Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded by the Collier brothers as a parent company for the Matchless and AJS motorcycle companies. It later absorbed Francis-Barnett, James, and Norton before incorporation into Norton-Villiers. Henry Herbert Collier founded Matchless as a cycle company in 1878. His sons Henry (Harry) and Charles (Charlie) joined him and the name was changed to H. Collier & Sons.
AJS had been bought by Matchless's owners, the Colliers, in 1931 and Sunbeam was added in 1937 from Imperial Chemical Industries.[1] The name of the Matchless Motor Cycles company was changed to "Amalgamated Motor Cycles Ltd" in 1937 and "Associated Motor Cycles (AMC)" in 1938. AMC was not a manufacturer in its own right, but rather the parent company of a group of motorcycle manufacturers which included Matchless, AJS, Norton, James, Francis-Barnett, Sunbeam and others.
1922 Matchless Model H v-twin with sidecar1938 Matchless Model X (close up)1968 Matchless G15 CSR 750cc twinSunbeam motorcycle fuel tank decal1939 Sunbeam Model B 24 350 cc single
In 1939 a 495 cc AJS V4 was built to compete against the supercharged BMWs then dominating racing. The bike was a water-cooled and supercharged design. In 1939 the dry-sump V4 was the first bike to lap the Ulster Grand Prix course at over 100mph (161km/h). It weighed 405lb (184kg). Its top speed was 135mph (217km/h). Then the Second World War intervened. During the War, Matchless manufactured 80,000 G3 and G3L models for the armed forces. AMC sold the Sunbeam name to BSA in 1943.
Post war
Share certificate of Associated Motor Cycles Ltd., issued 27 July 1961
Post-war landmarks start with the production of Matchless/AJS 350 cc and 500 cc singles, developed from the legendary war-time Matchless G3 produced for the Army. In 1946 Freddie Clarke joined AMC as Chief Development Engineer after a row with his former employers, Triumph, and in 1947 AMC absorbed Francis-Barnett, followed later by the acquisition of James in 1951. In 1949 the first Matchless/AJS vertical twin (500cc) was produced, later to be joined by 600 cc and 650 cc vertical twins in 1956 and 1959 respectively. On the racing front AMC were fielding the AJS Porcupine (500 cc forward-facing parallel twin), the AJS 7R (32 bhp, 350 cc OHC single), the Matchless G50 (a 500 cc variant of the 7R) and by 1951, the Matchless G45 (500 cc vertical twin). The AJS Porcupine had been designed for supercharging, before the rules changed ending supercharged racing motorcycles, but even so, Les Graham won the 1949 World Championship on an unsupercharged AJS 500 cc Porcupine.
In 1951 AJS development engineer Ike Hatch developed a 75.5mm (3.0in) bore x 78mm (3.1in) stroke, three valve head version of the AJS 7R making 36bhp (27kW).[2] It was called the AJS 7R3, and was Ike's response to the Italian multi-cylinder racers. They did well enough in their first year, not as well the second. For 1954 Jack Williams, the works team manager, developed the bike further, lowering the engine in the frame, and making some tuning changes that gave 40bhp (30kW) @ 7800 rpm. It immediately won the first two rounds of the World Championship and took first at the Isle of Man TT. These were factory specials, but one has survived, and a second has been reconstructed from spares. In 1953 there was a Clubman range of Matchless/AJS 350 cc and 500 cc singles, and the production model Matchless G45 500 twin became available.
AJS fuel tank badge1917 AJS Model D 750 cc v-twin (green, foreground)AJS 7R single-cylinder racer, manufactured 1950s/1960s
In 1952 further extended the empire by taking over Norton. Then 1958 saw the introduction of unit construction 250cc AJS/Matchless machines. From 1948, competition models of the singles were produced which gave the company some memorable wins.
