Motorcycles

For sale: 10 AJS racing motorcycles (1949 to 1962), one lot, €750,000

For sale: 10 AJS racing motorcycles (1949 to 1962), one lot, €750,000
Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on the Movendi web site.
Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on the Movendi web site.
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AJS 7R 350cc from the Bernard Guérin Collection on the Movendi web site.
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AJS 7R 350cc from the Bernard Guérin Collection on the Movendi web site.
AJS 7R 350cc from the Bernard Guérin Collection on the Movendi web site.
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AJS 7R 350cc from the Bernard Guérin Collection on the Movendi web site.
AJS 7R 350cc from the Bernard Guérin Collection on the Movendi web site.
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AJS 7R 350cc from the Bernard Guérin Collection on the Movendi web site.
Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on show at Retromobile on the Movendi stand.
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Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on show at Retromobile on the Movendi stand.
Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on show at Retromobile on the Movendi stand.
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Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on show at Retromobile on the Movendi stand.
Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on the Movendi web site.
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Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on the Movendi web site.
Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on the Movendi web site.
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Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on the Movendi web site.
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One of the stars of Retromobile at Port de Versailles in Paris this week was a collection of 10 near perfect AJS racing motorcycles (variously from 1949 to 1962) on the Movendi stand.

Movendi is a prestige car dealership, and alongside a Bugatti EB110, Porsche 959 and Ferrari F50 was this gorgeous set of period racing motorcycles, and a discrete price tag of €750,000 for the lot.

Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on show at Retromobile on the Movendi stand.
Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on show at Retromobile on the Movendi stand.

The collection was created by Bernard Guérin, a post-ww2 racer who competed at a national level (1954 French 350cc champion) during the period 1947-1962, along the way keeping his racing bikes and restoring them to brand new while parts were still readily available.

Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on show at Retromobile on the Movendi stand.
Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on show at Retromobile on the Movendi stand.

Guérin has apparently done likewise with other racing bikes from the period, including Velocette and Norton racers, and this is just a small part of a much bigger collection.

What is remarkably captured by the collection is the evolution of the bike from an initial uncompetitive 32 hp in the beginning of the development, through a variety of redesigns, weight saving, head changes, engine placements, engine design and gearbox changes to more than 40 hp and many major race wins during its reign.

In 1957, Swedish rider Bill Nilsson used an AJS 7R engine in a motocross frame to win the inaugural FIM 500cc Motocross World Championship.

Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on the Movendi web site.
Bernard Guérin's Collection of 10 AJS racing motorcycles on the Movendi web site.

The collection had not sold at time of writing.

Source: Movendi

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3 comments
3 comments
Buellrider
Jay Leno should break out his bottomless check book.
NavrozeEnduro
Can someone kindly educate me what all races these bikes did win? They look fabulous but they were in the same era as Manx Nortons.. just for information I would like to know
possum1
Nav, The 7R AJS was a 350, and very competitive against the 350 Norton's. The Manx Norton's of legend are the 500's, so raced in a different class.