antique motorcycle pictures: A Matchless G80 CS 500 cc 1950

*Marlon Brando

Triumph Thunderbird 1950

*Actor Marlon Brando portrays Johnny Strabler in the 1953 film

"The Wild One". Brando died at the age 80 in Los Angeles July 1, 2004.

- The Wild One -

Arguably the biggest boost for Triumph motorcycles came from Marlon Brando’s 1954 movie “The Wild One.” Riding his own 1950 Thunderbird, Brando played Johnny, leader of the Black Rebels MC in the film that arguably started the biker-flick genre.

Rebel Marlon Brando "The Wild One" hier op een Matchless Scrambler

Marlon Brando astride a British Matchless twin cylinder motorcycle- it's 'M' logo badge is actually upside-down to resemble a 'W', which makes sense since it belonged to stunt rider "Wally" Allbright.

A Beautiful Scrambler...

This bike is almost sixty years old, yet it’s just as desirable today as it was in 1950. For starters, it’s one of the original ’scramblers’ and it’s as rare as hen’s teeth. And the back end, exhaust system and tank graphics would be perfectly at home on a contemporary Tokyo custom. The Matchless G80 series might be a simple 500cc British pushrod thumper, but it’s achieved remarkable status in the vintage motorcycle world—and this ‘CS’ scrambler was the ultimate G80 derivative. The CS (Competition Suspension) model was highly regarded as an off-road competition bike, and was still active in events worldwide until the late 1960s. It’s not known how many genuine competition bikes still survive; because the CS had such great lines, quite a few standard G80s have been converted to ‘CS’ spec. This particular CS is the real thing, however. It’s owned by John Dennehy, a Brit living in New Zealand, and was restored in the UK by the collector Dr Richard Johns. The frame number is 2755C, which confirms that it was a very early G80 competition frame manufactured at the south London Matchless factory in 1950. Sometimes the original is the best.

(Bron)