An original Lucas 467/2 rear light unit
The rear light unit fitted to my Matchless G3LS when I bought it back in India was one of the common Lucas 564 types found on so many Royal Enfield’s and the like.
However, if the 1951 Matchless part book is to be believed, the ‘correct’ rear light for my year of bike is actually a Lucas 467/2 (I say ‘correct’ in inverted commas because who knows what it was actually fitted with!).
The old lamp needed to be replaced as the reflector and bolts were badly corroded and the lens was cracked. My initial intention was to fit one of the 467/2-style lamps as these look quite different to the 564-style lamps. The 467/2’s have two windows cut into a chrome cover for the rear lights, whereas the 564 is just a one-piece red plastic lens. However, it seems that the 467/2 lights aren’t readily available any more – a couple sometimes appear for sale on eBay and the like, but they are much sought after and so go for far too much money.
So in the end, I went with a cheap reproduction 564-style lamp whilst I was in India and have subsequently replaced this with a genuine Lucas unit which is much better quality. Maybe I’ll just keep an eye out for a 467/2 and see if one comes a long..
Here is a gallery of some other pictures of a Lucas 467/2 unit that I found in various sources (although I can’t remember where now) when I was trawling the web for more information on this type of rear light:
Bottom of Lucas 467/2 cover
Inside of Lucas 467/2 rear light
Parts of a Lucas 467/2 rear light
Bottom of Lucas 467/2 rear light
I have a 467/2 MC — 231/640-0077 Don
Hi Don,
A question for you then: do the windows in your Lucas 467 lamp look like those in the pictures above, or are they more square? There seem to be two designs and I can’t work out teh difference; they both seem to have the same part numbers and be shown in various Lucas catalogues, but the window design is different.
So are you saying that you have one of these lamps for sale, or just that you have one on your bike?
Regards, James 🙂
Hi
I have a Lucas 467/2MC tail lamp on my 1951 G3LS. It is similar to your one except the red window is a different shape..more square with rounded corners
If you find a Lucas parts catalogue for motorcycles..there is a picture of a 467/2MC taillamp in there and mine is the same shape as that..
James,
I have a low mileage 1951 G80S also with the 467 tail light. I can share a picture or two if you would like.
Regards,
Paul
Hi Paul. Thanks for your pictures, nice looking bike you have! I’ll try and update this page with your tail light pictures when I get a moment.
James
Hi James,
Do you have that type of lucas tail light with steel guard as shown? I am restoring a 1951 matchless g3ls. Please help me out with smith’s speedometer too.
Regards,
Kalai.
Hi Kalai. This type of Lucas rear lamp is pretty rare as it was only fitted for a couple of years and no reproductions are being made. eBay is your best bet, but they are not cheap! Regards, James
Hello James,
I want a pair of original john bull patent tank knee grips. Feridax throttle lock. Primary inspection cap. Air and mag amal levers. England made lucas headlamp with rim. Please help me.
Regards,
Kalai
Hi Kalai. Kind of depends where in the world you are. Steve at AMC Classic Spares in the UK is always quite helpful though, why don’t you drop him an email? http://www.amcclassicspares.com
Hello James,
I am from Tamilnadu, India. I did send him e mails. But the payment mode is not convincing. If he has a paypal’s payment gateway, it would be comfortable. He is asking for card number and the security code number. Help me, please.
I can assure you that Steve at AMC Classic Spares is 100% trustworthy and reliable, and probably the best way to get the parts you want in India. He has supplied me with many, many parts over the years and I have had no problem whatsoever with his payments methods. Regards, James
I wonder if anyone has tried to modify the led board for the 564 or 525 to fit the 467/2? Or perhaps invented a solution to modernizing the 467/2 to red stop/tail and white number plate
Hi Harold. The Lucas 564 LED board will not fit the 467/2 because of the way the lamp fits together (there is a central fixing stud that gets in the way). One day I will get around to making a custom LED board for the 467/2 lamp, not least because I need one for my own bike, but that is going to be a few years off I’m afraid!
Hi James,Thanks for your response. I have made some progress in converting the 467 into a stop /tail light using the old single bulb base, a festoon bulb holder and LED festoon bulb. A perspex plate over the base will hold red LED boards. The boards will be the stop light while the festoon bulb will be the tail/plate light. I tried to post a picture here but
Hi Harold. There is a whole section on converting a Lucas 467/2 tail tamp to a stop-tail lamp in my Classic Motorcycle Electrics book!. Maybe worth a read?!?
https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Motorcycle-Electrics-Manual-James/dp/1847979955