1945-1969 AJS Matchless Postwar Singles (Roy Bacon)

56 Pages·2005·1.96 MB·English

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Postwar Singles S Ponstwar Singles

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The bedrock of AMC's postwar production was their line of road singles from which came the A i1945-1969
off-road variants. The models had prewar roots,and wartime service so offered the solid, reliable T
performance, coupled with a first class paint finish, of a workhorse, at a time when it was C .
H Roy Bacon
essential. Their history and subsequent development is traced here in words and pictures. L s
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Roy Bacon has over 40 motorcycle books to his credit and is O
acknowledged as a leading authority on the subject. A S
chartered engineer, he comments on design, as well as T e
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describing history he has lived through.
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Motorcycle Monographs are a handy, pocket-sized series owf books for the enthusiast and general C
reader alike. Each book covers a single marque, model or machine in depth, the authoritive text Y
being fully supported by contemporary photographs to provide a complete reference source. C
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Motorcycles of all ages and types and from all countries are covered by the constantly expanding E
list; offering history in the pocket. w M
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All titles and the full list of the range may be obtained from the publisher. N
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Niton Publishing, P.O. Box 3, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, PO38 2AS.
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ISBN 1 85579 002 5
MOTORCYCLE MONOGRAPHS - NO. 11
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AJS & Matchless
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Postwar Singles
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1945 - 1969

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Roy Bacon

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NITON PUBLISHING
First published in United Kingdom by:
Niton Publishing o
PO Box 3 . Ventnor . Isle of Wight PO38 2AS
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Acknowledgements n
The author would like to thank those who
helped this book by supplying photographs.
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Most came from EMAP archives, or Motor .
Cycle News by courtesy of Editor Malcolm
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Gough. Others came from the Mick Woollett
archive and some from the author's files s
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© Copyright Roy Bacon 1990
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Reprinted 1993
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Filmstet by
Crossprinat, Isle of Wight
Reprinted by
The Manor Dmesign & Printing Partnership
Whitwell, Isle of Wight
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s ISBN 1 85579 002 5
A CIP catalogue record for this book is
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available from the British Library
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All rights reserved. No part of this publica-
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tion may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, electrical, chemical,
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otherwise withour prior written permission
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must be addressed.
Front Cover: The Matchless Clubman G3L for 1949 as shown on the front cover of
The Motor Cycle late the previous year
Back Cover: The AJS model 18S for 1954, with sprung frame and jampots, as
advertised in the motorcycle press.
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Road test of a 1962 Matchless G80 which was also tried with a
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sidecar attached. The same registration number was to appear
on a test AJS ass well!
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Contents
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Introduction 4
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Prewar origins and wartime service 6
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Postwar start 10
Spring-frame models 30
Revised engines 39
Duplex frame 46
Singles in competition 53
Specifications 54
Introduction
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The AJS and Matchless heavyweight singles of the
post-war years had their origins in models of the miid-
19305. After the war, they continued, with limited a.ltera-
tions, for some two decades, gradually becomings obso-
lete as fashions and needs changed. s
Although customers for their very British style of
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somewhat staid motorcycling faded away over the years,
the reputation of the names remained hligh, thanks to the
fine build quality and excellent painth finish of their prod-
ucts. From 1945 to 1966, both AJS and Matchless road
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models represented the epitome of the British single
with its heavy flywheels, ltow engine speed and great
pulling power. a
Alongside the road models, there were competition
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versions. At first, these differed in no more than minor
details, which any clubman of the day could devise for a
road machine. -Later, the competition models became
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more specialised and, in time, split into two streams,
these beinjg for trials or scrambles use. One scrambler
continuead alone to carry the Matchless name up to 1969,
before the marque vanished. However, the name was
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rewvived in the late 1980s with another concept.

