AJS 33: how many built?

Not many, but why do you ask? Do you own one?

-Knut

Hi Knut.
I have one complete to restore with engine number 33/CSR1...... and another basket case with engine number G33CS/1....
What is the differences?.
Why one has a prefix G?
What are the Differences from CS and CSR?
Thank you
Piero
 
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I think the CS denoted an off road or street scrambler and the CSR was a cafe racer with swept back pipes and a very racy look.
 
I think the CS denoted an off road or street scrambler and the CSR was a cafe racer with swept back pipes and a very racy look.
Hi Dave,
it is nice to met you here again.
Greetings from Italy.
Piero
 
Hi Piero,
If it's a complete model 33/CSR, that would make it an extremely rare and desirable bike. As Dave says, the CSR was a cafe racer. The rear subframe is different to the CS and roadsters. Many cycle parts (mudguards, stays, handlebar, exh. pipes, mufflers, seat?, footrests) are different too. There are pictures on the Internet, please peruse.
As for the "G33/CS", there never was a model 33/CS to my knowledge. Maybe a previous owner took a G15/CS motor and restamped it. I don't think the factory would have made a bodge like this.

The 33/CSR was probably a marketing ploy because there never was an N15/CSR, thus giving the buying public an alternative ..... Apart from the P11, all other hybrids were either G15 police/roadster/street scrambler or N15 police/street scrambler models. As for the G15 and N15 police and street scramblers, there is virtually no difference between them. It's probably a matter of selling the same product in different markets under different names. Common practice even today.

-Knut
 
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Hi.
Please, my 1967 N15 has the fork dampers with internal spring.
My 33 fork comes me with external spring and not with the damper into.
There is a mistake of the previous owner ?
Thank you.
Piero
 
According to the 1965 Spares List Supplement your forks should be like the 1964-66 G12 & G15 Roadster (i.e., 030037 Damper tube, NM18813 main spring) except gaiters (accordion), short cover tubes and clips replaced the long covers (clips are not listed, actually). Hope this helps.

-Knut
 
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According to the 1965 Spares List Supplement your forks should be like the 1964-66 G12 & G15 Roadster (i.e., 030037 Damper tube, NM18813 main spring) except gaiters (accordion), short cover tubes and clips replaced the long covers (clips are not listed, actually). Hope this helps.

-Knut
Hi Knut.
I would say that the dampers dont have the springs.
Must i add the internal springs or the external are enough?.
Thank you.
Piero
 
Hi Piero, do you want to restore your model 33CSR and/or make it a roadworthy bike? Then follow the spares list and rebuild your fork from the ground up using internal springs and the correct dampers etc. The cited spares book lists all the parts you need. Using the forks of an Atlas Scrambler on your CSR will make road handling at high speed worse. Good luck!

-Knut
 
I'm half way through a rebuild of a genuine 33csr , i thought my p11 was hard to restore but the 33 is proving very troublesome .
 
I'm half way through a rebuild of a genuine 33csr , i thought my p11 was hard to restore but the 33 is proving very troublesome .
Interested to hear about your difficulties, Andy. I have the Matchless variant, and have been working on a longterm process of a 33 replica, just because I think they're cool. Thanks!
 
I'm half way through a rebuild of a genuine 33csr , i thought my p11 was hard to restore but the 33 is proving very troublesome .

I agre.
Me too have had more dufficults to restore the 1964 G15 MK2 than the P11.
Ciao
Piero
 
In think the engine was a low compression Atlas unit, whereas the cycle parts are slightly more difficult to obtain, if any are still around- The AJS Model 33 was the last AJS badged four-stroke produced. A Government subsidy allowed assembly to move to a factory at North Way, Andover, with an aircraft hangar on nearby Thruxton Airfield housing the Test Department.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=AJS+33+CSR&FORM=HDRSC2

https://www.motorbikecatalog.com/auta_details1.php

https://www.motorbikecatalog.com/auta_perf1.php


Only 33 left in UK? : https://www.carlogbook.co.uk/ajs/33/
 
As far as I know, the AJS was only available as the 33 and the 33CSR. The 33 was the same spec as the Matchless G15mkII, and the CSR was sold as the G15CSR, 33CSR, and Atlas 750 SS ('66/'67). The CS was sold as the Matchless Scrambler and the Norton Scrambler. These hybrids, and the P11s, all came with the Atlas 750 with the dished pistons and a 7.5/1 C/R. According to the NOC, about 5000 of the G15/N15/33 hybrids were built between 1963-68 (and 3 one-offs over a year later for a dealer in Europe).

