the rank of legends, but were certainly memorable in their own right.  There, meaning may become more important, and advertising, marketing, and image management less, in constructing the value enthusiasts and collectors are willing to pay for the bikes they love.

Endnotes
*1 The 1978 sale, (regrettable) personal experience.  The new edition of the standard reference (Walker, Miller’s 2005-06), lists two Thruxtons at estimated values of £9,400-10,500, or $16,920-18,900, at an exchange rate of 1.80 $/£.  Recently, Classic British Bikes in Northwich (England) advertised a 1968 Thruxton at £13,999, or $25,200.  See Classic Bike Guide, September 2004, 66-67.  For the measure of the machine itself, see Mick Phillips’ report (“Out of Date or Out of Sight?”) on a 1967 Thruxton.  
*2 Classic automobiles are the obvious case in point.  With few exceptions, even highly desirable models have yet to recover the stratospheric values they enjoyed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
*3  Spin-offs, such as the exhibition that inaugurated the Las Vegas Guggenheim, a joint venture with the Venetian Hotel-Casino, did not fare so well.  Opened in September 2001, the Las Vegas show was no doubt negatively affected by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.  In 2003, the Las Vegas Guggenheim closed, its exhibition space turned over to more conventional Strip-style entertainment.
*4 The range of machines now being manufactured includes 650, 750, and 850cc Norton Dominators and Commandos, 350 and 500cc Norton Manxes built to original factory specifications, Matchless G50s in either original specification or in a lightweight version, and that favorite café racer, the Triton (Triumph power in a Norton frame), the latter with either a Bonneville twin or Trident triple engine.    
*5 For the success of the revived Triumph Company, see Thursby.  While the new Bonneville drew mixed reviews from classic enthusiasts, the Thruxton variant, with its hotted-up engine, has been rated a winner (Robinson; Duckworth, “Worthy of the Name?”).
*6 The T100 version of the new Bonneville corrected several of the shortcomings critics identified in  the original edition and, with the 2005 model’s 9.5 percent increase in displacement (shared with the Thruxton), put to rest complaints about the bike’s performance.
*7 Judging by the investment-oriented Robb Report, the latter seems to be the case, especially where the new Bonneville and Thruxton are concerned.  See Bayly.
*8 While most reviewers thought the W650 caught the look and “feel” of a 1960s Bonneville better than did the Hinckely-built reincarnation, Kawasaki appeared to have misjudged the retro market in America, as  dealers here had a hard time moving the bike.  The W650 has done considerably better in England, where it is still sold.  For purists, the W650’s “British” look is spoiled by its Ducati-like camshaft drive tower. 
*9 “Pre-unit” refers to separate engine and gearbox construction, the norm for British motorcycles until the 1960s, when most manufacturers switched to combined, or “unit,” construction.  As if to confirm this prediction, the J. Wood auction company sold a 1959 Bonneville, admittedly of museum quality, at the March 2004 Daytona Bike Week for $22,000, setting a record price for a production British 650cc twin.
*10 Even so utilitarian a heavyweight twin as the Royal Enfield Interceptor, long denigrated as little better than agricultural machinery, is now drawing favorable notice and has been gaining value on the market.  See Mick Duckworth’s report (“The Forgotten British Twin”) on a 1967 Mark IA Interceptor.
*11 Technically, AMC ceased production of its parallel twins in 1966, but continued to manufacture 750cc Norton-engined machines in a variety of models.  There was also an interim run of approximately 200 Matchless machines with the AMC engine bored out to 750cc, nearly all of them shipped abroad and remembered today as bone-rattling vibrators.  The last machines with AJS badges (and Norton engines) were produced in 1967, and the Matchless-badged models disappeared two years later.  The sometimes bewildering interchangeability among AMC’s products can best be followed in the marque guidebooks by Martin Redman and Roy Bacon.
*12 Although AJS and Matchless merged in the 1930s to form AMC (Associated Motor Cycles) and offered essentially identical models of nearly all road machines, loyalties to the separate marques remained  strong.  Right to the end, there were “AJS men” and “Matchless men”—a tradition that survives, in good-spirited form, in the AJS and Matchless Owners’ Club.  AMC’s acquisition of Norton in 1953 muddied things further, and the interchangeability of components among differently branded machines was one of the things that gave “badge-engineering” the bad name it may, in some quarters, still retain.
*13 AMC’s conservative business practices are the theme of Roy Poynting’s report (“Stealth and Efficiency”) on a restored standard-issue Matchless G12, underappreciated in its day and, in large measure, still.
*14 Leaving even these admirable machines at a disadvantage to Goldies, Bonnies, Domis, and Tritons, i.e., the real thing.  Cf. Mike Clay’s respectful, but telling comments on the AMC street racers in his popular history of the phenomenon (60-62).
*15 Period tests for the 500, 600, and 650cc AMC twins, as well as the Atlas-engined Matchless G15 (750cc) that closed out the series, are reprinted in the AJS and Matchless Gold Portfolio.
*16 The shut-downs, sell-offs, and amalgamations that marked the waning years of the British motorcycle industry are outside the scope of this article.  For an insider’s view, by the one-time Managing Director of (respectively) Norton, Triumph, and BSA, see Hopwood.  Steve Koerner’s account, based on a Ph.D. thesis at the University of Warwick (England), essentially confirms Hopwood’s analysis.
*17 Prices cited are for top-value examples, as estimated in Miller’s annual price guides (Walker, Miller’s 2001; Walker, Miller’s 2002; Walker, Miller’s 2003-04; Walker, Miller’s 2005-06).  Neglected or hard-used machines obviously go for considerably lesser sums, although with the current market for British bikes, basket-cases or those requiring extensive rebuilds are becoming increasingly difficult to find.
