Best of the rest
Before the Matchless G3/L changed
everything, the Ariel WN/G ohv 346cc single
was probably the most desirable WD ride for
enthusiastic DRs. Designed in characteristically
short order by Selly Oak’s Val Page between
Sept 1939 and summer 1940, it was then
judged worthy ‘for emergency purposes only’
because the engine condition had been only
‘fair’ after WD tests. Then Dunkirk and its loss
of 11,000 motorcycles provided the emergency,
and the WN/G went into full production, with
47,600 built before the last batches were
ordered in 1944.
Page had based the W/NG on the successful
SSDT-winning competition NG, stripping it,
providing wider-spaced ratios in the Burman box
and an extra plate in Ariel’s dry clutch. The trials
frame, modified, plus lengthened girders, gave 6in
of ground clearance and a 55 ½in wheelbase.
The WN/G was pleasant to ride, light enough
at 3,54lbs, comfortable, controllable and
responsive; as a trials-derived machine it
handled very well off-road. The engine was
smooth, though top speed was restricted to
the 50s due to lowered gearing and the 6.5:1
compression. Overshadowed by the G3/L, it
remained a hidden gem.
Velocette were not so lucky, the family firm
hampered by the lack of bulk production
facilities and its own high standards. Its
military modified MAC ohv 350 single, known
as the MDD, mostly went to the French forces
and were lost in the 1940 blitzkrieg. It had
difficulty fulfilling a further order of 2,000 of the
improved MAF for the WD, and after 947 were
delivered, the contract was terminated. A high
price (£68) had not helped.
Triumph was set to produce the Universal
Forces motorcycle with its sensational
but fragile ohv 350 light 3TW twin, but the
Luftwaffe stopped that. After that, in temporary
premises it produced the 350
side-valve 3SW andthen from 1942 at Meriden, mainly ohv 3HW
350s singles, with just under 30,000 produced,
mainly for the Royal Navy, where the 3HW in
particular was very well regarded.
Royal Enfield undertook a wide range of
war-work including making predictors for
Bofors guns, gyroscopic sights, and a wide
range of stationary engines. It also produced
55,000 two-wheelers, but many of these were
the DKW-based 125 two-stroke ‘Flying Flea’
Model RE, which could be air-dropped in
tubular crates, for the airborne forces. The
larger models it made were the 350 WD/C
side-valve 350 singles, and the WD/CO plus
WD/G ohv 350s of which 29,037 were
produced, with a few WD/J2 ohv 500 singles.
The 350s in either form, were rated below the
Matchless G3/L and Ariel WN/G, and
performance suffered off-road from poor
ground clearance and
the lack of a sump
guard.