Quite a few people have contacted me now asking where I purchased parts for my old Matchless motorbike when I was living back in India. This is certainly not easy, especially for a foreigner like myself with a limited knowledge of the local language! But there are so many old bike still on the roads of India that it must actually be possible. I can only speak for Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh as that’s where I lived, so things might be much easier (or more difficult) in other parts of the country.
This page describes my experiences of trying to get an old bike up and running in India. I would love to hear your experiences, plus any recommendations or suggestions – you can leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
Buying new parts in India
In Hyderabad this was an absolute non-starter for me as there were no suppliers of new parts for classic motorcycles that I came across. Even buying some consumable items was a challenge, for example getting straight SAE50 engine oil, runny grease for the gearbox or even the right grade of NGK spark plug (see here for more about getting the right spark plug in India). It seems that the range stocked by most of the shops was limited to the most popular range of current motorcycles such as Honda Heros and of course Royal Enfields, which gave me a possible solution in some cases (see ‘Using Royal Enfield spares’ section below.
This might be a bit different in some of the bigger cities though so as Delhi or Mumbai. I’ve seen a lot of replica parts for various classic motorcycles being advertised for sale on websites such as eBay and many of these seem to be made in India. So there must be a factory somewhere making them, but maybe only really for export as I couldn’t find anyone who knew of the supplier in Hyderabad. It might be worth searching on eBay and contacting one of the sellers to see if you can trace back to the supplier in India. If you do, please let me know what you find out as I never managed to get very far myself!
Just be aware that the quality of these arts seem to vary quite a bit and some people have reported that they are quite poor or aren’t a very good fit. Chrome plating and sometimes paintwork may not be the best, but that’s easy enough to fix.
Buying secondhand parts in India
Buying secondhand parts for a classic motorcycle such as a Matchless in India is also tricky, but there are parts out there. The best bet is probably to start out by finding out who the mechanic specialising in old British motorcycles in your town is.
Babar the mechanics shop in Hyderabad
Babar the top classic bike mechanic in Hyderabad
In Hyderabad, this was ‘Babar the mechanic’ who’s shop was somewhere in the Old City, I can’t remember exactly where. There are a couple of photo’s of him and his shop on the right. He’s quite famous so ask around and someone will know who he and where he is.
He managed to source a couple of used components for my Matchless; a replacement kick-start handle when mine fell off along a bumpy road somewhere, and also a rear brake drum. He seemed to have a network of people he knew to call for such parts, but who these were or in what city I have no idea. Things just seemed to magically appear – for the right price of course!
There are also little shops and stalls around that specialise in certain repairs. One of these I found was a specialist in speedometer repairs. It was only a little shack at the side of the road in the Old City, but the owner had a stash of old chronometric speedometer parts that he was almost able to get my old speedo working with. There was just one critical gear that was worn and not possible to replace, but he nearly managed.
Finding these businesses is not the easiest, and again I would advise starting with the classic bike expert mechanic who should be able to point you in the right direction if you ask nicely.
Using Royal Enfield spares
One solution to the problem of Matchless parts not being available is to use some Royal Enfield Bullet parts instead. In fact I’d bet that there’s not a classic bike anywhere in India that doesn’t have at least one Enfield part on it somewhere! Many of the old British bikes used lots of the same parts from common suppliers, such as Lucas electrics. So the old Bullets used the same parts as old Matchless bikes, and as the design of some of the newer Bullets hasn’t changed much, many new Bullet parts can still be made to fit older non-Bullet bikes.
A Bullet battery and carb on my Matchless
Examples of such parts would be things such as the brake cables, chains, drive sprockets, fuel taps, bearings and of course all of the electrical items. Quite a few classic British bikes seem to be run on modern ‘Micarbs’ if they’ve lost their original Amal carburettors. I had one on my Matchless for a while but could never get it to run quite right, so bought a nice new Amal unit as soon as I moved to Hong Kong.
Other Bullet spares I had on my Matchless whilst I was living in India included the rear number plate holder, rear Lucas-style light, brake light switches, Wipac headlamp, handlebar and foot peg rubbers, headlight switch, and various other bits I’ve probably now forgotten about.
Checkout my funky curly auto rickshaw mirrors
I even had a pair of rear view mirrors off a auto-rickshaw fitted for a while as you can see in the photo on the right. Most of these Enfield parts have now been replaced on my bike with the proper Matchless parts from the UK as they weren’t the best quality, however they kept my bike on the road whilst we were in Hyderabad.
These Enfield spare parts might need a little tweaking or modification, but can certainly be used as a short-term solution in many cases. Probably best to take your old part along to the local Royal Enfield shop and compare it to the options available.
