Matchless M3 combo 1925

As the years passed Matchless got more and more of a reputation as a solid, dependable ride to work kind of a bike despite their racing efforts and illustrious history. In the flat tank era however Matchless were slightly more glamorous and innovative machines.

The below snaps are of what I believe to be a M3 model from 1925. A rather tasty big v-twin, normally used as a sidecar tug and with quite early electric lighting.

Glamorous v twin 1925 Matchless combo
in a street of terraced houses.

'Taken in our backyard, July, 1926'

Fifi the Enfield and Lulu the Matchless Model X

Fifi the Royal Enfield featured a few months back and here she is with Lulu. Fifi is an ex War Department Royal Enfield Model C 350 side valve and Lulu a Matchless Model X from before the War. This photo reveals the human subjects as the Saxby Family, the image was taken in May 1946 and the location Western Avenue. Fifi has a London reg number so I'm guessing that Western Avenue could well be what is now known as the A40 going in and out of London from the West. If so it couldn't be more different from today.

Fifi the Enfield to the left and Lulu the Matchless on the
right.

Matchless G3 dispatch bike with the 6th Australian

This great image of a wartime DR with his dog and G3 has the message, "To Edna from Ron. Me and my dog." written on the reverse.

The kangaroo and boomerang insignia on the headlight denotes the 6th Australian Infantry Division. The 6th were raised two weeks after war was declared in 1939 and went immediately to the Middle East where this photo was most likely taken - the G3 is an early war spec bike with its girder forks and 8 inch headlight, it still looks in fairly tidy condition here. The 6th were moved to Greece in 1941 to bolster Greek and allied forces against the planned German invasion of Greece. The Division suffered losses in the Allied withdrawal from mainland Greece and were re-stationed to Crete where they also suffered grave losses when the Germans took the island. The Division was moved back to the Middle East where they were split between Palestine and Egypt. They saw further action against the Vichy French in Syria.

Early 1942 the Australian Government withdrew the 6th from the Middle East to assist with the efforts to stem back the approaching Japanese forces. They were stationed in New Guinea and saw service in several campaigns on the island.

Let's hope Ron made it through. It would be fascinating to know his story.

Ron of the Australian 6th, his dog and Matchless G3.

Matchless circa 1927

Zoom in and it is easy enough to see the Matchless logo on this machine, even without one Matchlesses of the late twenties had a very distinctive petrol tank shape so are easy to spot. As for the model though I am not sure, the year I guess is around 1927. Any Matchless anoraks out there who can identify please do get in touch. 

Not often you see a chap in a bowler hat riding a bike. Whilst the gent does seem reasonably enough attired for a gentle run on a motorcycle the girl sitting pillion very much doesn't.

c1927 Matchless poses for a snap.

Postscript: thanks to both Ken and Bob for identifying the machine as a 1928/29 250cc Model R. A two year only production machine of which Bob has one in his shed. Cheers gents.

Matchless G3 on tour

Yep, not the finest quality snap but it's always good to see old pics of bikes on tour. It is obviously a rigid-framed Matchless in the foreground, the aft bike it is hard to tell but could well be the same. As for location I immediately thought Lake District or Scotland but look closely and the bike has an improvised number plate, probably one issued at a border so it could well be that they are somewhere significantly more exotic, plus the sun is shining - another hint that it is not the UK!

Rigid-framed Matchless on tour, destination
unknown...

Hardy Trial 2016

Several weeks before a long distance trial entering seems like a marvelous idea. A day before when I realise that I am woefully ill prepared and time is running out I begin to question my own stupidity. And then on the day when Storm Angus was battering the South of the country I really felt like just turning the alarm off and staying in bed.

The Hardy Trial was doubly challenging for co-entrant Matt who had his CCM pinched from his car's bike rack from right outside his house by three scrotes in a transit van just as he was about to depart from the Midlands with family to spend the weekend of the trial chez nous in Dorset. Matt is gamer than I as, gutted though he was, he simply did a bike swap and loaded up his trusty RE Crusader and brought it down to ride.

As it turned out only our 6am ride to the start was damp and the rain held off for the rest of the day from our 8am flag off onwards. This was doubly remarkable as the following day saw some serious flooding in the area. Sure, the going was very waterlogged but at least we weren't getting wet as we rode.

Bike disaster also befell co-rider Toby as his Honda XL 250 wasn't playing ball on the morning of the trial. That left Dan on his rigid G3L Matchless, myself on Dan's generously lent Bullet (still haven't bought a trials bike since I sold my Bullet, duh!) and Matt on his wholly unsuitable (though veteran of several LDTs) Crusader all riding together.

We made it around the course without major mishap. Many sections were footed as you might expect ploughing around on a heavy antiquated behemoth trying to cut it with Beta Alps and Gas Gas Panteras but we had fun and didn't break any bones so overall a top result.

