Ron Posted December 3, 2023 Posted December 3, 2023 The BAR-NONE Motorcycle Club was formed in 1944 in Egypt. At that time it was for racing in the Desert sand near Cairo. As the name suggests, it was open to all makes of WD bikes, ranks and Services. From hi ranking RAF and Army officers down to privates. (I don't know if the Royal Navy got involved?) .......(The original pictures are courtesy of Lex) The Matchless G3L seemed to be among the most favoured for these events. With lots of parts dumped and cut off to lighten the bikes. I recently acquired a second G3L, which I intend to build as a (road legal) "nod" to these machines. Ron 2 Quote
Ron Posted December 3, 2023 Author Posted December 3, 2023 Starting with removing the Norton silencer and altering a new front pipe to tip up a G3L silencer. Ron Quote
welbike Posted December 3, 2023 Posted December 3, 2023 You are cracking on! (Ron) I am building one too, got most of the parts now, so will see how it goes. starting with a frame I got cheap from Italy, where all the extra, unneeded parts had been cut off already years ago. Cheers, Lex Quote
Enigma Posted December 4, 2023 Posted December 4, 2023 Nice Ron. Looking forward to photo's of you tearing up the sands...😀 Quote
Ron Posted December 4, 2023 Author Posted December 4, 2023 Ha Ha! Weymouth beach racing, here I come....NOT! Ron Quote
Ron Posted December 4, 2023 Author Posted December 4, 2023 I'm using some mudguards I have in stock. Saving the originals along with the other original parts so that it can always be put back to standard one day. Ron Quote
andy1960 Posted December 4, 2023 Posted December 4, 2023 Looking good already !...any plans to "hot up " the engine or just standard ? Quote
Ron Posted December 5, 2023 Author Posted December 5, 2023 Standard is plenty fast enough for me Andy. Ron Quote
Ron Posted December 5, 2023 Author Posted December 5, 2023 My cut down rear guard is dummied on. I've taken the tank off and drilled out the 1/8th BSP tap boss and tapped it to 1/4 BSP. and swilled it out ( I have a few of the 1/4 BSP petrol taps). I've also stripped the carb and ordered some new parts. I want to run the engine up again properly before I strip the wheels out for de-chroming. Ron Quote
Ron Posted December 9, 2023 Author Posted December 9, 2023 I ran the bike yesterday for about 15 minutes but I'm far from happy with the carb. So it's going off to be refurbed. The strip down is well under way now. Ron Quote
andy1960 Posted December 9, 2023 Posted December 9, 2023 Cracking on with it Ron , it's looking ..er.. dismantled ! 🤣 Who do you use for your carb refurbishment ? The rest of the engine and gearbox ok ? Quote
Ron Posted December 10, 2023 Author Posted December 10, 2023 Hi Andy. The engine and gearbox seem fine. Most unusual to not strip something. Judging by the amount of metric and AF nuts and bolts, the bike has undergone various rebuilds and civilianisation during it's life. Very unusually for a Matchless, it doesn't wet sump!!! The previous owner remarked how well and strong the engine was. I have an engineer friend in the new forest who buys his oversize throttle slides from Martyn Bratby. I'm going over to see him this morning. Cheers Ron Quote
welbike Posted December 10, 2023 Posted December 10, 2023 Oh, wow Ron, you're not hanging about!! have to get of my arse if I don't want you to overtake me!! Cheers, Lex Quote
Ron Posted December 11, 2023 Author Posted December 11, 2023 More stripping today. I've removed the stupid dynamo from the stupid engine plate. I'll get it overhauled and if it packs up in the future, it will stay packed up and I'll do what others do and just charge the battery before every outing. I'll be fitting LED bulbs anyway. I also had a mishap whilst trying to press out the stupid upside down wheel bearings from my front wheel. Too much pressure and I moved the hub out of line with the rim. I've slackened all the spoke nipples and hopefully Adam will be able to true it again in his jig. Ron Quote
rewdco Posted December 13, 2023 Posted December 13, 2023 Just to give you some inspiration Ron... 😊 4 Quote
Ron Posted December 14, 2023 Author Posted December 14, 2023 Great pictures Jan. Thanks very much for sharing. Ron Quote
garys39 Posted December 19, 2023 Posted December 19, 2023 Not sure if these are Bar None bikes or where they originally came from, they are just on my computer under Matchless photos. 1 Quote
Ron Posted December 19, 2023 Author Posted December 19, 2023 I think they must be Gary! Those ones are radically prepared. Great pictures. The bike on the right is an Ariel W/NG. Cheers Ron Quote
welbike Posted December 20, 2023 Posted December 20, 2023 With the small tanks, it would be more like speedway bikes? but then, they wouldn't have a front brake. Cheers, Lex Quote
Ron Posted December 28, 2023 Author Posted December 28, 2023 I've got all the spraying done and started the buildup and sorted most of the wiring. I'm waiting for the dynamo and brake lining firms to wake up after Christmas! These items will be holding me up soon. I've resolved my bent front hub issue for now, but I have got another one coming from NL in the new year.....Just in case! I usually fit my own tyres, but I'm going to nip them down to Poole Tyres this morning. They are always friendly and helpful and the boss is a motorcyclist anyway. They'll probably charge me a tenner for the coffee fund. Ron 3 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.