The Essential Buyer’S Guide Velocette 350 & 500 SINGLES 1946-1970 Veloce 2 1 4 9 4 8 5 4 8 1 8 7 ISBN 978-1-845849-41-2 9 Covers STOP! Your Dreams
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The Essential The Essential STOP! Buyer’s Guide Velocette Don’t buy a Velocette 350 or 500 single without buying this book FIRST! SINGLES Having this book in your pocket is just like having a real 350 & 500 marque expert by your side. Benefit from Peter Henshaw’s All 350 & 500cc models 1946-1970 years of Velocette experience, learn how to spot a bad Velocette bike quickly, and how to assess a promising one like a professional. Get the right bike at the right price! Packed with good advice – from running costs, through paperwork, vital statistics, valuation, and the Velocette 350 & 500 community, to whether a 350 or 500 will suit you and your lifestyle – this is THE COMPLETE GUIDE to choosing, assessing and buying the Velocette 350 or 500 of your dreams. SINGLES Covers All 350 & 500cc models 1946-1970 1946-1970 £12.99 UK • $25.00 USA ISBN 978-1-845849-41-2 $34.00 CAN Veloce www.veloce.co.uk www.velocebooks.com 9 7 8 1 8 4 5 8 4 9 4 1 2 Your marque expert: Peter Henshaw The Essential Buyer’s Guide Velocette 350 & 500 1946-1970 Your marque expert: Peter Henshaw Essential Buyer’s Guide Series Jaguar/Daimler XJ6, XJ12 & Sovereign (Crespin) Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Coupé (Booker) Kawasaki Z1 & Z900 (Orritt) Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider (Booker) Land Rover Series I, II & IIA (Thurman) Audi TT (Davies) Land Rover Series III (Thurman) Austin Seven (Barker) Lotus Seven replicas & Caterham 7: 1973-2013 (Hawkins) Big Healeys (Trummel) Mazda MX-5 Miata (Mk1 1989-97 & Mk2 98-2001) (Crook) BMW E21 3 Series (1975-1983) (Reverente) Mercedes Benz Pagoda 230SL, 250SL & 280SL roadsters BMW E30 3 Series 1981 to 1994 (Hosier) & coupès (Bass) BMW GS (Henshaw) Mercedes-Benz 280-560SL & SLC (Bass) BMW X5 (Saunders) MG Midget & A-H Sprite (Horler) BSA 350 & 500 Unit Construction Singles (Henshaw) MG TD, TF & TF1500 (Jones) BSA 500 & 650 Twins (Henshaw) MGA 1955-1962 (Crosier) BSA Bantam (Henshaw) MGB & MGB GT (Williams) Citroën 2CV (Paxton) MGF & MG TF (Hawkins) Citroën ID & DS (Heilig) Mini (Paxton) Cobra Replicas (Ayre) Morris Minor & 1000 (Newell) Corvette C2 Sting Ray 1963-1967 (Falconer) Moto Guzzi 2-valve big twins (Falloon) Ducati Bevel Twins (Falloon) New Mini (Collins) Ducati Desmodue Twins (Falloon) Norton Commando (Henshaw) Ducati Desmoquattro Twins – 851, 888, 916, 996, 998, Peugeot 205 GTI (Blackburn) ST4 1988 to 2004 (Falloon) Porsche 911 (964) (Streather) Ducati Overhead Camshaft Singles, “The Book of the Porsche 911 (993) (Streather) (Falloon) Porsche 911 (996) (Streather) Fiat 500 & 600 (Bobbitt) Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 (Streather) Ford Capri (Paxton) Porsche 911SC (Streather) Ford Escort Mk1 & Mk2 (Williamson) Porsche 924 – All models 1976 to 1988 (Hodgkins) Ford Mustang – First Generation 1964 to 1973 (Cook) Porsche 928 (Hemmings) Ford Mustang – Fifth generation/S197 (Cook) Porsche 930 Turbo & 911 (930) Turbo (Streather) Ford RS Cosworth Sierra & Escort (Williamson) Porsche 944 (Higgins) Harley-Davidson Big Twins (Henshaw) Porsche 986 Boxster (Streather) Hinckley Triumph triples & fours 750, 900, 955, 1000, Porsche 987 Boxster & Cayman (Streather) 1050, 1200 – 1991-2009 (Henshaw) Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow & Bentley T-Series (Bobbitt) Honda CBR FireBlade (Henshaw) Subaru Impreza (Hobbs) Honda CBR600 Hurricane (Henshaw) Triumph 350 & 500 Twins (Henshaw) Honda SOHC Fours 1969-1984 (Henshaw) Triumph Bonneville (Henshaw) Jaguar E-Type 3.8 & 4.2-litre (Crespin) Triumph Herald & Vitesse (Davies) Jaguar E-type V12 5.3-litre (Crespin) Triumph Spitfire & GT6 (Baugues) Jaguar Mark 1 & 2 (All models including Daimler 2.5-litre Triumph Stag (Mort) V8) 1955 to 1969 (Thorley) Triumph Thunderbird, Trophy & Tiger (Henshaw) Jaguar S-Type – 1999 to 2007 (Thorley) Triumph TR6 (Williams) Jaguar X-Type – 2001 to 2009 (Thorley) Triumph TR7 & TR8 (Williams) Jaguar XJ-S (Crespin) Vespa Scooters – Classic two-stroke models 1960-2008 Jaguar XJ6, XJ8 & XJR (Thorley) (Paxton) Jaguar XK 120, 140 & 150 (Thorley) Volvo 700/900 Series (Beavis) Jaguar XK8 & XKR (1996-2005) (Thorley) VW Beetle (Cservenka & Copping) Jaguar/Daimler XJ 1994-2003 (Crespin) VW Bus (Cservenka & Copping) Jaguar/Daimler XJ40 (Crespin) VW Golf GTI (Cservenka & Copping) www.veloce.co.uk For post publication news, updates and amendments relating to this book please scan the QR code or visit www.veloce.co.uk/books/V4941 Also available ... eBook Download now from www.digital.veloce.co.uk First published in November 2016 by Veloce Publishing Limited, Veloce House, Parkway Farm Business Park, Middle Farm Way, Poundbury, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 3AR, England. Fax 01305 250479/e-mail [email protected]/web