Matchless G50: One for the road
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 83 – first published in 2019. Story: Jim Scaysbrook and Robert Baillie • Photographs: Gary Reid Once a common sight on race tracks, the Matchless G50 with its […]
Matchless
Mighty Matchless: A fleeting example
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 89 – first published in 2020. Story: Peter Laverty • Photos: Old Bike Australasia While it appears that the single cylinder Matchless – in sizes from 250cc to […]
AMC Parallel Twins: From go to whoa.
From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 66 – first published in 2016. Story and photos: Gaven Dall’Osto A late-comer to parallel twins, AJS/Matchless nevertheless produced a design that lasted many years, albeit with more than […]
A Manx for the road
Steve Tonkin has been building very special classic bikes to order for over 20 years, with around 100 different examples to date. Currently, his work is focussed on what is called the Tonkin Tornado – […]
G45 Matchless: The temperamental twin
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Keith Ward, Dennis Quinlan, Keith Bryen, Jim Scaysbrook “The G45 was very simply a touring motorcycle, anything but inspiring.” These are the words of Australian international racer, the late Keith Bryen, […]
Jack Findlay: Don’t call me Cyril
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Karel Zegers, OBA archives Mike Hailwood once told me that around the original 14 kilometre Spa Francorchamps circuit, there was no one better than Cyril John ‘Jack’ Findlay. That’s high praise […]
Tracks in Time: Mount Druitt, NSW
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photographs Frank Shepherd, Bill Tricker, Charles Rice • Archival assistance: John Wicks Even though it closed almost fifty years ago, Mount Druitt is inevitably mentioned whenever a bunch of old timers get […]
Matchless Silver Hawk – Right idea, wrong time
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Brendon Thorne Many regard the ‘thirties as the most fruitful era in terms of motorcycle innovation. Brilliant designs flowed from almost every major British factory. But the events in Wall Street […]
1967 Matchless G15CSR: Late comer
Story and photos: Jim Scaysbrook. To the many purists, it was a sad day when Associated Motor Cycles, owners of AJS, Matchless, Francis Barnett, James and Norton, shifted the last-named marque from its traditional home […]
Kapooka – A one-off in Wagga
Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Frank Shepherd When Mount Druitt disappeared in November 1958, it left NSW with just one operational road racing circuit – the once-a-year bash at Bathurst at Easter. This had the effect […]
