The Matchless Silver Arrow was a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

made by

Matchless Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc Four-stroke cy ...

from late 1929 to 1933. It had a cast iron

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

monoblock

side-valve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine, is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the Cam-in-block, engine block, instead of in the cyl ...

, 400 cc, 18°

V-twin A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders are arranged in a V configuration and share a common crankshaft. The V-twin is widely associated with motorcycles, primarily installed longitudinally ...

with

chain drive Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. It is often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and motorcycles. It is also used in a wide variety of machines besides vehicles. ...

, designed by racer

Charlie Collier Charles Richard Collier (1885–1954) of Plumstead, London, was a British motorcycle racer famous for winning Isle of Man TT races twice in his career. After competing in the 1906 International Cup Races on the European continent, Charlie Co ...

Description

The narrow angle of the

cylinder bank The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categoriz ...

's V allowed the use of a one piece head, a practice used by

Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...

in its early V4 automobile engines. The

rear suspension Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, spring (device), springs, shock absorbers and Linkage (mechanical), linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support b ...

was a cantilever design using two springs and friction dampers beneath the saddle, very similar to the 1928 Vincent HRD design. Linked brakes were used, as had appeared on the 1925

Rudge Rudge may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Rudge, Shropshire, England, a settlement and civil parish * Rudge, Somerset, England, a hamlet * Rugde (Kristiansand), a neighbourhood in Kristiansand, Norway People * Rudge (surname) Other uses * Rudge C ...

Four. The carburettor was an Amal type 4/014 (bottom petrol feed). The bike did not sell well and within the year led to the Bert Collier designed

Matchless Silver Hawk Matchless Silver Hawk is a Henry Herbert Collier, Bert Collier designed motorcycle produced by Matchless for 1931 and introduced at the 1930 Motorcycle Show at Olympia, London as their range-leading luxury model. It was one of two up-market fou ...

Models

Two models were produced, the 'Standard model' which had acetylene lighting and bulb horn, priced in 1930 at £57/10/6 and the 'De Luxe model' which had electric lighting and instrument panel, priced in 1930 at £63/2/6. In 1931 both were designated A/2 and minor changes included a four speed gearbox with improved gear ratios with lower 1st and higher top gear and a more rounded petrol tank, the Amal carburettor jet was changed from 70 to 55 and the diameter of the exhaust pipe was increased with ports on the head spaced further apart (6⁵/₈" instead of 5¹/₈").

References

External links

Picture of Silver Arrow
Silver Arrow {{motorcycle-stub