Head stem and other parts.

[Gazza1961]

I have just bought my first Matchless,( well, most of one) a G2 with the light weight forks. But the head stem is one of the many parts missing. Have looked around the usual places, it appears that these are rather rare. Does anyone know the dimensions (length, diameter and thread sizes ) so I can make one. Other bits I'm looking for are kickstart, gear lever, brake lever, footrests, left hand side panel, headlight and mudguards. Any help greatly appreciated.

[Expat]

Hi Gazza. Lots of good advice here but also you can peruse the club spares site and see what you can find there.

[oldandsmelly]

Hi Gazza, as a hobby I try and build up lightweights from basket cases but I've come to regret this. I wish I could give you good news on the spares front for your G2, but honestly the true situation is dire for many must have components.

If your lightweight is complete and running and your need is just to replace service items, then the outlook is fairly optimistic. However, if you have an incomplete machine then you quickly find yourself unable to progress because the bits are simply not out there. Patient ( by that I mean months) trawling on ebay sometimes reaps rewards but you will need to pay big time for what you need.

You have listed some of the most challenging unavailable parts yourself. The lightweight fork headstem and associated bearing cups are as rare as dragons. You will often see the lower fork legs etc on ebay but crucially they are missing the the headstem and bearings. The kickstart pedals are also very, very hard to find. After a year of searching ebay, I found one and it felt like I'd won the lottery.

I've found the club scheme to be poor for lightweight spares when it comes to availability but great for bits for my G80. Andrew engineering have a better stock of parts for your G2 but the guy who runs it is retiring soon and the place will shut. When I last spoke to him, he said he didn't know what would happen to his stock of lightweight spares as no-one had showed interest in buying them.

I do have one headstem, which i will measure and send dimensions later. The alternative for the forks is to fit the later 1 1/8 heavyweight style items. I'm considering doing this, but it's expensive to build a set from scratch.

[Ozmadman]

[quote="oldandsmelly" When I last spoke to him, he said he didn't know what would happen to his stock of lightweight spares as no-one had showed interest in buying them.
[/quote] Maybe the club could do a deal ??

[Stuoyb]

"The Club" made him an offer but it wasn't accepted!
A lot of the stock offered was duplicating what the club already has and the price required was very close to full list price.

[oldandsmelly]

As promised, here is a picture with dimensions of the lightweight fork stem. Hope it makes sense!

[Peter Morris]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AJS-MATCHLESS ... XQfvlSmyZL

[clanger9]

I think I can help you with the footrests. Mine has rear sets, so I don't need the originals and I'm fairly certain I have a set.
PM me if interested and I'll have a rummage through the box o' bits...

[oldandsmelly]

I've found the bottom bearing cups for the fork stem to be the same as norton lightweight ones. You have to join the norton owners club to buy any spares, but their monthly mag is interesting and worth the subscription anyway.

I've attached the norton lightweight spares list in case it's any help.

[Ozmadman]

Loads of stuff for you on ebay at the moment, your luck could be in!!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matchless-G2- ... SwUuFW1vvp

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matchless-G2- ... OSwYlJW1ul~

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matchless-G2- ... SwZ8ZW1vyQ

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matchless-G2- ... SwPc9W1v3j


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matchless-G2- ... SwvgdW1v1K


or just buy one already done, it may be cheaper in the long run..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1962-MATCHLES ... Sw3mpXLxcc