1932 JONGHI 350 TJ 4 C
1932 JONGHI 350 TJ 4C
Simplicity beats out the complex
Jonghi was a small French marque founded in 1930 by the financier Tito Jonghi and the engineer Giuseppi Remondini, refugee from the competition department of Alfa Romeo and former technical director of two Italian motorcycle companies, Frera and Negas & Ray. The first Jonghis were simply renamed Negas & Ray 350s.
From Small Beginnings
Despite its small beginnings, the Jonghi marque soon made a sporting name for itself: Jonghis, ridden by such experts as Louis Jeannin, Georges Monneret and the Remondini brothers, won the 1932 Rome Grand Prix and Bol d’Or and took a 24-hour world record at an average of more than 72 mph in 1933.
No Secrets, No New Technology
But there was no technological revolution behind the success of the TJ 4; its engine was a classic 350cc four-stroke with either an L-head (65 mph) or overhead valves (84 mph), mounted in a double cradle tubular frame devoid of rear suspension. Its superiority on the track lay entirely in careful preparation. That’s often the way in racing, where technical innovation can play second fiddle to meticulous preparation. Jonghi went out of business in 1956, after building some 800 bikes, including a 125cc four-stroke as beautifully made as its 350, a two-stroke cycle-motor and a scooter.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine: 346cc (70x90mm) single cylinder four-stroke
Power Rating: 17 hp @ 5800 rpm
Valves: overhead pushrod
Fuel System: carburetor
Transmission: 3-speed hand-change
Suspension: (front) girder forks; (rear) rigid
Brakes: drums
Wheels: 19in wire
Weight: 276 lb
Maximum Speed: 87 mph (racing, with benzol fuel, 100 mph)
Classical in its simplicity, the Jonghi TJ4 was one of the most handsome French racing bikes of the Thirties.
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