Restoration guide |Expert advice
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ElectricsMATCHLESSMODELX
THE SPECIALIST
TheAJS andMatchlessOwners’Club isaverywell
supportedorganisation. It hasmanymembers and
apoolofknowledgethat is impressivelydeep. A
number of the members arealsoModel Xowners.
Club memberPat Gill hasmuch experience of the
restoratio nofprewarMatchlessmachinery,so it
is thanksto him for his help in the preparation of
this guide.
■AJS &MatchlessOwners’ Club Ltd:
http://www.jampot.comMODELHISTORY
After theFirstWorld War, manufact urers mindful of
ever ypotentialsale soon includedalarge capacity
V-twin in theirranges.Theintendedcustomer
wasthe familyman, who needed somethingto
haulasidecar. By the late 1920s,the recessive
time sand fewpotentialcust omersmade price a
keen consideration. Matchless offered aone-litre
motorcycle, butthe specification wasabout as
basic as themanufacturer dared makeit.The‘/R’
versions(the‘sport’ options) offeredmorebling
than enhancedperformance.Bythe mid-1930s,
sales were vanishingtocars, as theAustin 7
became ever moreaffordable. With amajor
rejig, especially of the cycle parts,Matchless
relaunched the Model Xasthe ‘Sports-Touris t’
although modifications for sidecaruse remaineda
factoryoption.
Soon, the AMC umbrella coveredMatchless,AJS
and Sunbeam.Thesolid designs receiv ed annual
updates,the motorcycleswerewell engineered and
the laterModel Xwas no longerapoorrelation.
Theengine hadbeenadoptedbythe AJSModel 2in
1933,butlater developments impressedelsewhere,
as Brough Superior andMorgan became twohigh
profile V-twin user safter AMCagreed to thesaleof
engine units.
Thelastbikes were from the 1940 modelyear.
AMC’spostwar futurewas in singles,soonfollowed
by parallel twins.90 THE CLASSICMOTORCYCLE|SEPTEMBER 2019
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