Monday, 12 December 2011

Featured Bike - 1931 Matchless Silver Hawk


I photographed this bike at the (rather damp) classic show at Glamis Castle this July. The bike was described as a 600cc ohc V four but it only had a single barrel & head. I had difficulty understanding the engine but research found that it is a very narrow angle V of 18 degrees, so the pistons sit in a "square four" arrangement. The single overhead cam has bevel drive.








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2 comments:

  1. Bodger13 December 2011 at 17:41

    Think Square Four configuration would probably be more accurate than V-twin. And bevel gears before Ducati, impressive.

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  2. Hairy Larry14 December 2011 at 11:22

    Saw one of these at a show a few years back, have to see if I can find some pics of it. Had me scratching my head as well. The pics you found do explain it though. It really is a V-4, even though initially it doesn't appear as such. with a single crankshaft it is a tad smaller down below than the Square four with two crankshafts. They are both more compact than an across the frame four. Imagine that they are pretty rare machines.

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