For the pure BSA people on the forum I thought I might provide a little explanation of the factory illustration of the G3L Matchless. This is the first contract G3L as originally designed by the factory and accepted by the War office and before they started to add considerable weight on by adding panniers etc. The major differences from this early first contract G3L and later contracts include no front wheel stand, different fork yokes, light press folded levers, rear sprocket drilled for lightness, short rear mudguard. The rear frame was also different as the area where the rear wheel bolts in was simply plate steel, which was replaced by a cast lug on later contracts.

Why not sell that heavy slow old cart horse of an M20 in your garage and buy yourself a light, fast Greyhound of a G3L. You know it makes sense and it is, after all, what every sensible DR lusted for during WW2. JT

John. Maybe it's because the old cart horse will keep pulling a plough up and down a field all day, whereas the Greyhound would be knackered at the other end of the field

I do like Greyhound though Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Telewotsit forks will never catch on, its girders for me. Rob

email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk

Like the Matchless, the early WB30 was too light for it's own good as well and inevitably, to make a machine that could survive service use, things had to be strengthened...and thus made more weighty...

These 'first version' lightweights were OK for swanning about on the tarmac but wouldn't stand hard use, as experience proved at the time and a long series of modifications confirmed....

The Matchless was the only one that made it into high volume production in, ultimately, a much altered form....

The M20 on the other hand was designed and built from the outset to do heavy work, for example, pulling heavy trade outfits around year in and year out as part of BSAs 'Heavyweight' range..As such it was well suited to the rigours of hard service....In fact the removal of rear footrests and sidecar lugs 'lightened' it for military use... ..

I well remember talking to a North Africa veteran who broke the frame on his 'lightweight' Triumph 5SW after 12 weeks of hammering along the rough desert roads....He recounted he had no further such problem after being issued with an M20....

I wouldn't back an M20 for the 'short sprint' but I'd back it with everything for the 'long slog'

Better a slow ride on an M20 than a fast walk after your 'racer' has broken I guess....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Wasn't the old saying 'if you want to have fun, get a Matchless, but if you want to get there, get a BSA'

Gee, all this bickering over 2nd and 3rd place !
Cheers Stu

email (option): stuartcameron66@hotmail.com

No, Stuart..This isn't a WW2 'most outdated design' competition.... ...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com