Hi All

I am slowly restoring my WD 1943 Matchless G3L and it occurred to me I don’t actually know what clutch/Brake/Air/Mag levers should be fitted. I assume as the bike is 1943 that it would not have been fitted with the earlier combination type? Any direction/photos would be gratefully received.

Steve

email (option): findingsteveo@hotmail.com

Steve the earlier G3L's had the unique Bowden controls. The later bikes had the standardized Amal controls. Ron





Mine is from the first contract.

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Some contracts appear to have used both, there is a mention inside the front cover of the spare list for contract 294/23/S.1050 about a letter "A" or "B" being stamped after the engine number for Amal or Bowden.

Rob

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

Yes Rob. Those pages I posted are from the same parts list. For contracts C12632 and 12633. Bowden were fitted to frames 34012-39511.... Amal 39512-41011.

Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Your not going to like this...I bought two NOS sets of these levers a few years back and none of the steel levers were either painted or plated....Ian

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

The factory and period pictures show all the parts are plated. Mine weren't plated either when I bought them, so I compromised and got the steel parts plated. There were quite a few of these NOS un-plated levers around some years ago?? Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Perfect! Thanks Chaps.

email (option): findingsteveo@hotmail.com

I wonder if this is another example of us being misled by spare parts, probably produced much later than the complete machines and maybe even post-war.

If it had become apparent that levers were being painted during REME rebuilds, there would have been little reason to surface finish them.

Most of the Matchless brass / bronze lever clamps that I've seen have been unplated or simply painted....The late-war NOS Norton levers though always seem to be cad plated.

Yes Rik, I've seen and had several brass and painted 1" Bowden levers, which must be for G3's and would have been plated originally. Must be later war spare parts. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I have several pairs of the Bowden 1" brass levers some of which are painted in the post war bronze green paint and others just left in unpainted brass.

I was under the impression (mistakenly perhaps) that the Matchless G3s were sold off soon after the war and therefore it seems odd that the levers painted in post war bronze green would have been potential spares for the G3s.

There is evidence out there to suggest that a fair number of WD G3's saw post-war service throughout the 1950's. They seem to have been issued to Territorial Army units in particular. I know of three such examples.....

It's important to note that many wartime NoS WD spares were re-packed during the post-war period.....the date on the packaging is not necessarily related to when a part was manufactured.....