AJS & MATCHLESS
Matchless G15/45
749cc ohv twin || 430lb || 50mpg || 105mph || 1962-63
Conscious of the ever-growing demand for more power – particularly in America – AMC stretched its engine out to 750cc and offered the Matchless G15/45 (there was no AJS equivalent) for sale in the US. It was strangely unsuccessful. Myth suggests that the engine was unreliable, vibratory and not very good, but repatriated bikes are very pleasant, beefy torque-deliverers, and sound in wind and limb. The idea of a 750 twin was resurrected in 1963-64, but the new model used the Norton Atlas engine to power a range of models collectively known as ‘AMC hybrids’.
Prices: low £7500 || high £11,000... if you can find one
Model 31 (Matchless G12)
646cc (72 x 79.3mm) ohv twin. 430lb || 55mpg || 100mph || 1959-66
The most common AMC twin. The earliest models were plainly a stroked stretch of the 600cc
