My recent visit to Team Obsolete gave me a chance to climb all over an AJS E95 Porcupine, the sister machine of the Bonhams auction bike. I've written plenty about the history of the Porcupine and its victory in the inaugural World Championship of 1949, Les Graham aboard. How much better though to remove that enormous pannier tank and enjoy the magnificent twin-cylinder engine, a testament to the design genius which was possible in English motorcycling, but never again pursued, especially not for road use (at least until John Bloor revamped Triumph).
As a purpose-built racer, and not a roadster which was hyperdeveloped, the E95 has little company in England postwar, but plenty in Germany and Italy, where multi-cylinder racers from NSU and Moto Guzzi were becoming more complicated and sophisticated, until 1957, when everyone but MV Agusta called it quits. Then MV racked up many many World Championships, uncontested by other multis...
