AJS & Matchless Owners Club

My 1955 G3.

Proper bike

"56 had metal pins in rubber"

In which case mine had a PO that changed it between 56 and 74; mine is metal to metal and much trouble it caused me.

Different aspect, the photo shows the HT lead going up over the petrol tank mounting, looks like I've had something else wrong all these years.

Johnny B

REW wrote:Proper bike

its the bike on the right She is the only person to ride it since my ownership i wish i could remember her name.

ajscomboman wrote:Not sure when they finally officially dropped rigid models Rob as they could be built to order direct from the factory.

I can see in dating features 16 M , 18, 18C, G3L, G80, G80C, Discontinued 1956 model year ( Sept 1955 onwards.) I guess then you only got rigid to special order.

56G80S wrote:"56 had metal pins in rubber"

In which case mine had a PO that changed it between 56 and 74; mine is metal to metal and much trouble it caused me.

Different aspect, the photo shows the HT lead going up over the petrol tank mounting, looks like I've had something else wrong all these years.

Johnny B

The first year of QD full width rear hub, 1955 was all metal pins/holes. They were not that good. Probably why they only lasted that one year. I had a G3LS almost new. Running at low speed they clonked this also caused chain whip. I think this action when happened to bikes, MPH in bottom gear, on the level, was refereed to as " min. non snatch speed " The only way to stop the " snatch " was to make the bike pull. It would then go faster thought, going up hill making the bike pull it did not snatch. Not so nice to ride in traffic, as you had to drop down a gear to stop snatch, until you finally reached bottom gear min. non snatch speed. I am sure in some Road Tests, you may see min non snatch speed stated.

Roy Bacon,

1955:- "The competition machines had polarised to a degree with the rigid ones used for trials and the springers for scrambles, but either could be supplied to suit whichever branch of the sport the customer wished to participate in".

1956:- "The singles range was really by now rather dated and the rigid models in particular showed their pre-war ancestry. So for 1956 the rigid models were dropped and a new trials model with swinging fork frame appeared along with new scramblers with short stroke engines".

1956:- "The new trials model was only available in 350cc form as the 18MC or G3LC. It thus repeated the designation of the older rigid competition model to everyone's confusion as the new machine had a swinging fork frame".

Rob Harknett wrote: The first year of QD full width rear hub, 1955 was all metal pins/holes. They were not that good. Probably why they only lasted that one year. I had a G3LS almost new. Running at low speed they clonked this also caused chain whip. I think this action when happened to bikes, MPH in bottom gear, on the level, was refereed to as " min. non snatch speed " The only way to stop the " snatch " was to make the bike pull. It would then go faster thought, going up hill making the bike pull it did not snatch. Not so nice to ride in traffic, as you had to drop down a gear to stop snatch, until you finally reached bottom gear min. non snatch speed. I am sure in some Road Tests, you may see min non snatch speed stated.

I have the 55 metal pin QD wheels on two bikes my 55 G3LS and my 58 G11CS (its what came with it probably wrong). With both of them I replaced the pins with Factory made oversize ones supplied by Les at Russells, which also required opening out the holes in the drum to return them circular as they wear slightly oval. Done about 10,000 miles on both bikes and so far no real sign of snatching or that much wear.

Clive

I did the same thing, in fact Les sent on that didn't match the others and he sent a replacement that did. I thouhjy that was why I couldn't fit the wheel to the hub.

In fact, the chap in the village who openied out the holes specialises in hydraulics and left no real tolerance. I had to open them a little further with a Lidl Dremel copy tool.

That was quite a few thousand miles ago and no problems yet.

Johnny B

The front brake lever arm looks like the curved type (unless the light makes it appear curved) fitted to later front brakes where it was fitted at 180 deg to yours, behind the fork leg, and had to curve round fork leg. Yours should be straight. Cheers, Andy