Story and photos by: Clement Salvadori

What was this Model X" Collier & Sons began building bicycles in the 1800s, and then moved on to the motorized version, first budying engines to put into homebuilt frames and then building their own V-twin in 1912. After father died in 1926 the sons decided to take the company public and changed the name to Matchless Motor Cycles (Colliers) Ltd. In 1929 the 982cc (actual size) sidevalve V-twin was designated as the Model X?which was the predecessor to the Model X Sports Tourist that we are covering here. This long-wheelbase bike with a heavy frame was mostly sold to the sidecar crowd?which was mainly families in that time of the Great Depression: mom on the back, two kids and the dog in the hack.
Move forward seven years, the Depression was easing, and in time the X became the X/2, followed by the X/3 and X/4, each with very minor changes. 1937 rolled in and Matchless decided to make major changes, lightening and shortening the chassis and calling it the Model X Sports Tourist, putting it more in line with the sporting desires of the solo rider. Maybe this was the first sport-touring bike on the market.

The new X had 57 inches between the axles. By comparison, two famous Brit V-twins of the era, like the Vincent, had 56.5, and Brough-Superior, 59. The frame was a full-cradle, with twin downtubes attached to a pair of arms that supported the engine and transmission, continuing on to be part of the rigid rear end?pretty...