Press
A&J CYCLES 10th ANNIVERSARY OPEN HOUSE
NYC Motorcyclist - 2024
A & J Cycles raised a whopping $11,660 (final number was over $12,000!) for the Alliance to Cure Cavernous Malformation (@alliancetocure) and International Alliance for Pediatric Stroke (@stroke.pediatric) organizations during the Hillburn, NY based company’s 10th anniversary Open House Sept. 14, a family affair which hits close to the heart for owner Brian Ballard.
“We are overwhelmed by the support, generosity and kindness,” Ballard said, adding of the two charities, “both are crucial to families faced with a life-changing diagnosis and we are grateful to our vendors, customers, family and friends for contributing. Whether you donated items, bought tickets, stopped by, shared a story or merely listened to ours … we thank you for the part you played in making this endeavor a success.”
Great weather brought out a host of motorcycle enthusiasts for the day, which featured food, music and a raffle for sponsor-donated parts and services.
The long list of contributing companies included: @torque_custom_cycles , @fast.for.fun , @locomotionpowersports , @spieglerusa , @motonecustoms , @freespiritsparts , @ohlinsusa , @parts_unlimited , @nitron_suspension , @epm_performance , @analogmotorgoods ,@arton_works , @asvinventions , @dnafilters , @officinezard , @newragecycles , @classicbike_raisch , @vibamotor , @woodcrafttechnologies , @brocksperf, @speakeasymotors , @trgcoating , Super Corse and @tempusdeficit.
You can visit A & J Cycles online at: https://www.ajcyclesny.com. Enjoy our gallery of images courtesy of Zoltan Suhay and give him a follow @z_motophoto.
TOP 10 BEST MOTORCYCLES FROM THE 2024 BARBER VINTAGE FEST
Motorcyclist Online - 2024
This year Barber Motorsports Park hosted its 19th annual Vintage Festival, a gathering of all things classic motorcycle and the people who love them. With hours of vintage motorcycle racing, live music, Wall of Death stunt shows, movie screenings, and even a special fan breakfast with none other than “King” Kenny Roberts himself, 2024 was certainly a year to remember. Also check out the Top 5 Reasons to Attend the Barber Vintage Motorcycle Festival and the Top Five Bikes Inside the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum for added insight on this annual event.
There’s always plenty to do at the three-day gathering, but perhaps the best pastime of all is simply walking around and talking to the owners of the hundreds of rare bikes on display. We left no stone unturned this year from parking lots to custom bike shows, so here are a few of our favorite rides of the weekend for the folks who couldn’t make the pilgrimage
BLOWN BOBBER: SUPERCHARGED TRIUMPH “TERMINATOR”
Bikebound - 2024
Brian Ballard and the team at A&J Cycles have earned a reputation for modifying a wide range of different bikes, but they return again and again to the modern Triumph platform. Over the last 4-5 years, their client Andy had them transform his first-year Bobber from a bone-stocker to a force-inducted brute of muscular proportions and outsized power...
MODERN FATCAT: HONDA CRF110 BIG WHEEL
Bikebound - 2023
ATC-Inspired “BW110” Flat Track Pit Bike by A&J Cycles…
How many of you remember the Honda FatCat? In the mid-1980s, three-wheelers were all the rage, including Honda’s red-hot ATC “All Terrain Cycle” range. For 1986, Big Red introduced the TR200 FatCat — essentially a motorcycle version of the popular ATC200X, featuring the same 200cc four-stroke SOHC single-cylinder engine with two wheels instead of three. The result was similar to Yamaha’s BW “Big Wheel” line, with 11-inch ATV-style wheels and tires:
SLIDE HUSTLE: Triumph Hooligan Flat Tracker by A&J Cycles
Pipeburn - 2021
To the average John Citizen, flat tracking racing like any form of motorsport on an oval appears to simply involve going around and around in circles. That is until you experience it yourself, and that first full power slide becomes a sultry seductress you just can’t resist. More throttle, more power, more speed and it feels like you’re defying physics itself. So, keen to up the ante with their involvement in the sport, Triumph guru’s A&J Cycles, found a cheap donor and set about transforming it into a Hooligan flat track racer. From the bones of a 2006 Triumph Scrambler, they’ve worked their magic, to produce this seriously sexy sliding machine.
CREAM OF THE CROP: Triumph Thruxton R by A&J Cycles.
