SOLD - Matchless 1940 WD G3WO
Buy a WD motorcycle now and take part in the 80th Anniversary celebrations of D Day in June 2024.
This original WD Matchless G3WO was supplied to the War Office under contract C5247 dated 18th January 1940. They were delivered at 200 per week, which means that this bike would have been manufactured at the end of February 1940. We know that it was sold off by the War Department at Feltham on 9th December 1957 and that its original war time registration was C1448774 and post-war its army registration was 14 YA 27.
The bike comes with a current V5C, registration JSJ 186 and is registered as a Historic Vehicle and is therefore free road tax and MOT exempt. The V5C records that there have been 2 former keepers since 1998 and that the number is non-transferable.
This is an older restoration and has been sitting in a barn for a considerable number of years. We have deliberately left the bike in the as found “barn find” condition in order to allow the next owner to decide what they want to do with it. It retains many of its original period features including Bowden brass combination levers, WD speedometer and T position light switch. Given that it was manufactured in 1940 it would have left the factory fitted with a “panel tank”, however, this has been replaced at some time with the non-panel tank version. It is also fitted with the bottom half of a later G3L engine which will most likely have been exchanged during the overhaul undertaken by the REME in December 1953. A brass plate confirming this overhaul is fixed to the inside of one of the toolboxes.
Since purchasing the bike we have recommissioned it and it now starts easily and rides well. The petrol tank has been drained of old fuel and flushed through and the carburettor float bowl has also been removed and cleaned. The magneto points have been removed and cleaned and the points reset along with the pickup. The oil tank and sump have been drained and refilled with fresh oil. A new battery has been fitted and the horn and lights work although we are not aware if the dynamo is charging.
This is a rare opportunity to own an unmolested genuine G3WO.
Buy a WD motorcycle now and take part in the 80th Anniversary celebrations of D Day in June 2024.
This original WD Matchless G3WO was supplied to the War Office under contract C5247 dated 18th January 1940. They were delivered at 200 per week, which means that this bike would have been manufactured at the end of February 1940. We know that it was sold off by the War Department at Feltham on 9th December 1957 and that its original war time registration was C1448774 and post-war its army registration was 14 YA 27.
The bike comes with a current V5C, registration JSJ 186 and is registered as a Historic Vehicle and is therefore free road tax and MOT exempt. The V5C records that there have been 2 former keepers since 1998 and that the number is non-transferable.
This is an older restoration and has been sitting in a barn for a considerable number of years. We have deliberately left the bike in the as found “barn find” condition in order to allow the next owner to decide what they want to do with it. It retains many of its original period features including Bowden brass combination levers, WD speedometer and T position light switch. Given that it was manufactured in 1940 it would have left the factory fitted with a “panel tank”, however, this has been replaced at some time with the non-panel tank version. It is also fitted with the bottom half of a later G3L engine which will most likely have been exchanged during the overhaul undertaken by the REME in December 1953. A brass plate confirming this overhaul is fixed to the inside of one of the toolboxes.
Since purchasing the bike we have recommissioned it and it now starts easily and rides well. The petrol tank has been drained of old fuel and flushed through and the carburettor float bowl has also been removed and cleaned. The magneto points have been removed and cleaned and the points reset along with the pickup. The oil tank and sump have been drained and refilled with fresh oil. A new battery has been fitted and the horn and lights work although we are not aware if the dynamo is charging.
This is a rare opportunity to own an unmolested genuine G3WO.
Buy a WD motorcycle now and take part in the 80th Anniversary celebrations of D Day in June 2024.
This original WD Matchless G3WO was supplied to the War Office under contract C5247 dated 18th January 1940. They were delivered at 200 per week, which means that this bike would have been manufactured at the end of February 1940. We know that it was sold off by the War Department at Feltham on 9th December 1957 and that its original war time registration was C1448774 and post-war its army registration was 14 YA 27.
The bike comes with a current V5C, registration JSJ 186 and is registered as a Historic Vehicle and is therefore free road tax and MOT exempt. The V5C records that there have been 2 former keepers since 1998 and that the number is non-transferable.
This is an older restoration and has been sitting in a barn for a considerable number of years. We have deliberately left the bike in the as found “barn find” condition in order to allow the next owner to decide what they want to do with it. It retains many of its original period features including Bowden brass combination levers, WD speedometer and T position light switch. Given that it was manufactured in 1940 it would have left the factory fitted with a “panel tank”, however, this has been replaced at some time with the non-panel tank version. It is also fitted with the bottom half of a later G3L engine which will most likely have been exchanged during the overhaul undertaken by the REME in December 1953. A brass plate confirming this overhaul is fixed to the inside of one of the toolboxes.
Since purchasing the bike we have recommissioned it and it now starts easily and rides well. The petrol tank has been drained of old fuel and flushed through and the carburettor float bowl has also been removed and cleaned. The magneto points have been removed and cleaned and the points reset along with the pickup. The oil tank and sump have been drained and refilled with fresh oil. A new battery has been fitted and the horn and lights work although we are not aware if the dynamo is charging.
This is a rare opportunity to own an unmolested genuine G3WO.