The Hardy goes through some stunning scenery, the distances between sections are not too great and it makes for a properly enjoyable day out if this is your kind of thing. Totally recommended.

Dan eyeing up a tricky section on his Matchless.

Fellow competitors on suitable bikes....

The Matchless is going well here.

And not so well here. Dan did alright in the end though and
got top in class, albeit a class of four. I fell off in the same place
about two minutes later.

Not something you see often. Greeves Sports
Twin rolling chassis with BSA A7 motor.

Shiny classic Suzuki out having some fun.

The BSA Greeves again. Beeves? Greeser?

Yours truly, looking in control but in reality just on the verge
of binning it.

Royal Enfield Crusader way away from its natural habitat.

Rare image of a 1923 Matchless race bike

This blog doesn't normally include scans from magazines as content but the below image is so rare that it deserves an exception. In the pioneer days and through the fifties Matchless were well known for their racing machines and successes but during the twenties and thirties there was something of a hiatus.

The image depicts Fred Neill. Fred was a dispatch rider during WW1; on demob he got a job in the Matchless 'engine shop' and worked his way up to Charge Hand before moving to the Testing Department, the Experimental Dept and Service Dept in turn. Fred raced the TT in 1923 (dnf) on a Matchless and rode the ISDT through the 20s. The image is believed to show Fred on a works racer from 1923.

Later on in his career Fred Neill became the Matchless service manager and wrote the Pearson's Handbook on Matchless motorcycles.

The image is taken from the Motor Cyclist's National News vol 1, number 1. Feb 1949.

Matchless man Fred Neill with 1923 works racer.

Postscript: thanks to Bob McGrath for correcting that the image is in fact from 1923, not 1926 as I first wrote (this was in fact the year given in the Motor Cyclist's National News).

Thirties military Matchless

Am I turning in to an old fart? This young whippersnapper wearing an officer's uniform appears to be about fourteen years old. 

Either way he is posing with a nice sporting early thirties Matchless. Bell tents in the background and check the unusual tread pattern on his front tyre.

Posing with a thirties Matchless.

Matchless in Cyprus

Spotted in Larnaka, Cyprus, a short while back whilst there for work. This Matchless (G15CSR?) was parked up by a beach front cafe. It seemed to be in regular use; I spotted the owner riding it sedately through the old town the following day too with his groceries on the back.

Matchless G15CSR in Cyprus.

WD Matchless G3L

A bit dog-eared but this is a nice snap of a trio of military gents with a well-used Matchless G3L.

WD matchless G3L.

Harris Matchless G80 brochure

These Harris Matchless G80s never used to appeal to me until I had a go on a Rotax-engined bike and realised what a sweet motor it is. Personally I shouldn't like to have one without an electric start and have to use a left hand kicker so the later model with the leccy boot and twin discs would be the one to go for. Transplant a 52 horse 604 motor from a CCM and you'd have a really fun bike. 

There's a good G80 write-up on Real Classic.

Harris Matchless G80 brochure page 1.

Harris Matchless G80 brochure page 2.

Rigid AJS and Matchless

A pair of old photographs of an AJS 16M and a Matchless G3L Competition model. Better quality photos than the usual family album fare and new looking bikes, perhaps they were taken for publication?

AJS 16M.

AJS 16M in the background and a Matchless G3L Competition
to the fore.

Matchless G2S brochure 1960

Single page brochure for the 1960 Matchless 250 Sports. A model aimed at the young learner market but a bit late on the scene behind the BSA C15, Triumph Cub and Royal Enfield Crusader. There were some interesting design features; I had one for a short while and liked the cassette gearbox but was underwhelmed by the oil filler sitting under the right hand engine cover. Sad that they spent the money on developing an all new engine but penny pinched on the forks and wheels which were shared with Francis Barnett and James models in the AMC group. Early models suffered from a poor reputation for reliability, but, lets be honest, so did pretty much any sporting bike of the period aimed at learners. Spot the link?! The G2 was a short stroke motor though so did encourage rev happy behaviour, not always with good consequences...

1960 Matchless 250 Sports model brochure.

Seeley Racing Bikes 1968 brochure

Brochure for Seeley AJS 7R / Matchless G50 based racing machines from 1968.

1968 Seeley racing machines brochure page 1.

1968 Seeley racing machines brochure page 2.

1968 Seeley racing machines brochure page 3.

1968 Seeley racing machines brochure page 4.

Matchless G3L scrambler

Nice period pic of a Matchless G3L tackling the mud in an early post war scramble. No details on this photo at all. I would guess that it is an ex-wd bike.



Ex WD Marchless G3L in the bog at an early post-war scramble.