Matchless, Sunbeam and AJS motorcyles: Part 2 (The fall)

Post-war production at Associated Motor Cycles began with Matchless and AJS 350 cc and 500 cc singles that were civilian versions of the wartime Matchless G3L. The only difference in their engines was that the Matchless unit had the Magdyno behind the cylinder while the AJS was in front. After AMC had run out of wartime Matchless engines still in stock, both brands used the AJS unit that had a more modern look thanks to its new design of timing case cover.

This was the beginning of AMC’s “badge engineering” of its range which meant that there was no difference between AJS and Matchless models apart from the petrol tank badges and the insignia cast into the timing case covers.

‘Badge Engineering’ may not have been an ideal solution but it was a necessary one as Britain’s national economy was at its lowest ebb after the war. “Export or die” was the advice of the Government at the time but AMC lacked the huge export markets that allowed the BSA Group to maintain the design integrity of its BSA, Triumph, Ariel and Sunbeam brands.

Even so, AMC was still a profitable company while other British manufacturers were struggling and it used those profits to buy up some of the strugglers. Francis Barnett was acquired in 1947 then James in 1951 both of which were long-established and well-respected Midlands manufacturers.

Francis Barnett made its first motorcycle at its Coventry factory in 1919 while, in the Birmingham suburb of Greet, James was a company which began making bicycles in 1880 and produced its first motorcycle in 1902. In its early years, the brand was more famous for its four-strokes ranging from 250cc singles to 1000cc vee-twins but by the late 1930s, it relied totally on Villiers two-strokes and, as was the case with Francis Barnett, the Wolverhampton-built engines were exclusively used until 1957.

By that time both James and Francis Barnett had for several years been part of the Associated Motor Cycles combine but although part of AMC they continued to be made in the Midlands until production ceased in the mid-1960s. During this period some models were also equipped with the AMC group’s single-cylinder 250cc two-stroke power unit but this proved disappointing and most of the FB and James ranges reverted to Villiers engines.

A 197cc Francis Barnett in the brand’s familiar bottle-green paint finish.

New paint jobs and restyling brightened up the mid-fifties James and Francis Barnett ranges but would not be enough to keep them in business.

Maroon paintwork was the most familiar shade used on James models in the 1950s. This is an early trials bike with a 197cc Villiers engine.

Even the much-revered name of Norton became part of the AMC combine in 1952, though it remained in its original factory at Bracebridge Street, Birmingham for the rest of the decade. The Norton factory in Birmingham was closed in 1962 and production of its range of big utility four-stroke singles and more sporting twins merged with the AJS/Matchless assembly lines at Plumstead. It was not until the absolute final throes of the AMC demise, however, that the iconic Norton brand was forced to indulge in any ‘badge engineering’ with AMC’s AJS & Matchless twins.

Meanwhile, two new designs had gone down south to Plumstead with Norton, the Jubilee 250cc overhead-valve twin and a 350cc version called the Navigator. This latter bike was enlarged to 400cc and named the Electra as it was the first British bike to feature an electric starter. None of them was a commercial success as they could in no way match the bikes coming in from Japan, whether in styling, technical specification, reliability or performance.

Down at Plumstead, the “badge engineering” policy at least allowed AJS and Matchless enthusiasts to maintain their brand loyalties and it extended to the new 500cc twin-cylinder models introduced in 1949. These, and the later 600c and 650cc versions, had the same ‘vertical twin’ configuration as their British rivals at BSA, Triumph, Ariel and Norton but differed in having an additional central main bearing for the crankshaft. They were a popular big-bike option for the next 15 years.

In 1960, AMC was still making money, though its profit of just over £200,000 was tiny compared with BSA’s £3.5 million for the same period. But a year later the group made a loss of £350,000 and alarm bells began to ring.

A new 250cc model with unit construction of engine and gearbox had been introduced into the range in 1958, followed by a 350cc version two years later, but by 1961 the focus was on rationalisation of brands rather than development of new models.

Within a very short time, it became apparent, however, that even customers for traditional British ‘thumpers’ were few and far between and the four-stroke singles joined the AMC Group’s two-strokes in the ever-expanding mausoleum of the British motorcycle industry.

The last motorcycle made in AMC’s Plumstead factory was built primarily for the American ‘street scrambler’ market and used a 750cc Norton twin engine in the twin-downtube frame that had been developed for the final iteration of the Matchless 500cc motocross racers. It sold as the Matchless G15, the AJS Model 33 or the Norton P11 and was a good-looking and powerful motorcycle whichever badge was on the tank.

All three versions of the bike went on sale in 1964 but they were in no way going to save Associated Motor Cycles. In 1966 the group collapsed and its remnants were acquired by Manganese Bronze Holdings to become reborn as Norton Villiers.  The new company launched the Norton Commando in 1967 and the AMC-inspired P11 survived alongside it in the US market until a ‘street scrambler’ version of the Commando was released in 1969.

The Norton P11 used a 750cc Norton engine in a Matchless G80CS frame and was the last motorcycle to have any link with AMC and Plumstead.