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Gordon Jackson on a big AJS during a 1960 scramble; a type of event in which he was competi-
tive, although he was better known for his trials riding skills.
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Prewar origins and
wartime service

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Both the AJS and Matchless over-extended as the decade fended
companies had their roots in the with the Depression. The ntechnical
dawn of motorcycling and followed enterprise remained, however, with
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their own paths up to 1931. Then an overhead-camshaft engine ap-
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they amalgamated, AJS going into pearing in 1927 ansd a transverse V-
liquidation and being taken over by twin in 1931, but then the money ran
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Matchless. out.
AJS had been founded by the The Matechless firm was founded
Stevens family and first won in the by the Collier brothers who were
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TT races in 1914, and then in 1920, soon hsuccessful in the track and
1921 and 1922. They rode the crest road races of the early Edwardian
of that wave through the 1920s, but ecra. They moved on to Brooklands
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The start of the singles line came with this 1935 Matchless G3 which set the style and general
design.
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PREWAR ORIGINS & WARTIME SERVICE

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In 1941, the G3 gained telescopic front forks to become the G3lL and served the services well.
and the new TT races when these pany hkept to a simple range of singles
were first run, enjoying equal suc- and V-twins. The exotic Silver Hawk
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cess and three TT wins in the first was listed up to 1935, but found few
four years of the event. tcustomers as riders were so hard
During the 1920s, they had morea up.
success in reliability trials and built The first signs of real amalgama-
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up a good range of machines to sell tion appeared in 1935 when Match-
to the public. For 1930, they intro- less introduced their G3 Clubman
duced the V-twin Silver A-rrow, and and AJS their similar model 16. Both
the next year the muchs more excit- had 348 cc engines, and the AJS
ing V-4 Silver Hawjk, which had an ranks soon included larger and
overhead camshaaft engine despite smaller versions plus twin-port and
the hard times. side-valve models. Matchless fol-
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They were successful enough to lowed suit in 1936, so that in a short
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be able to absorb AJS, whose pro- space of time little was left from the
duction they moved from Wolver- past, other than the massive V-twins
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hampton to their works at Plum- that were sold for hauling sidecars.
stead, in South London. The AJS In 1937, the Sunbeam company
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models survived the transfer well was taken over by Matchless and,
enough, although the overhead- with AJS, the three firms were regis-
camshaft models dropped out of tered as Associated Motor Cycles or
sight for a year or two, and the range AMC. The combination did not stay
continued with little change for a together for long, and in 1943 the
while. The Matchless models did Sunbeam name was sold to the BSA
the same and, as with many firms group, but the AMC name remained
during those difficult times, the com- at Plumstead. From then on, it was
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AJS & MATCHLESS SINGLES

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At the end of the war, the G3L was given a coat of black paihnt and ran on for the civilian
market.
used to refer to the two marques as becing in the Matchless form. The
a pair, this becoming more and more only real difference lay in the posi-
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acceptable as their ranges becamea tion of the magneto, which went
common. This was well in hand by ahead of the cylinder on the AJS and
the end of the 1930s, while for 1m940, behind it on the Matchless. Both
the Matchless models adopted a had the dynamo behind the crank-
frame with single downtu-be, which case, above the gearbox, so it was
was very similar to the sone AJS had difficult to remove in the former
used for some time. case, and even more so in the latter.
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During the war, AaMC produced The early war-time machine was
some 80,000 machines, all but a few the Matchless G3 of 348 cc with
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Drive side of the
model 18 AJS
which was as for
the other singles
with the infamous
pressed-steel
chaincase.
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PREWAR ORIGINS & WARTIME SERVICE

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Harry Louis of The Motor Cycle with a competition AJS and Jock West of AMC on a road model
in the Isle of Man for the 1947 TT.
overhead valves, four-spee-d Burman other makes.
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gearbox, rigid frame and girder forks. The G3L was used for an experi-
This was built up toj 1942, but from ment with rear suspension in 1944,
1941, AMC also paroduced the G3L, but otherwise continued to be built
which was lighter and fitted with unaltered until the end of the war.
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telescopic fwront forks. It became a Thus, it was fully developed for
Forces' favourite, for it was fast peace-time use and went over to
enoughw to cope easily with convoy this with minimal change, other than
duty, while the new forks gave it colour.
cowmfort and roadholding denied to
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