Should be in the shame section really…
My next door neighbour bought a new AJS 125 twin bobber from the motorbike warehouse in West London. It took 17 weeks to arrive, and when it did it was in a shocking state.
The chain was so tight it was hard to push, loose bolts, scratches and dents,and on further inspection, it was a different model to the one he ordered!
Pending a visit to the small claims, I’m attempting to get him road worthy for the time being.
The problem I’m having now is that it starts (reluctantly) , but will only tick over if I turn the tickover adjustment screw to leave it idling too high. It runs marginally better with the airbox off, but there is just no guts to it at all. It arrived with a 1500rpm tickover, presumably set that high to keep the thing running until the delivery driver gets out of the end of the road
When you rev it, the revs take a little while to drop back, which I reckoned was a throttle balance problem. I have a had a fiddle with no success. I took the carbs off and to be honest the butterflies look as though they are bang on, at least to the point that the bike should function a great deal better than it does. I could get my probes out and balance them properly, but I don’t think that’s the problem. I’m about to go down and spray some gear round the inlet manifold to see if I can see a leak. Given the general build quality it’s not out of the question that they left gaskets out during the build.
In the meantime, any ideas?
(other than those involving petrol and a lighter) 
A skip ?
Theft ?
If it were mine it would have been in the skip about five minutes after it arrived. Its a fantastic concept, if you like that sort of thing, but they have failed spectacularly in it’s execution. Motorbike warehouse are the assemblers and distributors, AJS import the parts. AJS are now in some sort of legal wrangle with the Bike warehouse now, so getting any help from them is going to be difficult to say the least.
To be fair, the engine sounds sweet when it’s running but I don’t think I’d want to trust the rest of it. Most of the parts seem to be manufactured by Lifengi. who ever they are… The carb says shui-nakka-fu-wang-shitty on it or something like that, so finding a guide or manual is also impossible. The owners guide helpfully advises : “Do not drink the brake fluid wrongly, make culprit spit out fairly” but doesn’t give any clues about the bogging problem…
£3000!!
Did they pay with a credit card? If so get the CC company involved right now and get them to refund.
I am afraid to say “you get what you paid for”.
have you spoken to the place it came from. what have they said?
It’s not the AJS Bobber is it?
Because it LOOKS good in photos - I can see many learners thinking that theu want some of that…
…and ending up with a pile of shite.
he paid 3k for that!>? WTF!!!
I WILL SAY THIS ONLY ONCE, tell him to go and buy…HONDA CBF125 =jobs a good’un!
It is an AJS bobber, almost identical to the one in the picture. He got it on finance, which was arranged by The Motorbike Warehouse. 300 quid deposit and a bunch of monthly payments.
After doing a bit of independent research, I too came to the conclusion that he should just hand it back to them. However, before he got it, during the 17 week wait, the Bike Warehouse kept fobbing him off with stories about AJS not supplying correct parts and in general making their life difficult. So my neighbour contacted an AJS rep, who went down to the bike Warehouse with him and an argument ensued.
Up shot of all that appears to be that AJS are refusing to do anymore business with the Warehouse, the Warehouse say they are therefore unable (and unwilling tbh) to help him.
It’s clearly a breach of his consumer rights, the bike is virtually un-rideable.
Chain ludicrously tight, rubber airbox union to carbs doesn’t fit so they had bodged it with silicon, cuts out regularly…
I got the gauges out in the end and checked the throttle balance, which was out by a turn or so. That improved things marginally, but it’s still running like an old sit and screw 4 stroke 50cc Honda Vision.
I’ve done all I can without really getting into it, starting to feel a bit like flogging a dead horse though.
id firstly refuse to pay any more payments until it is sorted.
mabey even say you want a partial refund and ask for a grand back then just swap out the engine for a different engine but i would not sit quietly for that kinda wonga
i will say mind in a couple of years when they go dirt cheap like all Chinese bikes do when they start falling apart.
i might try pick one up there is mega amounts of space in that frame and a cb 500 lump would fit init nicely with plenty of space free
i would be kicking up a HUGE fuss, i would not let it lie at all.
maybe he needs to speak to Kaos!
True, but I wouldn’t put a lot of faith in the frame welds…
thats the hole point its like playing Russian roulette XD
I’d be rejecting it asap. Drop it back to the dealer with a letter explaining all the reasons for rejection, and also a letter to the finance co. doing the same. £3000 for a Chinese bike is pretty heavy. My brother bought a £1600 Pulse which has been great, but then I think a lot of it depends on who you’re buying from and whether it has been assembled properly.
It looks like he’s going to get some help from AJS. He rang them again today and they appear to be on his side. They have offered to pick the bike up, lend hm a scooter, and return the oriental masterpiece to him in perfect running order. My fingers are crossed for him.
