can anyone help me?

Information relating to the Matchless G2 or AJS Model 14 250cc Lightweight
SPRIDDLER
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can anyone help me?

Post by SPRIDDLER »

quote:
can you spot the defect[s]?


Is it that the barrel and head are missing?
'There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the flood............'
Mick.E
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Post by Mick.E »

Ah carbon deposit on the piston crown, that'll do it every time.
Quick de-coke and Roberts your fathers brother. Oh and I'd gap those rings before re-assembly just to be on the safe side
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crawsue
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Post by crawsue »

Ouch!
Hard work never killed anyone.....but why take the risk?
lawrence
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Post by lawrence »

Looks reasonable to me. I'd bung it back together and chance it. What's the worst that could happen

THIS IS A JOKE
Dougie
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Post by Dougie »

Bloody 'ell! I've just seen the picture. And I thought I was having trouble wiv me G3!

Does he need to put some rat poison down Ken?

Brothers Matt & Neal with joint membership
itma
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Post by itma »

No he needs to lay down a lot of dosh.
This bike makes me really mad.
Its a nice looking liittle bike, quite tidy and very original. It seems to have had an easy previous life, before someone got hold of it.
BUT.... its absolutely shagged,
The guy paid a high price for it, from a dealer,who, although not regarded as rip off merchant, says up front, there is no guarantee; for my part I think for the price he paid 5 years ago, £1200, there should be.
This bike was tested by one of those magazines that "tests"dealers stock; they remarked that it felt tired after a few miles. ie it was knackered.
#1 they should have said it was knackered and not been ambigous, but they did not want to lose the dealers advertising.
#2 the dealer should have taken the hint and investigated.
This guy has paid good money in good faith and this is the sort of experience that puts people right off old bikes. It his first old brit; it could well be his last.
What does he do? spend maybe 5-600 quid on it, cos thats about what the damage is; or cut his losses, sell it at a big loss and buy jap crap?
It could be a pleasant little bike, but how is he to know if this is his benchmark?
What pees me off is that I could not make a living selling good straight bikes that I backed up; whereas this dealer makes a damn good living selling mediocre, sometimes dud bikes, that he does not want to know about once out of the gate.
I once bought a bike from him myself, and it was the same, looked good, but mediocre.
When folk worry about how to bring new blood into the game, stories like this are going to do us no good at all.
itma
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Post by itma »

Lawrence, whats the worst that could happen? someone could get hold of a lot of bits like this and flog them to YOU
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matman
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Post by matman »

quote: This guy has paid good money in good faith and this is the sort of experience that puts people right off old bikes. It his first old brit; it could well be his last. What does he do? spend maybe 5-600 quid on it, cos thats about what the damage is; or cut his losses, sell it at a big loss and buy jap crap?
It could be a pleasant little bike, but how is he to know if this is his benchmark?

Mmmh, reminds me of my own experience about five years ago. Bought my bike from a well-known dealer who sold it to me as "in very good and very original condition".
Engine pissing (sorry.. ) oil out of really EACH thread...; running only on one barrel (if at all... ); misfiring magneto which had to be rebuilt completely... as had to be the dynamo...; clutch not disconnecting (but otherwise slipping, of course); EVERYTHING that could be bad was - even worse.

Until then, I had just experienced working on neatly constructed old cars of German and Swedish make, but not the horrors of old British bikes . Thanks to my juristical education I could at least force the dealer to overhaul the engine (what he did - and did it quite well, I have to admit). Many remaining faults I had to sort out by myself. But wasn´t that a good school?! - nowadays I won´t shrink away from anything!!

And the most important thing: despite of all her horrendous mistakes, I fell in love with that miserable bastard. Because she was

- a Matchless!!!

I think if you just intend to RIDE an old bike as a "newby", you better started with a Guzzi or a BMW; maybe even with some jap crap. But if you are a REAL enthusiast (and like to handle your WW wrenchs´n´sockets sometimes), you won´t be afraid to start your new pastime with an unequally larger challenge - a British bike.

My vote: stay strong - rebuild the engine - and then enjoy!
lawrence
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Post by lawrence »

I agree with Jan-Hendrick but am as galled as Ken. It is immoral of these dealers to behave like this. Kettering Classic bikes are much more reasonable with any problems.

Heart of England had a new member, Simon, who bought a lovely looking early fifties model 16 from a 'number plate' type of dealer. It ran terribly and we haven't seen him since. Hopefully he will return next summer. He has had offers of help.
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crawsue
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Post by crawsue »

In many cases these old 'bikes have been dredged up after decades of darkness and some enthusiastic "newbie" goes out every evening and sticks on 70/80 miles at 55/60 mph for a week --then --well we know the rest.How many times have you watched Ebay and seen the question cropping up "will it drive home?" The other side of the coin is that it sorts the" wheat from the chaff" ,if you are genuinely interested in old 'bikes,British or whatever you are going to have to get the Swarfega out, so sooner better than later ,I suppose.I've been there,and it certainly whetted my appetite.
Hard work never killed anyone.....but why take the risk?
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