Buying parts from abroad
The only real solution to getting proper replacements for many of the engine parts is however going to be to buy them from abroad. The price probably won’t be very cheap, especially when you add on shipping costs, but you will be sure of getting a good quality part that fits properly and should last a long time.
For me the main problem was receiving mail in Hyderabad – I never got anything sent to me by post from the UK as it all just seemed to go missing somewhere in the post system. Luckily we frequently had friends and family coming to visit quite often so I would get them to bring parts out for me.
If you have a reliable way of receiving post in India, then I would recommend that you contact Steve at AMC Classic Spares in the UK with details of your bike and the part you are looking for. Email is probably your best bet and you will find the full contact details along with parts and price lists on their website: www.amcclassicspares.com
Steve supplies nearly all of the parts I need for my bikes here in Hong Kong and is great at shipping them internationally. They make a real effort to pack things safely for shipment and in a way that minimises the postage cost.
Your comments and suggestions?
Hope this provides some useful guidance and suggestions for your guys there in India. If you have your own suggestions or suppliers you know of, please let me know using the comment form below so I can add them to this page for other readers to see.
James 🙂
Hi James,
I remember you getting this 1951 Matchless motorcycle from Baber Bhai and I have even spoke to in this regards while I was getting my 1962 Royal Enfield getting done over there, it is absolute pleasure to see this beauty again and also happy to hear from you James. Please do get in touch if possible it’s been long time.
Regards,
Bala
Hi Bala, great to hear from you. Say hi to Baber from me next time you see him. Hoping to get back to Hyderabad soon for a visit. James 🙂
hi james
this is babar bhai contact number +919849209299 , (whatsapp+919700528335) chaderghat nimboliadda opp traffic police station hyderabad…
Hi balaji. Please send me Mr Baber’s workshop address.
This is so very helpful James. Although I leave in Gujarat and my Grandpa Owns a Matchless G3L, but I never had any clue about the parts. I am trying to get it fixed again, if my grandpa permits me. He never allows a fly to sit on it since last 10 odd years as it lies in his bed room.
Hi Ashish. Nice to hear from you and good luck with your Grandpa’s Matchless 🙂
Hi James this is Ajaz from Canada. Baber is the best mechanic I have seen in my life . He was always there for me when my norton or matchless needs any repair
Hi, It would be great if anyone from this group can help me to tell the address of baber bhai. I want to fix my 1952 g80s matchless.
James,
I searched in chandraghat but i couldn’t find his garage. Do you any landmark so it would be easier for me to search his garage.
Hi Sam. The only address I have is that Barba’s shop is in Chadarghat (is that different to Chandraghat you mentioned?) in the Old City. But just ask in any of the old Bullet workshops and someone should be able to direct you. Say hi from me when you find him!
hi guys,
could someone give me the exact address of the mechanic it will be so kind of you i have a enfield i am looking for good mechanic for my old 1972 royal enfield
thank you
Hi Ilyas. You’ll find Baber in the Old City part of Hyderabad, I can’t remember the area or street name though I’m afraid. Ask around for Baber mechanic, or speak to anyone you see about on an old bike, and they are sure to be able to direct you. But maybe someone else know his address?
Hey James,
I am just bat ready to get bitten by the matchless bug. Found a 1954 g3ls in Delhi and carting the beauty back home to the bay. I wanted you to help me out with a mech in bombay and if there are any spares around.
Thanks for the info on the blog I feel I can start the work on the Mach myself with all the info.
Hi Aditya. Glad to hear that you’ve found yourself an old Matchless, I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun with it! I don’t know of any mechanics in Mumbai I’m afraid, but I’m sure there must be some somewhere. Genuine spares are few and far between in India and Bullet parts are often adapted to fit. To get proper parts you’ll need to order them from the UK I’m afraid from somewhere like ‘AMC Classic Spares’.
Enjoy your new Matchless! James 🙂
can u please send me contact number of babar mechanic in hydrabad.
Hi Rajeshwar. Sorry, I don’t have Babar’s phone number to give you. His shop is in Chadarghat in the Old City; he is well known so ask in any of the Royal Enfield bike shops and they should be able to give you his contact details. Hope this helps, James 🙂
Hi James,
It is very thoughtful of you to start a website. I hail from Hyderabad, but now settled in Western Australia. My dad owns a 1972 Mini bullet and its now rusting as it is not being used. It is my dream to restore this bike, Last time I visited india I checked out a few mechanics but I wasn’t satisfied if they could source all the parts for it. I will try and see if I can find Barbar Bhai to fix the bike.