*18 In 1990, Classic Bike did a comparison test of a Rocket Gold Star and a Matchless G12 CSR and found that the equivalent performance of the two machines hardly explained the better than two-to-one price differential current at the time (Duckworth, “Siamesed Twins”).  Today an authentic RGS can get three times the price of a top-of-the-line G12.
*19 In April 2004, British prices for DBD34 Gold Stars were estimated at £7,500-10,000 or $13,500-18,000 (Defazio, “Gold Star”).  Atlantic Motor Cycles, a leading British dealer, recently offered a 1959 DBD34 at £10,950 ($19,710), suggesting that the finest examples will soon exceed $20,000.  See the rear cover advertisement in The Classic Motorcycle, September 2004.
*20 AMC did produce a short run of 550cc machines, the first displacement increase for the 500cc twins introduced in 1948.  Built mainly for export in 1954 and 1955, these were replaced by the 600 and then 650cc machines and exist in such small numbers as rarely to turn up on the marketplace.  AMC kept the 500s going through 1961, by which time the company was banking its faltering hopes on the 650s and, subsequently, the various Norton-engined hybrids.
*21 Prices listed in dealers’ advertisements in The Classic Motorcycle and Classic Bike.  Results for the Mid-America Auctions at http://midamericaauctions.com.
*22 These AJS racers have been celebrated in the motorcycle monthlies.  Both the V-4 and the Porcupine have been featured in the “Legends” series in Classic Bike (Wright, Watson), and the Porcupine was the subject of a retrospective by Peter Watson and a detailed development history by AMC’s chief metallurgist, Don Hewitt.  The Porcupine designation derived from the triangular cooling spikes on the forward-mounted head of the E90 model.  Its successor, the E95, lost the spikes but kept the nickname. The one surviving E90, painstakingly restored at the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum in Hampshire, England, is described in Reynolds, “Prickly Contender.”  Sammy Miller also restored the V-4 racer.  For a detailed account of both restorations, along with a track outing, see Crichton, “AJS Racers.”
*23 According to AMC historian Brian Woolley (“7R”), the user-friendly reputation of the company’s competition department contributed substantially to the “immense” popularity of the Boy’s Racer.  Mick Walker’s AJS 7R provides the definitive history of the Boy’s Racer.   
*24 Introduction of the G50 was no doubt encouraged by the race successes of 7R owners who had found ways to increase the displacement of the overhead-cam single to 500cc.  For a test of one such machine, see the track report by Cramp.
*25 For a comparison of three Seeley G50s, each built to different specifications, see Grant, “G-Force.”  For a test of one of the George Beale G50 replica racers, see Woolley, “G50 Carbon Copy.”
*26 This observation appears in Alan Cathcart’s tribute (“Legacy of a Great Man”) to Jack Williams, director of AMC’s racing department from 1954 through 1962.  The article also traces the development history of the 7R and G50 and compares their respective attributes.
*27 In 1983, a special-framed G50 won the 500cc class at the first historic Manx GP at the Isle of Man.  In 2004, a G50 again took the class in the Manx GP, with similar bikes finishing second, third, and sixth.
*28 Again, prices quoted are for showroom quality examples (Walker, Miller’s 2001 145; Walker, Miller’s 2003-04 53).  Prices for the George Beale G50 replicas were listed in an advertisement in Classic Bike, August 2004, p. 12.
*29 Probably unknown to Honda’s marketing experts, the GB500 designation had already been tried by Peter and Philip Green in the late 1960s, when they built a Matchless prototype racer fitted with a G85 500cc single-cylinder engine.  Raced briefly in 1967, the one-off machine has recently resurfaced and is for sale with an estimated value of £4,250-5,100 or $7,650-9,180 (Walker, Miller’s 2005-06, 143).
*30 At Daytona Bike Week in 1998, two 1990 GB500s sold at auction for $2,850 and $3,200.  Three years later, at Daytona, two 1989 GB500s sold for $2,600 and $3,600, i.e., comparable value.  Auction results at http://www.jwoodandcompany.com.
*31 See the Team Obsolete profile by Jonathan Brown.  For an extensive archive of restoration projects and race reports, including many photos, see the Team Obsolete web page at http://www.teamobsolete.com.
*32 At the same sale, George Beale paid £157,700 (today, over $280,000) for another of the Porcupines, setting a new record for the purchase price of a British racing motorcycle, while two G50s, one a factory model with a lightweight frame and the other a Seeley special, sold for £19,550 (about $35,000) and £24,150 (about $43,500), respectively (Duckworth, “Sale of the Century”).
*33 For the Porcupine project, see Crichton, “An Act of Faith” and, most recently, Cathcart, “Prickly Heat.” For a track test of the Team Obsolete Porcupine, see Grant, “Prickly Performer.”
*34 For a technical history of the three-valve 7R, see Duckworth, “The Most Peculiar Single?”  A 2003 track outing for one of Team Obsolete’s two three-valvers, at Gunstock Park in New Hampshire, where the old Laconia races were run, is profiled in Cameron. 
*35 For the short and bitter history of the G45, see Walker, British Racing Motorcycles (46-50) and the articles by Jackson and Swallow.
*36 Atlantic Motor Cycle advertisements from The Classic Motorcycle, February, July, and September 1997, June and October 2001; Walker, Miller’s 1998-1999 (124); The Classic Motorcycle, May 2000, p. 4; Mid-America sales information by e-mail from Ron Christenson, Mid-America Auctions, Feb. 16, 2004.
*37 Classified advertisment in Classic Bike, October 2004, p. 80.

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