Did you see these other Classic features?
Invercargill’s Motorcycle Mecca
The once popular Motorcycle & Sidecar
Dave Cole’s G50 mount at Pukekohe in 2009
Immaculate Ken McIntosh restoration 2012
McIntyre framed G50 weighs only 123kg, and
produces 54bhp. Bob McIntyre, the first rider to
lap the Isle of Man at over a 100mph, persuaded
his sponsor Joe Potts to underwrite the building
of a new frame that would accommodate the
7R and G50 engines. This made riding both
bikes at a race meeting easier to accomplish.
The G50 was designed by Jack Williams, who had
taken over development at AMC. Although never
meant to be a Grand Prix winner, it could be taken
straight out of the crate and raced. It was simple
to maintain, and provided the privateer with an
affordable and competitive race machine. Although
meant as an uncomplicated and inexpensive choice
for private owners, the G50 did mix it with the big
boys and their multi-cylinder works machinery.
One of the riders closely associated with the G50
on the international scene was Peter Williams. In
1967 he scored second place to Mike Hailwood’s
Honda-4 in the Isle of Man Senior TT. That year, of
the first ten machines to finish the Senior TT, six
of them were G50s. In 1970 Williams was second
again, this time behind Giacomo Agostini’s MV
Agusta. He then came second again to Agostini in
1971, and second yet again behind Jack Findlay’s
Suzuki in 1973. Considering the G50 went out
of production exactly 10 years earlier this was a
remarkable feat. Although the Arter Matchless
that Williams rode in 1973 pioneered cast alloy
wheels, handled well, was light and agile, and
averaged an over 100mph (160km/h) lap of the
Isle of Man, it was the end of the line for the great
British singles in international 500cc road racing.
It had been a long road for Matchless. Charles and
Henry Collier first entered their motorcycle in an
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