AJS & MATCHLESS SINGLES HARDY HEAVYWEIGHTS

After the end of the Second World War, Matchless and AJS were in a pretty strong position.

Like BSA, and to a lesser extent Norton, their parent company AMC had been supplying bikes to the forces for most of the duration.

That bike, the Matchless G3L (L for ‘Light’) was regarded by many as the best of the despatch riders’ tools, and formed the basis for the first of the civilian models to bark their way from the London factory when hostilities ended.

The AMC single engine had been in production right through the traumas of the war, and almost all that was required for the transition to civilian life was a coat of lustrous black to replace the olive drab, and a lot of polishing for the power train’s covers.

Read more in the March issue of CBG