Matchless Motorcycles
Matchless Motorcycles Started with Bicycles
Established by Henry Herbert Collier as ʻCollier & Sonsʼ, with sons Charlie and Henry, Matchless Motorcycles started out making bicycles, as did so many other makers of classic British motorcycles. They built their first prototype motorcycle in 1899 and had it in production by 1901. In 1905 it produced a JAP* V-twin powered bike with one of the earliest versions of rear swing arm suspension in motorcycle history. (*JAP was an English company who built engines that were purchased by other manufacturers for their own motorcycles.)
The 498cc 1934 Matchless D80 Sport came out at the tail end of the ‘sloper’-era. It lasted just three model years. From then on, British motorcycles would have vertical cylinders.
Matchless Motorcycles: the Early Years
Then they started racing. In 1907, son Charlie won the Inaugural TT Singles Race at an average speed of 38.21mph (blistering speed at the time). His brother, Harry, won in 1909 and Charlie won again in 1910. At the time, they were building mostly singles, with a few V-twins for sidecar duty. Until this point, Matchless Motorcycles were built using other manufacturersʼ engines, but starting in 1912, Matchless began building its own engines. World War I came and went without them landing any military contracts to build motorcycles for the War Department. But in 1919, production resumed with Matchless building a new V-twin and in 1923, a new single. The father died in 1926, leaving a vibrant family-run business behind. In 1930, Charlie designed a narrow-angle (26 degrees) 400cc V-twin, the Matchless Silver Arrow. This was expanded into a 600cc V-4 in 1931.
AJS engines (left) had their magnetos in front of the cylinder, while Matchless engines (right) placed it behind. Otherwise, they were mechanically identical.
Matchless Motorcycles buys AJS
Also in 1931, Matchless bought AJS Motorcycles from the Stevens brothers, then in the late 1930s bought Sunbeam Motorcycles also, which it would later sell to BSA in 1943. From this point on, all Matchless and AJS Motorcycles would be, mechanically, nearly identical, with slightly different styling. The only major mechanical difference between the two was that Matchless positioned the magneto behind the cylinder, and the AJS had its magneto in front of the cylinder. Otherwise, they were essentially the same machines built on the same production line. Each had its own model designation. The Matchless G80 (500 single) became the AJS Model 18. The Matchless G9 (500 twin) was the AJS Model 20, and so on.
Matchless Motorcycles a Supplier of Engines
In 1933, Matchless began supplying V-twin engines to the Morgan Car Company for its cute, little 3-wheeled cars and became the exclusive supplier by 1935. From 1935 to 1940, Matchless V-twins were supplied to Brough Superior for all its motorcycles (this is the bike that Lawrence of Arabia rode). In 1935, Matchless engineers invented the ʻhairpin’ valve springs that would become a trademark of the two brands.
Matchless supplied V-twin engines to the Morgan Car Company for its cute, little, 3-wheeled cars.
AMC is Born
In 1938, Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) was formed, to hold a stable of brands that included not only Matchless and AJS, but also Sunbeam, James, Francis-Barnett and, ultimately, Norton Motorcycles.
War Intervenes
In 1941, Matchless and AJS introduced what is regarded as the first true telescopic front fork, called ‘Teledraulic’, to rave reviews. World War II saw Matchless build 80,000 G3 and G3L 350cc singles for the British military. Its post-war singles were based on the wartime Matchless G3L. 1949 saw the companyʼs first vertical twin, the 500cc Matchless G9 (and its sister-bike, the AJS Model 20). In 1956 it was enlarged to 600cc (G12 and AJS Model 31) and in 1959 to 650cc (G15 and AJS Model 33).
The quintessential Matchless: a 1948 Matchless G80 500cc single.
Matchless Motorcycles in Postwar Racing
In racing, the supercharged AJS Porcupine, Matchless G50 and AJS 7R were winning races and helping to cement the reputations of Matchless and AJS as fast, dependable machines. In 1952, Derek Farrant won the Manx GP on a 1952 Matchless G45 twin averaging 88.65mph. AMC withdrew from racing at the end of the 1954 season, concentrating on sales. However, unlike most manufacturers, Matchless and AJS were selling pretty much the same race bikes to the public that the factory had fielded. And their sales of race bikes continued long after the factory stopped racing. The 1959 Matchless G50 500cc single, for instance, had 50hp, would do 135mph and was faster than a Norton Manx. When Bert Hopwood left AMC for Triumph in 1961, some of the racing magic faded.