Also, the 1958 Norton Nomad had the designation N15. 1959 was the P15, and 1960, R15. This was a 600cc desert sled in a Model 77 (non-featherbed) frame. I think around 300 Nomads were built in 1958-60, with a small number of 500cc variants also produced (maybe 40). Some of the N15 registrations may be this early model.

All of the Nomads and N15CS/G15CS were export-only, but some have found their way back to England (forbidden fruit)
 
As far as I know, the AJS was only available as the 33 and the 33CSR. The 33 was the same spec as the Matchless G15mkII, and the CSR was sold as the G15CSR, 33CSR, and Atlas 750 SS ('66/'67). The CS was sold as the Matchless Scrambler and the Norton Scrambler. These hybrids, and the P11s, all came with the Atlas 750 with the dished pistons and a 7.5/1 C/R. According to the NOC, about 5000 of the G15/N15/33 hybrids were built between 1963-68 (and 3 one-offs over a year later for a dealer in Europe).

Also, the 1958 Norton Nomad had the designation N15. 1959 was the P15, and 1960, R15. This was a 600cc desert sled in a Model 77 (non-featherbed) frame. I think around 300 Nomads were built in 1958-60, with a small number of 500cc variants also produced (maybe 40). Some of the N15 registrations may be this early model.

All of the Nomads and N15CS/G15CS were export-only, but some have found their way back to England (forbidden fruit)

Hi Bill.

Sure three AJS 33 went to Italy, to the same dealer, on 6 th december 1967 and all with numbers 120... .

Piero
 
Hi.
My bike, even if is a 33CSR/120... (sent to the Italian dealer on 6th december 1967, as NOC says) has the large ribbed fenders and seat and exhaust system like the G15 MK2.
The front fender has the correct bridge not like the G15 MK2.
The rear fender has the correct long chromed upper stays, not the black short like G15 MK2.
The question is why it was a 33CSR and not only a 33?.
Thank you.
Piero
 
Hi.
My bike <...> has the large ribbed fenders and seat and exhaust system like the G15 MK2.
The front fender has the correct bridge not like the G15 MK2. The rear fender has the correct long chromed upper stays, not the black short like G15 MK2.

Hi Piero,
Could you post a photo of your bike? There are several possibilities why your bike looks the way it does. It's anybody's guess. A previous owner may have fitted Mk2 and G12CSR parts due to a collision, or in an attempt to combat mudguards from cracking. I assume your frame number is genuine? The factory certainly didn't build 1965-67 M33CSR's like this.

If the front fender has the narrow type bridge, this points to a "homemade" conversion. There is a reason why the factory fitted two Y-stays for the Mk2 and M33 /export model rather than a U bridge with the big ribbed fender.

As far the rear fender goes, the short support tubes and grab handles 029440/41 was a poor decision by AMC for the G15 Mk2 and M33, which led to rapid fractures at the fixing points. You say the rear fender has the correct long chromed upper stays. However, the CSR came with a closed loop and a C-section alloy mudguard, equally susceptible to cracking.

The long chromed handles NM22634A together along with the chromed ribbed mudguard was standard fitment on the G12CSR. Thus, I believe a previous owner changed the rear mudguard along with the support tubes/grab handles of this bike into parts off the G12CSR, maybe off a wrecked bike. In my opinion, these look and work far better. It's a mystery why AMC offered these two bikes (the G12CSR and the G15CSR) with different cycle parts, but the ribbed steel fender theme seems to have been a mantra back then and it does provide far better lateral stiffness than a non-ribbed alloy fender. The non-chair version of the Mk2 (G15 Mk2 /home and /P) had black ribbed fenders front and rear, the front fender being identical with the G12 standard model.