Just to praise AJS for a second…
I parked next to an AJS Bobber the other week - f me if I didn’t think it was a full blown Harley / Jap Harley clone custom job until I looked closer…
Its only when you see the odd engine (with huge covers to look even bigger) and the naff eagle (or Raptor) badges you can see what it is.
I can imagine the attraction to younger L Platers…“Why get a bike that looks like a learner when this looks like the real thing?”
Of course we seasoned motorsickeists know the real answer to this… but someone young and just starting out wanting something to impress the girls…
Old gits like me remember the same thing in the days of the FS1E and ‘sports’ mopeds… Fantic made a 50cc chopper with a huge back wheel and massive frame that made the Fizzy look silly…again from 10 yards away it looked like a big bike.
How many Fantic Choppers lasted more than 2 years I wonder?
Update:
The bike was collected by the motorbike warehouse. It arrived back 2 weeks later with an assurance that it would be perfect in every respect. The first thing I noticed as it was wheeled off the truck was a serious leak from the left fork seal. A note was made of the problem and a promise made that it would be dealt with soon, but given the massive wait the guy has had, it was unloaded anyway, just to give him an opportunity to ride it.
I took him to the Ace for his inaugural ride, a journey which was fraught with problems. At one stage his clutch ceased to function causing him to almost run into the back of me in panic. Closer inspection revealed that the adjustment nuts were spinning freely. With that fixed we continued, but on several occasions it died, mainly on hills. We made it home (just) and after 30 seconds about half a pint of engine oil had poured from his airbox area. I looked it over this morning to find that it was coming from the cam breather. I checked the oil level in the sump to find it well above maximum, and given the amount he probably lost on route, my guess is that it was filled to the brim rather than the dip stick marked level.
Having done my best to remedy the problems, I took it out for a spin. The front brakes are virtually useless. I know the pads will need bedding in, but even so, you’d be better dragging your foot to stop the bike. More alarming was the chatter coming from the front headstock (I think) when the brakes were applied.
At this point it became apparent that it had lost some bolts from the mid section of the exhaust, I doubt they had been torqued up to spec (if indeed a spec exists!) and the anti vibration washers had been put on the bolt side, not the nut side. While I was bolting that back up correctly I noticed a grub screw missing from the gear pedal spacer, and the lock nut on the control arm spinning merrily half way down the shaft
They have clearly replaced the scratched tank and crank case cover, but the ignition box has a nasty scar down it that looks like it’s been disguised (badly).
I started to realise why they initially delivered it with the chain so ludicrously tight; the chain guard is mounted so close to the chain that when decelerating the slack clatters noisily against the guard.
Given that it is supposedly under warranty, I’m not about to start repairing it myself, so I wrote a list of the issues and gave it to my neighbour to relay to the Bike Warehouse/AJS.
Their response was to tell him that they were done dealing with him, that he was clearly making a blatant attempt to get an unjustified refund, and that the faults listed had been made up. They claim the bike was assembled by a ‘vosa qualified mechanic’. I claim it was assembled by minimum wage monkeys in a shed. I was half tempted to go down there and have it out with them. I’m by no means an expert, but any old spanner monkey could have picked up the faults I found. They were essentially accusing me of lying, and it was few deep breaths later that I calmed down and put the big stick away.
The lad is absolutely gutted, close to tears today. I’ve advised him to contact a solicitor, not much more I can do. Hopefully he will get legal aid, and between the brief and local trading standards officers he will get some sort of resolution. I’m not holding my breath.
Get in touch with Citizens Advice Consumer Service (used to be called Consumer Direct)
https://www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights
“Unjustified refund” my arse. If it’s in as **** state as you say, then your mate needs a refund or replacement.
Update:
I’m informed this thread has been read by various representatives of AJS/Bike Warehouse, and they have asked for it to stop as it’s damaging their reputation.
I disagree, I think the laughable build quality and piss-poor customer service is damaging their reputation
The guy did take my advice, and now has a solicitor acting on his behalf.
He’s a nice lad, and has dreamed of owning a bike like this since he was a kid. He paid £3000 for the bike of his dreams, what he actually got was a pile of hastily assembled Chinese parts wheeled out of the back of a Transit where it had been leaning on an old mattress. That really irritates me.
I understand the limitations of what they are trying to achieve at an ‘affordable’ cost, but there is NO excuse for that kind of customer service.
I’m also informed that The Bike Warehouse have promised to do whatever it takes to get the bike sorted.
To that end they have collected it (again) this morning, so I’ll provide another update when it returns.
I haven’t written anything in this this thread that isn’t 100% true to the best of my knowledge, and so I’ll continue to update this thread regardless.
I started this thread primarily to highlight the issues in case any LB’ers were considering doing business with them. That hasn’t changed.
If the problems are rectified promptly and professionally this time round, I’ll certainly highlight that too.