A selection of mechanical ‘how to’ guides
Welcome to my mechanical ‘how to’ guide section of this website. I’ve put these guides together following various jobs that I’ve needed to do on my own 1951 Matchless G3LS over the past couple of years. These articles are based upon what I’ve been able to pick up from various owners manuals, service guides and of course the invaluable AJS & Matchless Owners Club forum. Whilst all of these sources have been incredibly useful, quite often I found that they weren’t completely explicit in telling the novice (me!) exactly what I needed to do and how best to go about it.
So I thought it might be useful to put together a collection of idiot-proof guides to some common tasks with lots of photos and which take you through step-by-step. Sometimes these may perhaps be stating the obvious to the experienced classic bike owner, but when it’s your first time and your learning (and desperate not to do something wrong and ruin your new pride and joy!) then for me, a step-by-step, hold-your-hand guide would be rather useful. I hope you’ll think so too!
For ease of navigation I have split these mechanical articles into a series of topic areas which are described below. Click on the section you’re interested in and the list of available articles will then be previewed. You can also use the list the drop-down menu at the top of the page to navigate directly to the sections articles.
Matchless identification
Ignition and spark plugs
Engine and gearbox
Fuel and carburation
Owners manuals
- Free downloads of owners manuals.
- Army manuals and technical guides
- AJS and Matchless versions.
- Your help to fill in the missing years.
