I have 1940 G3 engine no 19241 frame 15622 from contract no C8078 supposedly issued to the Navy but I cannot verify this without the war department registration number. So can anybody help me with that number or any further information. ie date of dispatch and to where etc

email (option): colina3cje@gmail.com

A difficult one Colin... Frame number 15622 comes from contract C/8078. Frame numbers for this contract were 13000 - 16399, suggesting that this was a contract for 3.400 bikes. But according O&M it was only a 3.000 bikes contract, with "gaps in frame/eng." (Engine numbers for contract C/8078 by the way were 17266 - 20325.) Theoretically your bike should have been the 2.622nd from this contract, but considering the information above we can't be sure about that.

On top of that, C/8078 was a mixed RAOC - RASC contract, which means that there were three(!) blocks of census numbers: 4335008 - 4337785 ; 938591 - 938900 ; 938930 - 938940. When I look at the G3/WO KeyCards, it looks as if the RAOC batch was delivered before the RASC batch. Your bike seems to fall in the RAOC batch. But contract C/8078 census numbers can't be calculated...! So this is another reason why it's a difficult one.

All I can say is that your bike must have had a random (!) number out of the 4335008 - 4337785 range.

An exact date of dispatch would have been written in the Matchless factory ledgers, which unfortunately haven't survived.

Even if we would have known the census number, it would have been impossible to find out where this bike has served. But I can't find anything about the Navy for this contract, your bike must have served in the RASC.

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Typo: Your bike must have served in the RAOC…

Some sister bikes:

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Thank you Jan seems like i will just have to enjoy riding it, and leave it as it is.

email (option): colina3cje@gmail.com

Colin, where does the suggestion of an RN connection come from ? There seem to be no surviving Admiralty vehicle records but they had their own series of RN numbers anyway and would not normally have received machines from War Office (Army) stocks.

Jan, you didn't look hard enough, the frame number 15622 had a rebuilt number; C1452458, it's not known when the bike was rebuilt, but a lot were already done in 1944.

When a census number cannot be calculated, the next best thing is the rebuilt number for that particular bike! I did so on mine.

Will check what other info there is on the Key card No. 4a.

Cheers,

Lex

PS, Rik, there is no mention in O&M about Navy use but am not looking in the latest version.

email (option): welbike@welbi**.net

Ok Colin, this bike had the postwar ERM number 13YA84, was Struck Off (the force) on 15-01-1958 at Bicester, your date of first registration would be shortly after this.

No last user mentioned.

Cheers,

Lex

email (option): welbike@welbi**.net

You have got the eyes of an eagle Lex! ;-)

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Hi All
Thanks for all the information much appreciated.
When I bought the bike it came with a sheet of paper stating manufactured
1-08-1940 issued in 1941 from either Slough or Chilwell to the Navy and with RN6943 on the tank.
It hasnt run for at least 20 years,been in a local museum, so I took it to a local show over the weekend
and as soon as I parked up a chap walked up to me and said I havent seen that for a lot of years
it used to belong to my friend in Wickford did you get all the history with it,which of course I didnt,
he then assured me that he had been through it, and itshowed that it had been used in one of the
dockyards but he couldnt remember which one.
he then wandered of before I could get his number
Colin

email (option): colina3cje@gmail.com

Here's a copy of the Chillwell list, where all the contracts are described, this was the basis for the excellent book "British Forces Motorcycles" by Orchard and Madden, hence the O&M everybody uses, a must have for WD bike collectors!





No mention of any Navy involvement, so it would be interesting where the previous owner got this info from.

The date 01-08-1940 is the demand date of the contract, the completed date was 29-07-1941, 321 bikes to Slough and the rest to Chilwell by April 1941, 256 bike had the panel in the tank.

Any chance of some pictures of the bike?

Cheers,

Lex

email (option): welbike@welbi**.net

As explained before, by Lex and by yours truly, this bike must have started its career in the Army, with an Army census number as described above.

But there have been transfers between the services (RASC, RAOC, RAF, RN) during the war, so it certainly isn't impossible that this bike has also been used by the Navy. Here's another example, an ex-Army BSA that is now in use with the Royal Navy:

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Sorry everybody but being an absolute luddite when it comes to computers I cannot for the life of me get photos to download
Colin

email (option): colina3cje@gmail.com

Colin, send them to Jan on his e-mail address. I'm sure he'll be happy to post and link them.

Here they are:

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

I wonder if the person who invented this "RN6943" number may have found his inspiration here?

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Thanks you for that.
Having Bought a supposedly restored bike with what i thought was a faulty mag, having that refurbished it still woudnt run.
So decided to take the top end off ,first thing was a valve stem cap jammed between the spring and rocker cover. Then on removing the head i found this spring washer which is to big to go down the plug hole as you can see from the cleaned up top of the piston its been in there for many years probably since the bike was put back together, and why the last owners could never get it to run. The other picture is the exhaust valve ive never seen one with a hole in the middle like that.I then discovered that the valve timing was one tooth out on both valves.So after all that and a lot more problems its now up and running and coming to France for the landings

email (option): colina3cje@gmail.com

Crikey Colin, you seem to have had all the horror stories on one engine ! They walk amongst us...I hope you've checked the brakes too !

Yes Rik
I thought it wise the shoes dont look like they have ever been used but the cable was something bodged up from another bike

email (option): colina3cje@gmail.com

Ah, Colin, I had the same thing with the valve cap only last week! but here someone forgot to lock the pushrod adjustment, and it wound down, and the valve cap must have flown off, and jammed the inlet valve open, and no more compression, bike ran well before that! Had to take the pony express home! but all fixed now, and we had a lovely ride with the 2 G3WO's last night, but it suddenly hosed down, and had to wait 15 minutes for it to get dry, but got soaked before we got to the underpass.







The worst is taking the G3 panel tank off, as its much bigger than your G3L tank.

Might see you in Normandy, we're taking the G3's, and at least one person from the UK also, maybe we can have a G3 meet somewhere!

Jan, think you are right with the RN number, as Ron would say "artistic license" just as painting it blue, as that would never have been the case.

Cheers,

Lex

email (option): welbike@welbi**.net

When I had to remove my tank, the wiring was a right pain. So I cut each wire in turn and fitted coloured male and female bullet connectors. It's a piece of cake now but far from original, but I don't care and it's all hidden anyway. The instructions are to pass the whole panel through the slot as you remove the tank.....Yeah right!! :thinking_face: Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

It would be nice to meet you Im on the same site as Ron at Etreham with my mate Neil with his G3 as well
Colin

email (option): colina3cje@gmail.com

Talking about the Tank you will probably have noticed that it has the wrong one fitted. I think its from the 50s, will get a correct one when I find one at a reasonable price and the bank balance has recovered a bit.
Colin

email (option): colina3cje@gmail.com

Ok, I'll come and see Ron anyway, and we will try to go on the trip to Donald Fife's chapel that Ron and Sven are organising.

Your tank is probably wartime, but the smaller one for a G3L, after 1948 the filler caps were altered for the bayonet type. It's perfectly normal for it to have been fitted after the Army rebuild, a lot of rebuilt G3's also have smaller headlamps, pannier frames etc. etc.

Lex

email (option): welbike@welbi**.net

i notice on some war time pics that some panel tanks seem to be slightly shorter than another??

barry