Matchless mudguards

Back in the spring my brother passed onto me the February 2020 edition of the magazine, principally for the Ariel Square 4 piece.

I happened to reread some of the articles recently (as you do when not feeling well, and awaiting delivery of bike parts), and enjoyed Frank Westworth’s lament for the Matchless 650CSR rear mudguard he wants, but can’t find.

I then scanned the reader adverts, in the vain hope of spotting an unobtainable part for my WD M20, to see a Warwickshire reader offering AJS 650CSR mudguards and headlamp brackets for sale. If these mudguards are the same as the ones on the Matchless version, I very much hope that Frank spotted the advert and achieved his goal. If not, they are probably long gone…

Richard Taylor

Frank replies: Why are there no short answers? I have sadly failed to find the entirely correct 1965/66 rear guard for my 65 G12CSR, and am of course inconsolably desolated by this. The photo (above) shows (blurrily) the right guard.

In the end, and mostly by accident, I found what I thought was the right guard, bought it unseen (as a chap never should), offered it up to ensure that it fitted the late frame properly. Which it did.

However, careful pruning of my AMC anorak’s bright green plumage revealed that it’s actually a guard from an even more rare model: the G15 Mk2. But it fits, looks okay (see photo, left) so there it’s staying. Until I get it rechromed and it dissolves into dust…

All the earlier UK CS and CSR guards are (I think) slim alloy. Some US market 750s had chromed steel blades which are as slender as the alloy, but more shiny. Did you really want to know that? Did anyone?