Fishtail 430 The Journal of the

Owners’ Club DISCLAIMER The views expressed in articles and letters contained in Fishtail magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the officers or members of the Velocette Owners Club. Any information, including advice and suggested modifications, contained in Fishtail has not been tested, checked or ap- proved by the Velocette Owners Club. Before acting on any such informa- tion you should obtain appropriate technical advice and if necessary have the work carried out by a professional motorcycle engineer. The individuals who are listed as providing “Advice” on particular issues do so in good faith on a voluntary basis and the Club cannot accept liabil- ity for the consequences of any information provided by them. Save as required by Law, the Club cannot accept liability for any loss or damage resulting from the use of any information contained within the Magazine (or any other publication by the Club). © Velocette Owners’ Club 2010

PLEASE NOTE: The Velocette Owners’ Club does not under any circumstances guarantee the authenticity of any Velocette motorcycle. Anyone intending to buy a Velocette should make their own enquiries before purchasing the motorcycle in question.

VelocetteVelocette Owners’ Owners’ Club Club Regalia Regalia Store Store www.freewebstore.org/velocette-owners-club-regalia-storewww.tinyurl.com/voc-regalia-sales Visit the VOC regalia store online (above) or through the main VOC web site and browse the whole collection of current regalia that the club offers. Place your order, choose where you want it delivered to and pay online - all from your armchair! All clothing items are made to order, in a variety of sizes and colours, If you don’t see what you’re after, you can always email the Regalia Secretary with your enquiry. Don’t forget the badges and books, made to the usual high Velocette standards, such as Norm’s Technicalities or the 1928 Veloce Brochure, along with the posters and Fishtail binders to keep everything neat and tidy! You can pay via PayPal. Cheques will be accepted by Rprioregalia arrangement with the Regalia Secretary, Mark Newsome - [email protected] Velocette Owners Club 1

Magazine of the Velocette Owners’ Club f i s h ta i l September 2015 58th year of publication Number 430

Regulars Editorial 2 Chairman’s Scrapbook 3 Welcome! 4 Events Diary 4 Spares News 9 Fishtail Mail 11 Centre News 40 Going Spare 56 Centrefax 62 Club Officers 64 Reports 17 Notices 10 The Rally The Bob Foster Run South Hants in France The Derbyshire Dawdle Wye Valley Camping Dorking in Shropshire Features Cadwell Park Festival ‘A Thruxton for the Thruxton’- Paul Stewart has his first taste of Castle Combe in a parade 27 ‘Velo your Garden’ - Tim Hendy describes how a member’s heroism put Velos on prime time TV 28 ‘Elves in the Chapel’ - we spend a day with VSL 30 A Blue Viper - Have you ever seen one? asks Stephen East 32 Crankcase Breathing - The last word from Peter Woodward 33 ‘Velo Front Brake Adventure’ - Alan Glen makes a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. 34 ‘A Velo in the Family’ - three generations keep repairing the same old bike, despite having bought a steam roller along the way 38

Cover Photo: Alan Borthwick at the controls of his Aveling & Porter steam roller admires the MAC owned and restored by 3 generations of his family. See page 38. Editor: Peter Turnill Trade Ads. Secretary: Eric Bushell Tel: 07774 649 644 Tel: 07860 812 272 31 Constantine Avenue, Chandlers ‘Milestones’, 6 Cedar Court, Langley Park Ford, EASTLEIGH SO53 2BR DURHAM DH7 9FG [email protected] [email protected] Club Web Site: www.velocetteowners.com 2 Velocette Owners Club S mall is good! Peter Turnill