AMC withdrew from the world of works and one-off road racing at the end of the 1954, with the death of H.J.'Ike' Hatch, and in the face of fierce competition from the other European bikes. Instead of works specials, AJS and Norton would make the production versions of the Manx Norton and the standard two valve AJS 7R, for privateers.[3]
In 1958 the Matchless/AJS road bikes were joined by a 250cc and in 1960 by a 350cc for a lightweight series of singles.
In 1960 leading light Bert Hopwood resigned and joined Triumph at Meriden. That same year AMC posted a profit of a just over £200,000, not so good compared with BSA's £3.5 million. Then in 1961 they posted a loss of £350,000. With the closure of the Norton plant at Birmingham in 1962 and the merger of Norton and Matchless production, the future was beginning to look rather bleak. In the sixties, with sales declining AMC made the commercial decision to focus on the Norton twins and the Matchless/AJS singles but they were not to be successful and the factory ceased production shortly afterwards.
Some models were "parts bin specials" put together at the request of the American dealers. The Americans were desert racing, so Berliners sent AMC an example custom bike using a Norton 750 motor in a G80CS frame, and asked them to build them some. This was the last Matchless motorcycle, the 748 cc G15 which was also sold as the AJS Model 33' and as the Norton P11.[4] The G15 was produced up until 1969. A Mk2 version was sold in Britain from 1964.
Matchless/AJS built predictable handling, comfortable, well-made, reliable and economical motorcycles, for their day. Unfortunately such attributes were not enough to keep them in business. Continuing poor sales led to AMC becoming part of a new company, called Norton-Villiers in 1966. Some of the contents of the Norton factory including motorcycles were later auctioned off after the company went into receivership.[5]
Four-stroke scrambler production ceased in 1966. Matchless became overshadowed with focusing on BSA, Triumph and Norton from 1960. The more race-worthy Matchless G85CS[6] replaced the G80CS having a purpose-built frame, alloy fuel tank, ultralight hubs, 12:1 compression ratio and GP Amal (carburettor). Only 150 of these hand built bikes were made.
By the late 1960s, competition from Japan had driven the British motorcycle industry into a precipitous decline. In 1966 AMC collapsed and was reformed as Norton-Villiers under Manganese Bronze Holdings. This only staved off the problems for a little while and Norton-Villiers eventually went into liquidation in 1974. Norton was reformed with financial assistance from the British government as Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT) actually incorporating the majority of BSAs motorcycle concerns but omitting the BSA name for Triumph. In part due to a labour dispute, NVT later went into receivership in 1974.
AJS Motorcycles 1974 –
Following the final collapse of NVT, the AJS name was bought by former works rider and competition manager Fluff Brown [11] who continued production of the AJS Stormer in 250 and 360cc capacities. The company, AJS Motorcycles,[12] still owned by the Brown family, now imports and retails small capacity motorcycles manufactured in China under the AJS name, whilst maintaining the spares supply for the Stormer models.
Related Research Articles
The Norton Motorcycle Company is a brand of motorcycles headquartered in Solihull, West Midlands,, England. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles was owned by North American financiers.
Triumph Engineering Co Ltd was a British motorcycle manufacturing company, based originally in Coventry and then in Meriden. A new company, Triumph Motorcycles Ltd, based in Hinckley, gained the name rights after the end of the company in the 1980s and is now one of the world's major motorcycle manufacturers.
A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd was a British automobile and motorcycle manufacturer in operation from 1909 to 1931. The company was founded by Joe Stevens in Wolverhampton, England. After the firm was sold, the name continued to be used by Matchless, Associated Motorcycles and Norton-Villiers on four-stroke motorcycles until 1969, and since the name's resale in 1974, on lightweight, two-stroke scramblers and today on small-capacity roadsters and cruisers. The company held 117 motorcycle world records.
Roger Dennistoun Poore was a British racing driver, financier and entrepreneur. He became chairman of Norton Villiers Triumph (NVT) during the final years of the old British motorcycle industry.
Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc four-stroke twins. Matchless had a long history of racing success; a Matchless ridden by Charlie Collier won the first single-cylinder race in the first Isle of Man TT in 1907.
The Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket 3 was a technically advanced, high-performance roadster motorcycle made by Triumph Engineering and BSA from 1968 to 1975, and sold under both the Triumph and BSA marques. Alongside the Honda CB750, and later the Kawasaki triples, it brought a new level of sophistication to street motorcycles, marking the beginning of the superbike era. The Honda CB750 overshadowed the Trident to be remembered as the 'first superbike', in spite of the Triumph Trident actually debuting before the Honda by a few weeks.
Rickman Motorcycles was a British, independent motorcycle chassis constructor established by brothers Derek and Don Rickman. The firm manufactured motorcycles from 1960 through 1975.
Geoff Monty was an English professional motorcycle racer, constructor, rider-sponsor and retail dealer, initially based in Kingston on Thames and later – under the name Monty and Ward – Twickenham areas, near London, with a move to Edenbridge, Kent by 1968.
Norton-Villiers was a British motorcycle manufacturer formed in the 1960s following the collapse of AMC. With the general decline of the British motorcycle industry, under a British Government initiative it was later combined with the remnants of BSA Triumph to form Norton-Villiers-Triumph.
Norton Villiers Triumph (NVT) was a British motorcycle manufacturer, formed by the British government to continue the UK motorcycling industry, until the company's ultimate demise.
The AJS 7R was a British 350 cc racing motorcycle built from 1948 to 1963 by Associated Motor Cycles. It was also commonly known as the ‘Boy Racer’, and won victories both for the factory and for privateers right from its introduction in 1948.
Peter Williams was a British former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle road racing from 1966 to 1973. He also competed at many levels on home short-circuit races. He raced many times on the Isle of Man TT course from 1966 to 1973. His father was Jack Williams who ran the Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) race department. Williams trained in mechanical engineering and introduced via racing alloy wheels, an innovation which is commonplace on today's road bikes, and was also an early pioneer of solo-motorcycle disc brakes.
The Matchless G50 is an historic racing British motorcycle made by Associated Motorcycles (AMC) at the former Matchless works in Plumstead, London. Developed in 1958 from the 350 cc AJS 7R, but with the engine capacity increased to 500 cc, 180 G50s were built in the next four years. Although less powerful than its main competitor the Norton Manx the G50 proved highly competitive at three hundred pounds and was faster round bends. If success is measured by longevity then this is the most successful Matchless motorcycle, and high specification replicas are still being produced to this day, although financial problems at AMC ended production in 1963.
The Matchless G12 is a British motorcycle made by Associated Motor Cycles at the former Matchless factory in Plumstead, London. Developed in 1958 specifically to capture the potentially lucrative US market, the last G12 was produced in 1966.
The AJS Model 31 was a British motorcycle made by Associated Motor Cycles at the former Matchless works in Plumstead, London. Developed in 1958 specifically to capture the potentially lucrative US market, the last Model 31 was produced in 1966.
The isolastic frame, designated by Norton as GlideRide, used a system of engine-to-frame mountings incorporating rubber bushes to isolate the vibration of the vertical twin engine from the frame and rider. The isolastic frame was developed for use with the Commando inclined engine, whilst the Featherbed frame continued in production for the Mercury with a softer-specification 650 cc vertical-engine until 1970.
The BSA B50 was a single-cylinder 499 cc (30.5 cu in) ohv motorcycle, produced by BSA at their factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. The last of the big capacity unit-construction singles from the Birmingham Small Arms company, it had an alloy engine with a bore of 84 mm (3.3 in) and a stroke of 90 mm (3.5 in). As well as the road version, special models were produced for off-road competition use.
Colin Jordan Seeley was a British motorcycle retailer who later became a motorcycle sidecar racer, motorcycle designer, constructor and retailer of accessories. In 1992 he was involved in running the Norton Rotary race team.
BSA motorcycles were made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA), which was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process.
↑ Britton, Tim (5 August 2013). "Fluff Brown: 1930-2013". Classic Bikers Club Magazine. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