Cheers Herman. Good luck with restoring your Dad’s Bullet. Maybe worth speaking to Hitchcock Motorcycles in the UK who are a Bullet specialist and can probably help with parts. Regards, James
Hello James,
I contacted Hitchcock and they said they would be possible to supply parts.
Thank you
Great news Herman. Good luck and enjoy your restoration! 🙂
hi james i have one ajs motrocycle its i think 1929 model just i need clutch plats of the this model if u have whatsapp number so plz frwed me
hey there, i live in Nepal, a neighboring country to india. i built the engine myself but didnt do anything on the gearbox, left as it is. i get most of my parts from new delhi, they make everything these days. anywyas i have a problem with my gears on my 61 matchless g3. its AMC gearbox. well, all the gears works fine only the first gear suddenly goes to neutral . some say its the gear selector and some say its a gear dog (dont know how its spelt). could you let me know what the problem might be. thank you
Hi Gyalpo, in general your issue occurs because of both reasons. Primary reason would be Gear shift selector guide. If the end of the selector (which is a bit sharp) is worn out then gear shifts to Neutral and secondary reason would be Driving dog of gear shifter. Since you have issues with only first gear gear shifter needs to checked.
I hope this information it will help you.
By the way from which shop you buy matchless parts in Delhi. It would be great if you can share that information on this group. i usually source parts from Mumbai.
well the store owner name is RAVI. he is located at Karol Bagh, new delhi. i happened to lose his business card. but if you ask for classic vintage british bike parts they give you his street number or shop number. i found him asking like that. he has old spares and new replica. i bought my matchless G3 timing cams. works well.
i am having some problem in clutch assembly,can you please solve it.i live in hyderabad.
Hi there. Your best bet is probably to go and see Babar mechanic. His contact details are mentioned in some of the other posts and replies on this page. Good luck getting your clutch working again. 🙂
Babar mechanic nimboli adda
Kachiguda
Cell no.
Babar Mechanic Nimboliadda
Mobile 9700528335
yes
one more contact #9849209299
We have fully dismentalled matchless
I will upload photographs
Structure and parts
We were unable to get it assembled
Hi Sanjay, i had also gone through the phase where my g3ls was in dismantled condition and it was packed in the box for 5-6 yrs. I was badly in search of a good mechanic for my matchless.i had lost my interest to restore it. Finally i could find the best mechanic.he has been restoring almost all British and German vintage motorcycles like ajs, matchless, norton, triumph,bmw, nsu etc. I am sharing his number so who ever is interested to fix the bike issues can contact him or meet him.he is located in pune. Mr. Nawab 9833168550. He can source oe parts also.the only bad point is that his labour is very costly and the good point is that he never take out original parts from your bike. He has fixed my g80s also which i was wanted to sell it last year. Now the bike runs like anything without starting trouble.
Sharing one more number where you can get oe parts for british motorcycles.his name is mr. nasikwala,mobile no- 9867651523.his shop is located at bhendi baazar in Mumbai.this person is very genuine and selling these parts generation to generation.
Hello there,
do you manufacture exhausts?
I have a Yamaha XVS 1100 Classic 2004
Im looking for slash pipes
Adrian
Hi Aditya,I too have a 1954 G3LS matchless in a very bad shape i too am looking for lot of its spares. Have you come across any one who has spares.
Friends Myself Mr Vijay Dubey From muscat Oman But resident of Nashik Maharashtra As a British bike fan and Owner BSA 350cc 1959 Model . Just Now Spoke To Babar Bhai
Hey jems…i ev got matchless 3gl 1939, i wanna restore it… So plz tell me how to cantact you for futher process,, mangrol, junagadh, gujrat. Mo= 7359933320 . Plz let me know as early as possible… Thankyoy
Hi my self kannan from Tamilnadu I have old Royal Enfield 1955, I need miler dipper horn switch any body having please let me know
Could I get a contact for buying a matchless bike.
Regards
Pranesh
Hello there,
I‘m a vintage bike collector from hyderabad. Have a problem with my Norton Dominator Model 7 1952 500 twinport
Spent 5 years to find the bike, got it and restored in 6 month in Hyderabad but have problems,
– engine very tight
– bike overheats and stops after 3-4km of ride
– brake not fully functional, very hard which is unlikely after a full restoration
Do not want to go back to the same mechanic who restored the bike.
Can anyone of you suggest a very reliable and trust worthy mechanic in Hyderabad who can make service and make the bike ride smoothly again!
Appreciate your help in need.
Thanks to all bike collectors and enthusiasts
Syed
Hi you can contact us on 7995765638