matchlesswdg3

Indeed, but not even vaguely close to my neck of the woods, likewise currently on Milweb.

And for when all you tin box wallahs get stuck or lost, motorcycles to the rescue (or not!)

I am looking for a good running complete WW2 Jeep, either original, fully restored or needing a LITTLE work. Happy to wait till end of Summer, if being currently used. I am located in Kent.

And if you want more reason to get a WDG3L, read "Overland to Vietnam" by Gordon May. Great book and testament to the bike's toughness! If this lead fizzles out, post a WANT ad on the BSA M20 forum. http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=3155626639&frmid=9030&cmd=show

Windscreen reports landslide for PLI paid for by uplift in sub.

Posted on June 7th on AMOC website. Good luck! "Matchless WD G3L 1942 genuine model, first reg 1948, not being used so may need minor re-commisioning, phone for fuller detail, price £4800 Tel 01903 523849 Worthing area"

The previous generation sealants broke up when exposed to the new ethanol containing fuels......happened to me, clogging up the fuel system. But I would not use a sealer unless absolutely necessary due to potential for sealant to come adrift, maybe due to lack of adhesion to an oily surface. Its a pain to do properly and not cheap. Why bother on a new tank that should last 20 years?

It kind of puts buying a Landie from Withams into the shade! Presumably your version comes with a decent Jap motor and not a Land Rover oil burner? I doubt the latter would get you from Sydney to Cairns straight out of an auction yard!:laugh:

If its any consolation, Andy, I had to dig out the May issue to remind me what you were talking about, re "Scouting for Boys"! Any thought that the title of the article was any more than a play on the title of Baden Powell's manual for Scouts passed me by, as I think it would have most folk. Mind you, I remember our Scout troop having copies of the book......considered a bit quaint even in the Fifties and Sixties! Having anything published via a reporter in a periodical is a bit of a leap of faith and in my experience journalists have maintained a consistent standard over the years....rubbish. They publish a "story" that is based more or less loosely on the facts. Any story or article that I have seen on a subject that I know about is invariably full of errors. Read all with the salt standing by!

"Colin" just posted on the WD BSA site that he is helping a friend sell his M20. His email is: grantautorepair@hotmail.co.uk

Charlie, have a look at http://www.wdbsa.nl Iits the best WW2 WD bike forum and you they have a want/sales section........actually they have two but the one you need is nested in the "Forum" section. Cant recall if you need to register, but it is a mine of information an contacts and despite the name, it is not confined to the BSA.

As they say, unless you strike lucky, you will only ever get two out of the following three things in a search for a bike: cheap, quick and good. But you can improve your chances. If you have a marque in mind, join the club and post a WANT ad on their website. There are a few sites that cater for WD bikes. Beware cheap machines, though.....they are usually cheap for a reason. Any decent complete and running Brit WW2 bike will be at least £5k and up these days. Genuine parts and tinware for WD bikes are VERY expensive so anything that has wrong parts or is incomplete has to be really cheap and then be prepared for a long and wallet-bashing search for the bits.

See Milweb, classifieds for canvas, etc. Yorkshire dealer advertises there and (was/is?) significantly cheaper than Anchor. I bought a very good almost new condition tent for £350 complete with poles, pegs and bags!

I used Alpha a couple of years ago and they were OK. Seems some folk have been happy and others, like Ron, clearly not. Pity.......and frustrating for you!

Use a (borrowed?) compressed air powered tool. Pretty vicious!

As you were, guys? I posted the query on the MT Riders site and I think I have found the connection to the neutral sensor. It meant taking off the secondary chain drive sprocket cover.........only to find that the main drive shaft was missing its end nut, so the sprocket (recently replaced by PO) was free on the shaft.......only held on by habit?

Does this help?

Just bought another MT500 as life was getting too easy and my right leg needed the exercise. Needs a tidy up and the wiring is a right dog's breakfast. The wire from the neutral indicator light on the binnacle is hanging loose and I cant see where it needs to go! Anyone know where the neutral sensor is located and how the cable to it is routed? I think the engine has been out and someone forgot to hook it back up. Cheers!

We had a similar problem on a motorcycle site with stuck exhaust studs......same issues of stud rusted into the fitting. Consensus was that penetrating fluids will not work......but yes, WD40 is pretty useless as such anyhow (I use PlusGas). It was thought that Freezing sprays were likely to be ineffectual as well. Best to use as much heat as appropriate to the metallurgy. In the motorcycle case, the studs had to be drilled out in the end and this was done by a local engineer at modest cost. Good luck!

Reported in this month's 'Which'. Since it went out of production last year, the Defender "has become hot property for thieves.........over 120 were stolen in W Yorks alone last year". Not sure that a ratty ex-military NA diesel powered 110 is going to be top of the scumbags list, but lock up yer Landies, chaps!

I agree......I usually take the prices they say they buy and sell for with a large dose of salt.....much stage management I am sure. But as I said above, they were talking about off-the-sheet standard prices for cast Humvees......no bargaining.....this is the price. Now I do not know if that is accurate or up to date, but it may be of interest to anyone who might want a Humvee. I think the yard was in S California?? I find WD is an interesting programme presented for the most part in a non irritating way and forgetting all the dramatic stuff, is more instructive and dare I say genuine, than any of the other (mostly USA) car renovating programmes. As I said, I think its worth a watch. It did make me laugh in the closing segment of the show when after negotiating a very steep and very rocky climb up a mountain track, they fished an intact bottle of Champagne from the shelf of the fridge they had built in to their camper conversion!

Catching up on a recent Wheeler Dealers TV programme based in the USA, the episode centred on buying an ex- US Army Humvee and converting it into an "extreme camper". Interesting that they bought from a US equivalent of Withams and appeared to get a very nice 1992 uprated and rebuilt vehicle (from a choice of hundreds, it appeared) for 12,500 USD which would appear to be a heck of a bargain compared to UK prices! Now I am sure they got some special treatment from the yard to ensure a happy outcome and attract other punters, but the price they paid seemed to be from standard rates depending on vehicle condition with 12,500 USD being for a good runner. After piling on lots of camper goodies, they sold it to a couple of Dutch guys to take back to Holland for 25k USD..........still a bargain. Anyhow, knowing nothing about Humvees, it was interesting also to get a peek into the mechanics of the beast. Worth a look.

If you DO come down to Kempton, there will likely be a few WD bike nutcases doing the rounds (inc me) and several have G3s. There is usually a meet-up at the burger van between the stand and the huts at 11am. John Tinley is usually there and he may be able to advise......Ron coming?

I am sure it is a stock Army bike......just curious as to the obvious resemblance to the MT. Probably just superficial resemblance as the Kawa looks a lot more capable than the MT 350 which is a bit of a plodder, although a very easy and comfy bike to use. I have an interesting book "The Winged Wheel Patch" published in 1993 (Burns & Messenger) ....a History of the Canadian Military Motorcycle and Rider that covers machines up to the introduction of the MT350 replacing the Armstrong. Interesting book and nice photos with reminiscences from former Canadian DRs.

Some of the fittings, like the instrument/headlight binnacle look Harley MT350. Actual MT parts bins raided or just inspiration?