Pipeburn - 2023
A large, modern motorcycle dealership, that sells a huge variety of brands is one of my favourite places to go on a weekend, just to window shop and dream. But when you’re faced with the choice of slapping down your cash for just one machine, the incredible choice offered these days makes it a daunting task. Some bikes are quick but are brutal on the back, others look cool but don’t have the power you crave, while others just seem way too heavy to ever be fun. The modern water-cooled Triumph Thruxton R might be the most uncompromisingly focussed of the Bonneville range and yet it is perhaps one of the best all-around bikes of the modern era. One American certainly thought so and then sought out Hinckley specialists A&J Cycles of New York to turn the best into something truly brilliant.
SHOP BIKE: Triumph Thruxton by A&J Cycles.
Pipeburn - 2023
No single manufacturer has been as committed to their retro range as Triumph, it’s not even close. Others have presented wonderful offerings, some exist solely as retro brands, but the Hinckley factory stands head and shoulders above the pack. But don’t think they’ve done it alone, a huge proportion of their success comes from a loyal customer base and incredible custom workshops who give their bikes an unmissable presence online, at shows, and out on the street. One of the brand’s best ambassadors is Brian Ballard and his team at A&J Cycles, and they’ve returned with an old friend, a stunning 2007 Thruxton cafe racer.
WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING: TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN CUSTOM
Bikebound - 2022
A&J Cycles builds a high-performance retro roadster…
The 2022 Triumph Speed Twin has been called the best Bonnie of the lot, featuring a new 43mm Marzocchi fork, Brembo M50 monobloc calipers, 320mm discs, and 99 hp from the 1200cc liquid-cooled twin. Though the style is decidedly old-school, the bike’s performance is 21st century:
FAST FOR FUN: TRIUMPH “TRAXTON R” STREET TRACKER
Bikebound - 2022
From Thruxton to Traxton: Street Tracker from Speakeasy Motors, et al.
Introduced at Bike Shed London in 2015, the Triumph Thruxton R was the sharp point of the Bonneville range, a modern café racer with multi-adjustable Showa Big Piston Forks,twin Öhlins piggyback shocks, sticky Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa rubber, and Triumph’s96-bhp liquid-cooled, 1200cc “High Torque” parallel twin cylinder engine.
BIG WHEEL: YAMAHA XS650 BOBBER BY A&J CYCLES
Bikebound - 2020
A metric bobber recalling the Big Wheel trikes of yesteryear…
The Yamaha XS650 remains one of the most versatile vintage motorcycles in the hands of custom builders. We regularly see the British-inspired Japanese twin transformed into a street tracker, scrambler, cafe racer, or some combination thereof. What’s more, the bike is also used as a platform for hard-tailed creations like this ’81 XS650 bobber, a personal project from Rob Salle of A&J Cycles— the New York workshop that created the Triumph Scrambler 1200 “XEcutioner” we featured last fall. Founded more than 20 years ago, the shop focused on turbocharged Hondas in the late 90s before shifting exclusively to motorcycles in the last decade.
TOP SHELF: Triumph Thruxton R by A&J Cycles
Pipeburn - 2020
Located just thirty minutes outside of New York City, sits A&J Cycles, a motorcycle shop which prides itself on being a one-stop shop for Triumph enthusiasts across the globe. The shop has evolved in the last decade from selling parts out of a bedroom closet to customizing modern Triumphs using their skills and catalogue of high end components from their online store. The latest build by Brian Ballard and his team at A&J Cycles is this stripped down Thruxton R that has not only shed a lot of weight but also gained performance and some brutish good looks.
XECUTIONER: TRIUMPH SCRAMBLER 1200 XE BY A&J CYCLES
Bikebound - 2019
This year, the crew from Hinckley debuted the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE and XC with a very bold statement:
Unlike many factory-built “scramblers” of today, the big Triumph Scrambler 1200 lives up to the hype, featuring long-travel suspension, ADV-style electronics, plenty of power (89 hp / 81 lb-ft), and it looks simply badass. The XE (“E” for Extreme) is the higher-spec model, adding ABS, lean-sensitive traction control, and a sixth ride mode: “Off-road Pro.” As you might imagine, people were falling over themselves to get their mitts on these bikes as soon as they were imported to US shores.
A&J Cycles Just Built the Ultimate Big-Wheeled Honda Pit Bike
Hiconsumption - 2023
Located in Hillburn, New York, A&J Cycles is a custom motorcycles and parts shop that’s been riding, racing, wrenching on bikes, and churning out components for more than 20 years. And while A&J does all manner of work, the shop has a particular affinity for going fast and left, with a long history of flat track builds and a lengthy track record of competing in the Super Hooligan class. Interestingly, A&J Cycles’ latest one-off work isn’t a dirt oval racer, but rather a mini bike to be used in the pits at flat track events — and maybe an eventual entrant in a run-what-ya-brung class.