Matchless and AJS joined the vertical twin race like almost everyone else, trying to keep up with market-leader Triumph. In 1949 they jumped in with both feet with the 500cc G9. This is a 1953 Matchless G9. The AJS version was called the Model 20.
Matchless & AJS have Twins!
In racing, the supercharged AJS Porcupine, Matchless G50 and AJS 7R were winning races and helping to cement the reputations of Matchless and AJS as fast, dependable machines. In 1952, Derek Farrant won the Manx GP on a 1952 Matchless G45 twin averaging 88.65mph. AMC withdrew from racing at the end of the 1954 season, concentrating on sales. However, unlike most manufacturers, Matchless and AJS were selling pretty much the same race bikes to the public that the factory had fielded. And their sales of race bikes continued long after the factory stopped racing. The 1959 Matchless G50 500cc single, for instance, had 50hp, would do 135mph and was faster than a Norton Manx. When Bert Hopwood left AMC for Triumph in 1961, some of the racing magic faded.
This 1968 Matchless G80CS (500 single) was the ultimate evolution of AMC singles.
Hard Times for Matchless Motorcycles
By 1960, the handwriting was on the wall: sales were down, and the future looked bleak for AMC. Between its five once-proud brands: Matchless, AJS, James, Francis-Barnett and Norton, only Norton was actually making money. The decision was made to drop everything but the Matchless/AJS singles and focus everything else on Norton Motorcycles. The singles didn’t sell as well in the 1960s; even Norton sales werenʼt as strong as hoped, and by 1966, AMC was in bankruptcy. Manganese Bronze Holdings (who also owned Villiers Motorcycles) bought it out, forming a new company, Norton-Villiers, with ambitious plans to become big players in the British motorcycle industry. It planned to do this with one motorcycle: The Norton Commando. The rest is history. But for Matchless and AJS, a few 1967s were sold, and some unsold bikes were retagged as 1968s and licensing deals produced a few more Matchless-badged bikes scattered here and there, most notably on the Rotax-engined Les Harris Matchless G80 in 1988. Alas, by the close of the 1960s, Matchless and AJS were added to the scrapheap that was once the proud British motorcycle industry. Truly a pity.
Life after death: the 1988 Harris-Matchless G80.
Matchless Motorcycles, Risen from the Dead
After the fall of AMC, Matchless and AJS, the rights to the names floated around and surfaced from time to time. Motorcycle legend Les Harris, who picked up <A href='triumph-bonneville.html'>Triumph Bonneville</a> production when the Meriden factory closed in 1983, was running out of <A href='triumph-motorcycles.html'>Triumph</a> parts by 1988, ending his Harris-Bonneville production. The new Hinkley Triumphs were just around the corner by this time anyway, so it was time to move on. Harris owned Racing Spares Company out of Devon, England. He had bought mountains of parts in bulk to build his Harris-Bonnevilles, like Paoli forks and shock absorbers, Brembo disc brakes, Veglia instruments, Italian made wheels and fuel tanks. When Harris-Bonneville production ended in 1988, Harris used all the same parts on his new project, the Harris-Matchless G80. About the only major component that Harris built in-house was the oil-bearing frame. The the result was the 1988 Harris-Matchless G80. It featured a SOHC, 4-valve, 500cc Rotax single, and was a well-built, well-engineered machine. The problem was price. Because these bikes were hand-assembled from expensive imported parts, the bikes cost substantially more than a similar Yamaha with better standard equipment. The handwriting was on the wall, and the Harris-Matchless project failed in the marketplace.
Matchless Motorcycles - Models
Matchless G9
Matchless G12
Matchless G15
Matchless G45
Matchless G80
Matchless Motorcycle Books
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"AJS/Matchless Gold Portfolio, 1945-1966" By Brookland Books, Ltd., 172 pages |
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