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Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles with the first models manufactured at the start of the 20th century. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (513x1051, 115 KB) Source: Own picture This picture may have usage restrictions File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Matchless ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (513x1051, 115 KB) Source: Own picture This picture may have usage restrictions File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Matchless ...
A marque (French for brand and pronounced as mark) is a brand name, most commonly used for automobile brands. ...
The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...
Matchless branded motorcycles produced in Plumstead, London from 1899 to 1966 when the name was dropped by its owners. Plumstead (founded circa 980) is a district in the London Borough of Greenwich, with the eastern end of the site of the former Royal Arsenal at its northern boundary and Shooters Hill to the south. ...
London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ...
1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...
A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name ranging from small two strokes to 750 cc four-stroke twins. Among the most famous models were the Silver Hawk and the Silver Arrow. The four-stroke cycle of an internal combustion engine is the cycle most commonly used for automotive and industrial purposes today (cars and trucks, generators, etc). ...
With the purchase of AJS in 1931 Matchless became a part of Associated Motorcycles (AMC), both companies producing models under their own marques. During the amalgamations that occurred in the British motorcycle industry in the 1960s, the Matchless four-stroke twin was replaced with the Norton engine ending a long history of independent production. AJS was the name used for cars and motorcycles made by the Wolverhampton, England company A. J. Stevens Ltd. ...
Associated Motorcycles (AMC) was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded as a parent company for the Matchless and AJS motorcycle companies. ...
Norton 850 Commando Norton is a British motorcycle marque from Birmingham and founded in 1898. ...
Matchless had a long history of racing participation and success. A Matchless, ridden by Charlie R Collier, won the first single cylinder race in the first Isle of Man TT in 1907 with an average speed of 38.21 mph in a time of 4.08.08. Their machines won again in 1909 and 1910. Matchless have participated in many Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix races up to 1997 with varying success.[1] The 1907 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the first of the Isle of Man TT races. ...
The late Joey Dunlop riding down from Kates Cottage towards Creg ny Baa. ...
(WORK IN PROGRESS!!) Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or Mountain Circuit) every year for a two-week period usually spanning the end of August and early September. ...
1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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History
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Matchless (1899 - 1938) The first Matchless motorcycle was made in 1899, and manufacture began in 1901. Matchless was the trading name of Collier & Sons, the father H. H. Collier and his sons Charlie and Harry. The Matchless tank badge was a winged "M". Like many motorcycle manufacturers of the time they had started as bicycle manufacturers. This racing bicycle is built using lightweight, shaped aluminium tubing and carbon fiber stays and forks. ...
They produced a JAP V-twin powered bike in 1905 which boasted one of the earliest swing-arm rear suspensions, coupled with leading-link front forks. Charlie won the inaugural TT singles race in 1907 with an average speed of 38.21 mph and a time of 4 hours 8 minutes 8 seconds. Harry did not finish in 1907, but won in 1909, and Charlie won again in 1910, bringing Matchless motorcycles to the attention of the public. Matchless made mostly singles, but they also made V-twins from 496 cc to 998 cc. They made their own engines from 1912 on. JA Prestwich Industries Ltd, named after founder John Alfred Prestwich, produced cinematographic equipment, internal combustion engines, and other examples of precision engineering. ...
Matchless was not given a contract to make motorcycles for the army during the First World War. Peacetime production resumed in 1919, concentrating at first on V-twins for sidecar use, leaving singles until 1923. The company went public in 1926. In 1930 they launched a narrow-angle 400 cc V-twin called the Silver Arrow, and in 1931 they launched an (advanced for the time) 593 cc V-four, the Silver Hawk. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...
A Harley-Davidson motorcycle with sidecar This article concerns sidecar as an attachment to a motocycle; for the alcoholic drink, see sidecar cocktail A sidecar is an one-wheeled vehicle attached to the side of a motorcycle, producing a three-wheeled vehicle. ...
