A wee Matchless project

[Rannsachair]

Much as I like my old 350 Matchless, it is a bit slow....so managed to pick up a 500 engine that will need some tlc but should be the basis for a bit more oomph:

Looks like someone has done a bit work on it in the past: though one broken fin to repair

ports significantly opened up:

Will be interesting to see the guts of it, feels like plenty of compression which is a good sign, some corrosion on the bottom of the crankcase though:

Will be rebuilt into:

 

[gordon stephenson]

Nice project, I always liked AJS and Matchless bikes, Loved the look of the jam-pot dampers, One of my last ones was a Matchless 500cc G80 CS, trials bike, Great motor with a big ally barrel and hairpin valve springs and ally tank,BTH magneto and barman gearbox. I don't have a photograph of mine but this one is identicl apart from the rear dampers., Good luck with the engine swap, Keep us posted with lots of pic's please.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Keep the thread going

I have owned loads of old Brits from Excelsior to self built Tritons but for some reason never a Matchless or AJS.

 

[8ob]

Keep the thread going

I have owned loads of old Brits from Excelsior to self built Tritons but for some reason never a Matchless or AJS.

I had an old Talisman twin, dont often hear of Excelsior these days.

Bob

 

[cumbriasteve]

I had an old Talisman twin, dont often here of Excelsior these days.

Bob

That was the 250cc if I am correct, I was offered one for £25 in probably the early 70's but could not afford it .

 

[gordon stephenson]

Didn't Excelsior make a three cylinder two stroke as well?

 

[cumbriasteve]

Yes they did a 500cc

Apologies to Rannaschair if we are filling your thread, Brit bikes are a magnet to some of us, I will bow out and let the rebuild continue.

 

[Rannsachair]

Yes they did a 500cc

Apologies to Rannaschair if we are filling your thread, Brit bikes are a magnet to some of us, I will bow out and let the rebuild continue.

No worries, sad, but I love hearing from folk who had the bikes I still ride or get me onto something else. I still remember a technician who had raced a New Imperial at the TT when I was a student in Dundee, he loved them, I have yet to see one in the flesh.

 

[gordon stephenson]

I took my motor bike test on the Matchless i posted above when I was sixteen, The examiner in Middlesbrough came out asking where is your motor cycle, I had to tell him that it was around the corner, resting up against a wall, It didn't have a stand, Another thing that I remember was that it had a wire-wound piston below the Rings, The only one that I have come across.
P.S. Passed first time, Got the same examiner a year later for my car test, His name was Mr Tippet.

 

[pedrobedro]

No worries, sad, but I love hearing from folk who had the bikes I still ride or get me onto something else. I still remember a technician who had raced a New Imperial at the TT when I was a student in Dundee, he loved them, I have yet to see one in the flesh.

I know someone who just bought A New Imperial 1933 bike and it has a hand gear change. How would you cope with that round the TT?

 

[Rannsachair]

I know someone who just bought A New Imperial 1933 bike and it has a hand gear change. How would you cope with that round the TT?

There were a few New Imps in the 1946 Lightweight TT, suspect they were converted to foot change. Fewer in later years.

 

[gordon stephenson]

I FEEL ILL, Just googled G80cs, Bonhams sold a restored one for £20,500 inc premium

 

[zeppelin builder]

looks like someones been at the inlet port already ,good simple engine a friend made a new crank with carillo rod to stroke his g 80 c to 700 cm3 had the scramble cams ,went like stink. The rickman brothers used a similar engine in the metisse ,he still has a couple an original 350 trials and a rigid g80 you probably know him,have you seen the matchy being raced at goodwood it was giving the molnar manxes etc a hard time

 

[zeppelin builder]

Didn't Excelsior make a three cylinder two stroke as well?

aye and some wonderfull cammy engines (manxman) and the mechanical marvel 250

 

[zeppelin builder]

No worries, sad, but I love hearing from folk who had the bikes I still ride or get me onto something else. I still remember a technician who had raced a New Imperial at the TT when I was a student in Dundee, he loved them, I have yet to see one in the flesh.

most of the new imps ive seen had JAP engines ,and old guy in crieff years back had in his collection a genuine 350 new imp racer with the fancy pistol grip alloy tank ,made daft money at the sale after he died, cant remember if it was a JAP motor ,didnt they do a light weight 350 with a monoshock type frame and a gear primary drive too, lots of makers used the NEW prefix eg new hudson,new gerrard( made in edinburgh) to name a few ,when george Brough named his superior his father said oh well mines must have been the inferior.

 

[zeppelin builder]

that head must be tuned its got matt black paint on ,does anyone remember DAG heat dispersant matt black paint ,was made by Greeves motorcycles

 

[Rannsachair]

most of the new imps ive seen had JAP engines ,and old guy in crieff years back had in his collection a genuine 350 new imp racer with the fancy pistol grip alloy tank ,made daft money at the sale after he died, cant remember if it was a JAP motor ,didnt they do a light weight 350 with a monoshock type frame and a gear primary drive too, lots of makers used the NEW prefix eg new hudson,new gerrard( made in edinburgh) to name a few ,when george Brough named his superior his father said oh well mines must have been the inferior.

Up to 1926 they used JAP engines, then developed their own, from 1932 they introduced their own unit construction engines.

 

[Rannsachair]

that head must be tuned its got matt black paint on ,does anyone remember DAG heat dispersant matt black paint ,was made by Greeves motorcycles

Both inlet and exhaust port have been ported. I am not sure what else has been done, there are extra bolts on the engine in front of the tappets, they are crossdrilled for wiring. Pity I do not know it's history, the guy I bought it from picked it up lying in the back of a shed many years ago when he bought a Bsa Beagle!

 

[zeppelin builder]

my mate was saying thats its hard to get to get proper pistons for them now ,the pattern ones( JP ) are way too heavy and makes the bike vibrate badly ,best to get old hepolites or similar

 

[normspanners]

Wow I had A G3LS it was given too me when I was 12/ 13----- 50 odd yrs ago ! for helping spanner for a guy that used to road race a greeves, that has brought back some memories seeing the big old jam pots on the back !! VERY STRONG Frame.
I remember hitting the only flat 8 of straw bales left on sealand aerodrome absolutely flat out on the grass runway at about 70 mph (I had tuned the old girl with a huge domed piston and worked ports and altered the cam timing IIRC) took all the lights off ETC I rebuilt the big end and set up the crank at school on the lathe in the metal work room I was on my way home from the farm at 23hrs and was convinced the field had been cleared, the bike stopped dead!!! I carried on like superman thinking THIS IS GOING TO HURT ----and it did, I limped back to the bike thinking the forks would be shot etc etc and it was unmarked they where built like a brick toilet, them. Starting it again with a sprained arm and sore leg, was another thing.
I have some video super 8 somewhere that my uncle took of me on it, with sparks coming off the foot rest, on my 'circuit ' at the old air base I could get it down that far, she used to handle that well even on knackered trials tyres too and that was traveling back in the day.