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Engine type: 497cc OHV, air-cooled single__
Claimed power: 32bhp__
Top speed: 81mph__
Years produced: 1950-1965 |
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The AJS Model 18CS was an
evolution of the Model 18 –
a bike that can trace its roots back to the G3L,
an ex-military bike that
was sold off in surplus once the war had ended.
-The
C stood for Competition -(as
a scrambler bike),-
and the S stood for the fact
that it had a suspension as opposed to a rigid rear
frame.
Although the 1956 AJS 18CS was basically an off-road
competition machine (what would now be known as
a motocross bike)
in England apparently all 18CSs imported to the
U.S. were set up as a road bikes.
Although the AJS motorcycles imported to the U.S.
apparently had lights already bolted on (in England,
lights were an extra charge
item), a plug built into the bottom of the headlight
shell made it easy to detach the headlight for a
day of scrambles or flat tracking.
Cooper Motors, the California AJS/Matchless importer,
advertised the AJS 18CS as “a real sports motorcycle,
ready to go in the
dirt or on the road” and capable of “over
100mph,” which was more than a little optimistic.
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