In 1931 Matchless bought AJS from the Stevens brothers. Matchless bought Sunbeam in the late thirties, but Sunbeam was sold to BSA in 1943. AJS was the name used for cars and motorcycles made by the Wolverhampton, England company A. J. Stevens Ltd. ...
Older Sunbeam badge Another Sunbeam badge BSA Sunbeam Scooter badge Sunbeam was a British motorcycle marque generally known for high quality. ...
The Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) was a British manufacturer of vehicles, firearms, and military equipment, and still exists as an airgun sport manufacturer and distributor. ...
AJS had come about when the Stevens brothers, who had produced their first motorcycle in 1897, decided on a name of their own for their motorcycles in 1910. Before the Matchless take-over in 1931 they had produced a range of motorcycles, some doing well in the Isle of Man TT. By 1930 the company was in financial trouble though they held 117 world records. After 1931 the only "true" AJS's, as far as enthusiasts were concerned, were the racing 7R's, Porcupines and the AJS Four. The shared models were considered by some AJS fans to be only badge engineered Matchlesses. Badge engineering is a term that describes the rebadging of one model of car as another. ...
In 1935 the Matchless/AJS hairpin valve springs made their first appearance.
Matchless supplied engines for the V-twin versions of the Morgan three-wheeler from 1933 until Morgan production was halted by the outbreak of WWII in 1939. From 1935 on they were Morgan's exclusive supplier of V-twin engines. A dozen surviving unused engines were still in storage at the Morgan works in 1946 and were used to build a final batch of V-Twin trikes for a Morgan dealer in Australia. Insert non-formatted text here 1934 Morgan Super Sports 1936 Morgan F4 Open Tourer A Modern Morgan Aero 8 at the Scarsdale Concours Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Morgan vehicles The Morgan Motor Company is a British automobile manufacturer. ...
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AMC (1938 - 1966) - See also: AJS
Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) was formed in 1938, as a parent company for Matchless and AJS motorcycles. AMC later absorbed Francis-Barnett, James, and Norton. AJS was the name used for cars and motorcycles made by the Wolverhampton, England company A. J. Stevens Ltd. ...
Associated Motorcycles (AMC) was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded as a parent company for the Matchless and AJS motorcycle companies. ...
James is a common given name. ...
// Places England Norton, County Durham Norton, East Sussex Norton, Gloucestershire Norton, Halton Norton, Hertfordshire Norton, Isle of Wight Norton, Leicestershire Norton, Northamptonshire Norton, North Yorkshire Norton, Nottinghamshire Norton, Ludlow, Shropshire Norton, Shrewsbury, Shropshire Norton, Dawley, Shropshire Norton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire Norton, Sheffield, South Yorkshire Norton, Suffolk Norton, Selsey, West Sussex...
In 1939 a 495 cc AJS V4 was built to compete against the supercharged BMWs then dominating racing. The bike was a water-cooled and supercharged. In 1939 the dry sump V4 was the first bike to lap the Ulster Grand Prix course at over 100 mph. It weighed 405 lb. its top speed was 135 mph. Then World War II intervened.
In 1941 Matchless motorcycles introduced telescopic front forks called "Teledraulic" forks, considered by some to be the first major innovation in front suspension in 25 years.
During the Second World War, Matchless manufactured 80,000 G3 and G3L models for the armed forces. By 1956 they had eight models in their line up, but the number had dwindled in 1965. The G3L was the first to feature the “Teledraulic” front forks. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...
Post-war landmarks start with the production of Matchless/AJS 350 cc and 500 cc singles, developed from the legendary war-time Matchless G3 produced for the Army. From 1948 competition models of the singles were produced which gave the company some memorable wins.
In 1946 Freddie Clarke joined AMC as Chief Development Engineer after a difference of opinion with Triumph. In 1947 AMC absorbed Francis-Barnett, and in 1953 further extended the empire by soaking up Norton.