029522 was a rear mudguard developed in 1962 for the 1963 model year to suit all roadsters including the G12 STD and the G15 Mk2 (either chromed or black). While it works well on the singles and maybe on the G12, it doesn't work well at all on the G15, as noted.

The G12CSR rear mudguard carries p/n 030194, which indicates it was designed in 1963 for the 1964 model year. It is less valenced than the previous one and I guess it was designed primarily to market the G12CSR as a sportster model against the 1964 BSA Lightening Rocket and the 1963/4 Triumph Bonneville rivals. (This goes along with an increased compression ratio). AMC were of course half-hearted in their attempt - they couldn't match BSA-Triumph's more modern unit construction engines introduced 1962 and 1963 respectively. AMC may have had an edge on chassis, forks and brakes though.
https://www.bike-urious.com/1965-matchless-g12-csr/

-Knut
 
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Hi Piero,
Could you post a photo of your bike? There are several possibilities why your bike looks the way it does. It's anybody's guess. A previous owner may have fitted Mk2 and G12CSR parts due to a collision, or in an attempt to combat mudguards from cracking. I assume your frame number is genuin no e? The factory certainly didn't build 1965-67 M33CSR's like this.

If the front fender has the narrow type bridge, this points to a "homemade" conversion. There is a reason why the factory fitted two Y-stays for the Mk2 and M33 /export model rather than a U bridge with the big ribbed fender.

As far the rear fender goes, the short support tubes and grab handles 029440/41 was a poor decision by AMC for the G15 Mk2 and M33, which led to rapid fractures at the fixing points. You say the rear fender has the correct long chromed upper stays. However, the CSR came with a closed loop and a C-section alloy mudguard, equally susceptible to cracking.

The long chromed handles NM22634A together along with the chromed ribbed mudguard was standard fitment on the G12CSR. Thus, I believe a previous owner changed the rear mudguard along with the support tubes/grab handles of this bike into parts off the G12CSR, maybe off a wrecked bike. In my opinion, these look and work far better. It's a mystery why AMC offered these two bikes (the G12CSR and the G15CSR) with different cycle parts, but the ribbed steel fender theme seems to have been a mantra back then and it does provide far better lateral stiffness than a non-ribbed alloy fender. The non-chair version of the Mk2 (G15 Mk2 /home and /P) had black ribbed fenders front and rear, the front fender being identical with the G12 standard model.

029522 was a rear mudguard developed in 1962 for the 1963 model year to suit all roadsters including the G12 STD and the G15 Mk2 (either chromed or black). While it works well on the singles and maybe on the G12, it doesn't work well at all on the G15, as noted.

The G12CSR rear mudguard carries p/n 030194, which indicates it was designed in 1963 for the 1964 model year. It is less valenced than the previous one and I guess it was designed primarily to market the G12CSR as a sportster model against the 1964 BSA Lightening Rocket and the 1963/4 Triumph Bonneville rivals. (This goes along with an increased compression ratio). AMC were of course half-hearted in their attempt - they couldn't match BSA-Triumph's more modern unit construction engines introduced 1962 and 1963 respectively. AMC may have had an edge on chassis, forks and brakes though.
https://www.bike-urious.com/1965-matchless-g12-csr/

-Knut[/QUOT
Hi Knut.
If i look at pictures:

http://www.eurooldtimers.com/eng/galerie-stroj/3489-1965-ajs-33-csr-750-ccm.html

i can see that this bike is like mine: the front 33 mudguard has not the Y stays like my G15 but the simple bridge; same pictures showed the long chromed grab rear fender support.
What i have not understood?.
The only issue seems to me that my bike has the original 33 wear (like in the pictures) but has the engine stamped CSR.
The previous second owner said he bought it in the last of 70th and had never changed parts.
Thank you for letting me know better.
Piero
 
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