Wears it well
There’s something special about an old, unrestored motorcycle. It is still an inanimate object but it is given life by its wonderful patina of faded paintwork, the dents and scrapes from its scores of adventures and journeys acquired over the years.
This 1946 G3L Matchless certainly ticks all of the correct boxes and is one of a collection of similar unrestored machines belonging to west country enthusiast Ron Axon. I initially met Ron at last year’s Bristol Classic Motorcycle show where he was displaying a very rare 1966 175cc Bridgestone and in conversation I soon discovered the Japanese lightweight was just one of a dozen others or so that share space in his well-equipped Dorset workshop.
Later in the year, I went along to sample six of his British classics and what better way to start than by riding the oldest in his diverse line-up, a 1946 G3L Matchless. The 350cc ‘lightweight’ (that’s what the ‘L’ stood for) single shows a shade over 30,000 miles on the clock and amazingly Ron – who for much of his