Norton had been bought by Associated Motor Cycles (then consisting of AJS, Matchless, James and Francis-Barnett) in 1953 after it became obvious that the Norton company wasn’t doing very well, despite the success of the "Featherbed frame", used in racing bikes and the production 1952 Dominator 88. After 1957 Norton models used the AMC gearbox.
In 1949 the first Matchless/AJS vertical twin, a 500 cc, was produced; later to be joined by 600 cc and 650 cc vertical twins in 1956 and 1959 respectively. On the racing front AMC were fielding the (supercharged) AJS Porcupine and the AJS 7R alongside the Matchless G50, a 500 cc variant of the 7R, and (by 1951) the Matchless G45 500 cc vertical twin. Even when supercharging was banned, Les Graham won the 1949 World Championship on an normally aspirated Porcupine. A supercharger (also known as a blower) is an air compressor used to compress air into the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. ...
In 1951 AJS development engineer Ike Hatch developed a 75.5 mm bore x 78 mm stroke, three valve head version of the 7R making 36 bhp. It was called the AJS 7R3, and was Ike's response to the Italian multi-cylinder racers. They did well enough in their first year, not as well the second. For 1954 Jack Williams, the works team manager, developed the bike further, lowering the engine in the frame, and making some tuning changes that gave 40 bhp @ 7800 rpm. It immediately won the first two rounds of the World Championship and took first at the Isle of Man TT. These were factory specials, but one has survived, and a second has been reconstructed from spares. In 1953 there was a Clubman range of Matchless/AJS 350 cc and 500 cc singles, and the production model Matchless G45 500 twin became available.
AMC withdrew from the world of works and one-off road racing at the end of the 1954, with the death of Ike Hatch, and in the face of fierce competition from the other European bikes. Instead of works specials, AJS and Norton would make the production versions of the Manx Norton and the standard two valve AJS 7R, for privateers.
In 1958 the Matchless/AJS road bikes were joined by a 250 cc and in 1960 by a 350 cc for a lightweight series of singles.
In 1960 Bert Hopwood resigned from AMC and went to Meriden. That same year AMC posted a profit of a bit over 200,000 pounds, not so good compared with BSA's 3.5 million. Then in 1961 they posted a loss of £350,000. With the closure of the Norton plant at Birmingham in 1962 and the merger of Norton and Matchless production, the future was beginning to look rather bleak. In the sixties, with sales declining AMC made the commercial decision to focus on the Norton twins and the Matchless/AJS singles but they were not to be successful and the factory ceased production shortly afterwards.
Some models were "parts bin specials" put together at the request of the American dealers. The Americans were desert racing, so Berliners sent AMC an example custom bike using a Norton 750 motor in a G80CS frame, and asked them to build them some. This was the last Matchless motorcycle, the 748 cc G15 which was also sold as the AJS Model 33' and as the Norton N15. The G15 was produced up until 1969. A Mk2 version was sold in Britain from 1964.
Matchless/AJS built predictable handling, comfortable, well-made, reliable and economical motorcycles, for their day. Unfortunately such attributes were not enough to keep them in business. Continuing poor sales led to AMC becoming part of a new company, called Norton-Villiers in 1966.
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Norton Villiers (1966 - 1973) -
Main article: Norton-Villiers In 1966 AMC went bankrupt and were taken over by Manganese Bronze Holdings who formed Norton-Villiers to oversee operations. At this point Norton was the only motorcycle marque in the company that was making money. Despite the introduction of the Isolastic-framed Norton Commando there was financial trouble again within a few years. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ...
Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC is an engineering company based in Coventry, England (note Manganese Bronze is also one of many possible alloys called bronze). ...
The Matchless G85CS was a 12:1 compression 500 cc with an improved bottom end, was built by NV, mainly for the American off-road market. AMC had built special models for the American market before.
Although AJS badged two-stroke trials and scrambles machines are still manufactured, the traditional four-stroke models are history.
