Mike walburn Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 Hi i have been looking at all the posts on the forum on ex AFS matchless bikes sold at Ruddington in the late sixties and early seventies , I know the post was back from 2015 but I wonder if you came across my bike LYO847 Matchless G3 it was delivered to Stretford AFS station in June 1953 as one of 7 that were the first batch for evaluation and sold I believe at rudheath , I believe BT hat there was a ‘duty done ‘ CD , would anyone know where I may get a copy I’ve drawn a total blank up to now , any info would be greatly appreciated Regard mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted June 1, 2020 Share Posted June 1, 2020 3 hours ago, Mike walburn said: I believe BT hat there was a ‘duty done ‘ CD , would anyone know where I may get a copy Sorry Mike I don't understand what you mean. Looking for a sales catalogue without a date in mind is a needle in the haystack task. I have seen a Ruddington catalogue sell on-line for £100 so you need to be specific in the date you want. I have a number of these catalogues & could flick through a few to find your bike. But if you don't know when it was struck off or sold (dates are not the same) it is an overwhelming task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike walburn Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 Hi thanks for the reply I have now been informed that my bike was not sold at Ruddington . i have seen the records for the other 7 bikes being sold off but mine seems to have ‘disappeared’ . thanks regards mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 Mike don't give up it may simply have been sold at another storage facility. I remember for years there were unexplained large batches of Champs that disappeared simply because they could not be found in Ruddington catalogues. I found that they were just sold elsewhere. Although Ruddington was a major disposal site, there were other disposal sites throughout the country. I have catalogues for many of these other sites, but need some sort of date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike walburn Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 Hi Clive , thanks for that , i am at present in conversation with various people trying to get a fix on this i have spoken with the archives at lancashire but i think because the bike was issued to stretford it may have been taxed there . it is a bit more difficult with lots of placed either closed or on short time due to the current situation which is understandable , i am also trying to track it back to the last known owner in 1986 but he unfortunately is no longer with us , but his family may or may not be able to give me some ideas , i will keep searching while i start to put her back to her AfS Livery , thanks again regards Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatchFuzee Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 Just found this site:- The registration plate archive for UK cars, bikes and vans registered between 1903 and 2001 https://regarchive.com/car-report Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B series Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 Hello Mike, Whilst not that knowledgeable about motorcycles, or the AFS, I have a few comments to add to your original question. If you search on a well know auction site you will see that I have currently listed auction catalogue's from Ruddington 1964 , Colchester 1970, Branston 1965, and will be listing Rotherwas 1965 soon. I try and list 2 or 3 a week. I am thinning out my collection, I have many catalogues to sell from many of the MOD / government sales sites such as Aston Down, Branston, Colchester, Shepshed, Ruddington, Rotherwas, Bicester, Kilmarnock, Blackbush, Peterbrough, etc etc. The sales catalogues seem very collectable, especially the earlier 1950/60 era. Generally the motorcycles are described in the catalogue's as Matchless 350cc, with the ERM, they do not mention G3 or any other details. I have a comprehensive sales catalogue collection built up over the last 40 years, and I attended many of the sales, and on balance I would say that your motorcycle would have been auctioned at one of the regional Surplus Stores sales / sites, but the motorcycle would have sold where lying, and been located at a Home Office Supply and Transport Store or sub unit. eg There were many Home Office / AFS vehicles such as Land Rovers, Fire Pump trailers, Bedford Fire Pumps (aka Green Goddess), and a few Matchless 350 with ERM's in WPX, WXR and XYM sold at the Colchester Surplus Stores sale in Aug 1970. I have maybe couple of hundred sales catalogues, but there are many hundreds I don't have. As Clive mentioned, unless you can narrow down the search to approx date or auction site, it is very time consuming to find a single vehicle in the catalogue's. Regards, Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike walburn Posted June 8, 2020 Author Share Posted June 8, 2020 Hi ken thanks very much for the reply , I am really coming up with a blank at present as to when it was sold and where , but I am in contact with the home office and am going to request details from the dvla when they re open , thanks for the info mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatchFuzee Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 Hello Mike, Do you know if LYO 840 to LYO 847 inclusive have sequential frame numbers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike walburn Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 Hi My research shows only 4 of the original 8 bikes registered with dvla , i shall list LYO 840 MISSING LYO841 Frame 89394 ?reg 28/10/86 last mot exp 28/10/86 LYO 842 Frame A2476 reg 01/10/89 exp 24/07/09 LYO843 Frame A2473 reg 01/08/53 exp29/04/08 LYO844 MISSING LYO845 MISSING LYO846 Frame A2458 reg 23/0686 exp 23/06/86 LYO847 Frame A2514 My bike will be registered when dvla start working again interesting frame number from DVLA recorded for LYO 841 , 89374 ? thanks mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatchFuzee Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Thank you. I had thought that the frame and registration numbers would have both been sequential, and not as in your list. 2 of the missing are on the DVLA LYO 844 https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/VehicleFound?locale=en LYO 845 https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/VehicleFound?locale=en Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike walburn Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) Hi yes that’s strange I can pull the others from my vehicle search data base at work , I’ve also checked in a supplier of mine who has database linked to dvla as well as myself and no show there either , but they are in the links at dvla you sent me shame as they don't give frame numbers cheers mike Edited June 10, 2020 by Mike walburn spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welbike Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 (edited) Mike, are you in touch with a Dave Stapleton? he emailed me some years ago, as I do have some more info on AFS Matchlesses, below a little extract of an email he sent me back then. "Contract One: Ministry of Supply - 8 Matchless Motorcycles - June 1953 – LYO 840 to LYO 847 (this is the order on the scan you posted) Contract Two: Ministry of Supply – 85 Matchless Motorcycles – March 1954 - NYV 252 to NYV 336 Contract Three: Ministry of Supply – 50 Matchless Motorcycles – July 1959 - WXR 551 to WXR 600 Contract Four: War Office – 192 Matchless Motorcycles – March 1960 - XYM 501 to XYM 692 Contract Five: War Office – 60 Matchless Motorcycles – September 1960 - 391 ALD to 450 ALD Contract Six: War Office – 44 Matchless Motorcycles – January 1961 - 450 BGJ to 493 BGJ Contract Seven: War Office – 20 Matchless Motorcycles – July 1961 - 525 BYV to 544 BYV The dates shown are when production commenced, so the orders could have been placed one or two months earlier than the dates shown." There is more info, also about Ruddington disposals, but am not sure if I can divulge all this on a public forum. See 2 scans of some info that I have in my database. You can always contact me for more info, and Dave's emailaddress. Cheers, Lex Edited June 12, 2020 by welbike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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