On The Pegs September 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 9 | Page 119

On The Pegs
Vol. 4 Issue 9 - September 2019
119
teristics of our motorcycles. Above all, we wanted a well-balanced bike that was
neither too heavy nor too weak. It had to be strong for the roads that were not in
the best shape in those days. The engine was supposed to be strong and elastic,
dependable and free from vibrations. We considered that a gearbox with three
speeds would do the job.
“I made my first mistake by neglecting the importance of the wheel-base, which
I had made too long. The machine wormed like a snake, so I had to do something
about that. You know, a motorcycle can never grow longer than at its birth. But it
can for sure turn shorter if you meet a car head on, or flatter if you should put it
under a train at a crossing.
“Developing a new power source turned out to be more of a challenge. Import-
ing machinery from England was difficult after the war as goods were scarce at
that moment. But I went over there and bought an AJS and some other bikes,
with which I started experimenting heavily. My work was delayed as there was no
test bench available at the factory. Instead I had to go to the nearby Klevaliden
ascent, where machine tests could be performed in a hill climb. It was the second-
best thing to do and worked well, save the fact that I could not carry out any