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Norton-Villiers-Triumph (1973 - 1978) -
Main article: Norton-Villiers-Triumph In 1973, the British government's attempt to rescue the motorcycle industry forced a merger of BSA (including their subsidiary Triumph) and Norton-Villiers in return for funds to remain in business. The resultant company was called Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT). The AMC gearbox was still in use. NVT was liquidated in 1978 but rotary engined motorcycles appeared under the Norton name for the next 15 years with insufficient sales, until the Norton name as we know it withered away, as had BSA, Sunbeam, James, Frances-Barnett, AJS, and Matchless. [edit]
Les Harris (1988) A new Harris “Matchless G80” single, with Rotax SOHC motor and single front disc brake is released. Electric start and twin discs are options. [edit]
Matchless G80 / AJS Model 18 (1949 - 1966) During the 50s and 60s the main export product for AMC was the AJS/Matchless range - the road bikes were very similar, often with only the badges distinguishing one marque from the other.
In the early fifties the most popular British four-strokes were still pushrod singles. 500 cc machines typical of this era were the Matchless G80 and the AJS Model 18, both manufactured by Associated Motor Cycles (AMC). The two aforementioned models were made in the same factory, the only difference in the two being the position of their chain-driven magnetos.
The magneto on an AJS was in front of the cylinder, and the Matchless magneto was behind.. A 1930s design, still being manufactured 30 years on, the AJS was updated when a spring frame (sprung-heel) rear suspension was made available. (hence the 'S'). The suspension was a vast improvement on the bouncy rigid rear end but the wheel travel was limited.
AMC then copied Velocette's twin-shock swingarm rear suspension design for its top AJS and Matchless singles and twins. Shorter vertical shock absorber units were introduced in 1949. One of these 'Candlestick' shocks held only 50 cc of SAE 20 weight oil. Leak prone, they were replaced by the 'Jampot' shocks on the 1951 version.
The leaky pressed-steel primary chain-case first appeared on the 1953 G80S. In 1958 an alloy cover primary chain-case became available.
The G80/Model 18 Engine. The motor was released with a compression ratio of 5.9:1, because of the poor quality fuel available in Britain immediately after the War. In 1949 the hairpin valve springs were back, after the use of conventional coil valve springs in wartime models. By 1951 the G80 had an alloy cylinder head, and the barrel fins now went all the way to the base. The compression ratio was increased to 7.3:1 in 1956.
Low compression meant that it was easy to kick-start and was more flexible at low revs. The earlier long stroke version might not quite reach 80 mph but it could trundle along at less than 20 mph in top gear. It also gave good fuel economy.
- Technical Data
- Production : 1949-1966
- Engine type : Single cylinder, pushrod 2 valve, 4 stroke
- Capacity : 498 cc
- Bore and Stroke : “Long Stroke” 82.5 mm x 93 mm (1949-1955), “Short Stroke” 86 mm x 86 mm (1956-1966).
- Compression Ratio : (1949 - 1955) 5.9:1, (1956 on) 7.3:1
- Fuel System : 27 mm Amal Carburettor
- Power : (1949 - 1955) 23PS @ 5,400 rpm
- Dry weight : (1949 - 1955) 177 kg
- Top Speed : (1949 - 1955) 78 mph
The 500 cc "long stroke" G80CS and its AJS version, the 18CS were produced from 1951 through 1955. In 1956 they were replaced by the shorter stroke, larger bore models that used the same numeric codes. The bore of these early G80CS's was 82.5 mm (3.25"), while the 1956 through 1966 “short stroke” (final version) models had a bore of 86 mm. The C is for Competition (Scrambles) and the S for Suspension (not a rigid rear frame).
Engine numbers usually start with the year of production, followed by model designation, and completed with the production number of the motorcycle.
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References - ^ http://www.iomtt.com/home/TTDatabase/races.aspx?mach_id=1 Matchless Isle of Man TT & MGP race results
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External links [edit]
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