Description
Matchless 1949 G80 500cc excellent condition. I’m selling the bike due to my age and illness. I can’t kickstart it or put it on its centre stand without help.
It’s been used sparingly over a period of 8 yrs, mainly on club runs with other classic and vintage bikes. It will sit at 55 to 60 mph all day if need be. Since purchasing the Matchless, it’s covered around 4, 000 miles. The previous owner had no record of mileage.
As it was close to the winter season when bought, I stripped the engine to investigate anything that required attention…there wasn’t ; that included the gearbox too. To ensure smooth running I trued the flywheels (between centres) to obtain 0. 00075” at the ends of the mainshaft.
The bore and piston were excellent: so I assume it had had a rebore in the past.
I had a joining piece made to fit between the silencer and exhaust …. to give the machine a more rakish look! No problem in returning it to normal if required.
An oil pipe isolation valve was also fitted to stop oil from passing through to the sump when not in use over longish periods.
After the winter period of strip down mentioned above, the mileage was set to zero.
The brakes, wheel bearings etc all good. The rear brake is excellent but I had the front brake fitted with new shoes by Villiers. It transformed the stopping.
There’s slight pitting on the rims as can be seen from the pics…but that doesn’t detract from its overall condition for bike over 70yrs old.
I forgot to mention that the magneto was refurbished last July 2026…with a two year guarantee.
