New post after 2 years!

It's been almost 2 years since I got the bike, I don't use it that much really. This picture is after a 50km trip to a bikers meeting. I lost a couple of tank bolts in the route, I learn then that these bolts have a hole so you can lock it with a wire to prevent them to get loose.

 

 

Matchless Manuals

These couple of manuals were really helpful for learning about the bike and the restoration process. Below each image there's a link to download the manual. You can find them on the side bar too.

1946 Matchless Maintenance Manual and Instruction Book

1939-55 Matchless Maintenance Manual

Some random pics of the restoring process

I took some pics in the process to remember where to put back each small piece like this.

Forks before painting

One of the seat spirngs already primed

Some kind of repair in the fork/brake area

Clutch basket, discs, springs, etc

Oil tank before painting

Original Ammeter, it's working but needed some fixing

The forks. They were a pain in the ass to assemble without the right tools.

Rear wheel and next to it the air compressor I used to do the paint job

Battery box

 I bought the bike with a modern battery, not the original Lucas one. So I had to look for at least a dummy box to put the new battery inside. I found this old battery that looks a lot like the Lucas box and then removed the inner parts. It looks like it was 3 cells inside.

Saddle ready!

Lycette original frame saddle

 I took the frame of the saddle to a shoe maker. He gave me a piece of leather and I aged it to look worn and old. I found some metal clips that looks like the original ones. The result is a real leather restored saddle, a lot better than the ugly one that came with the motorcycle when I got it.