www.veloce.co.uk or www.velocebooks.com. ISBN: 978-1-845849-41-2 UPC: 6-36847-04941-6 © Peter Henshaw and Veloce Publishing 2016. All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review, no part of this publication may be recorded, reproduced or transmitted by any means, including photocopying, without the written permission of Veloce Publishing Ltd. Throughout this book logos, model names and designations, etc, have been used for the purposes of identification, illustration and decoration. Such names are the property of the trademark holder as this is not an official publication. Readers with ideas for automotive books, or books on other transport or related hobby subjects, are invited to write to the editorial director of Veloce Publishing at the above address. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data – A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Typesetting, design and page make-up all by Veloce Publishing Ltd on Apple Mac. Printed in India by Imprint Digital Ltd. Introduction – the purpose of this book If you want to buy a Velocette single, then you are about to join one of the smallest, yet most committed owner groups of all. When they were new, Velocettes inspired great loyalty amongst a small band of riders who loved their idiosyncratic ways, and exactly the same is true today. Modern day advocates will tell you that Velo singles combine the superb build quality of a Sunbeam, the fine handling of a Norton, and the mechanical strength of a Rudge; and there is some truth in that. Velocettes were quite unlike the mass produced singles from BSA or Matchless, being carefully built in a relatively small factory from quality components. Velocettes are British bike thoroughbreds, but they’re not all the same. Mechanically quiet, they had (and still do have) the high speed stamina that some British classics lack. They are also relatively light, and handle very well, something reflected in a whole string of racing successes, right into the 1960s when they were apparently obsolete: Velocettes won the first Production TT in 1967, several long distance circuit races and, in 1961, set a 24-hour speed record that, for 500cc bikes, still stands. On the other hand, those less enamoured of the Velocette legend would counter that they leak oil like the proverbial sieve, that they are overpriced, overrated and need more than a certain knack to kickstart. Clutch adjustment is seen as a black art, while the electrics belong to a different (and extremely dim) era. To own a Velocette, these people say, you need to be a professional engineer with a well- equipped workshop. 3 As ever, the truth lies somewhere between these extremes. All those good points are absolutely true: Velocettes are strong and are great fun on twisty roads, but they also need the sympathetic ownership that any classic bike demands, with particular attention paid to starting technique, clutch adjustment and the electrics. If you haven’t been put The Velocette company personified British four- off yet, then this book is a stroke singles in a very individual way. straightforward, practical guide to buying a Velocette single. It won’t list all the correct colours for each year, or analyse the bikes’ design philosophy, company background or racing record (there are excellent books and websites listed at the end of this book that do all that) but hopefully it will help you avoid buying a dud. Although the typical Velocette single is often seen as a sporting, and potentially cantankerous, Thruxton or Venom, the most popular bike – the factory made 25,000 of them – was the mildly tuned, long-stroke MAC 350 from which they were derived. It’s the Velocette that’s easiest to live with, and a good starting point for anyone who wants to sample the Velo experience. But the MAC is not fast, the 500cc MSS, either pre-1948 long-stroke guise or from 1954-on offers more mid- range power. Faster still, at least when revved, are the more highly tuned Viper 350 and Venom 500, plus their Clubman variants. Some see the final Venom Thruxton as the ultimate Velocette, though it’s also the most demanding to own, as well as the most expensive. Velocette built just 1108 Thruxtons, but if that’s not rare enough, the brash Indian Velo is a rare beast indeed, as is the unsuccessful factory Scrambler. Whichever Velocette you decide on, you will be buying one of the British industry’s most recognisable and idiosyncratic motorcycles, something that will reward sympathetic ownership. You certainly won’t forget it! This book would not have been possible without the help of several people: Velocette owners Pat Clancy and Alan Deacon allowed me to photograph their bikes and pick their brains about the ins and outs of Velocette ownership. Justin Harvey-James and the staff of the Vintage Motorcycle Club were very helpful in providing the Club’s library for research. Thanks also go to Roger Fogg. VISIT VELOCE ON THE