Having had to leave the Venom in France I found myself bike-less for the Rally, until temptation fell in my way - or was it the other way round? Either way, I found myself the proud owner of my first racer! It is based on a 1934 MOV but with considerable engine mods and a close ratio KSS gearbox, not to mention a completely hollow Brooklands can... For me, a motorbike should be two wheels held apart by an engine and just enough tubes to keep it together. The pre-war Velos, to my mind, epitomise this, but the MOV is TINY, and I am a six footer! Happily, commonsense seems to blow away once you have the wind in your hair, and after the first couple of miles I was captivated. It was as if I had recaptured my youth! Back then, it was a G*** Star (our Chairman says I must wash my mouth out with soap!). Not much below 5,000 but then that gorgeous sound as it hit the mega and the needle seemed to jump to 7! So, with the little MOV, although the numbers are a bit lower. And because of its size, every ride is an opportunity to, er, optimise your riding - just to keep up with the big boys. As with so much, it’s not the performance, but how it’s delivered... On the same theme, although we are one of the larger clubs, I feel part of a small group of friends at every gathering I attend. I know this is partly due to my role, but our almost federal structure means that Centres organise themselves to suit themselves - each being a small club in its own right. Many members have commented to me how welcome they felt when they first went to a Club night locally. So, if you have yet to try it, why not make the effort and find out good ‘small’ can be? There is, of course, a report on the Rally in this edition, but I should say here how much Danie and I enjoyed it. We were lucky with the weather, but it also had a family feel with children and dogs, the barbecue, the ride-out, the visit to the amazing steam engines - what a great weekend. If you weren’t there, make sure you don’t miss it next year! Peter [email protected] 07774 649 644 Deadline for contributions for the next Fishtail: 22nd September Printed and distributed by Berforts Information Press. Velocette Owners Club 3

We have seen another Annual Rally, the second at Burntwood and a much more encouraging attendance than last year. Congratulations to Alan and all his helpers who made the weekend such a success. Let’s build on this and get an even better turnout next year. Thanks also to Brian and Mike for leading the runs on the Saturday: great fun and especially so as we were blessed with fine weather. The big thing about events such as this is that you get to meet people, very often the only chance you get. It is always great to meet up with old friends and we met up with some Dorking Centre members prior to the rally who had arranged their annual trip to Shropshire to coincide with it. And also John and Angela Bryant, all the way from New Zealand. That is what this club is really about – Friendship. There are still plenty of events to get in before the end of the season. One that Jane and I always enjoy is the Bob Foster Run. It is the 25th this year and I am proud to say that we were there on the first and have missed very few since. Jane and I will be there and if you haven’t done so yet now is the time to fill those entry forms in. Sandy tells me that the route is changed this year but with the same lunch stop. Let’s have a full turn out and keep the run for pre- 1970 machines - so please don’t turn up on anything else. After the rally Jane and I had a week’s holiday in Cornwall and decided to take the MSS with us. We used the bike to get around those narrow Cornish roads. Great fun even if we chose the wettest week of the summer. We did have some dry days though and one memorable run all around the Lands End peninsular from St Ives, past Lands End to Penzance. Basically using the main road and then going down as many lanes to the sea as we could. A quick stop for coffee or lunch and away again. Due to all the rain the bike got very mucky but a bucket of soapy water at the end of the day made it presentable again. The MSS attracted a lot of interest and not just from the older (“I used to have one”) contingent. Perhaps there is a moral there, if we want to attract new and younger members they have to see what a Velocette looks like. Get out there with the bikes and use them for all to see, and not just on club runs. On that note we have been looking at ideas to attract members. The new members’ application forms have been reworked to make more use of Paypal. Currently this is used for overseas members only, but in time we will extend it to UK members. For subsequent years we would like members to set up standing orders - our preferred method of subscription payment. The new forms will also ask for dates of birth to give us some idea at which age groups we should direct our efforts. We are also looking at using social media - don’t forget it is down to all of us to promote our great Club and what great bikes Velos are to ride. 4 Velocette Owners Club W e l c o m e ! Alex Wood The Velocette Owners Club would like to welcome the following 58 new members who have joined since the last issue: UK DORKING (5): Niklos Salmon, Stephen Briggs, Mark Hawkes, R. Mills, Douglas Orchard ALCESTER (3) : Nigel Faller, Caroline Kear, David Rennicks. THAMES VALLEY (3): W. Blackwell, Simon Kay, Peter Summers DEVON & CORNWALL (2): Christopher Giles, Stephen Michell EAST MIDLANDS (2): Anthony Richardson, Sam Roberts NORTH LINCONSHIRE (2): Martin Hanstock, Stephen Lightfoot NORTH YORKSHIRE (2): Tim Bulmer, Jack Ward SCOTLAND (2): John Grey, David Stewart SOUTH HANTS (2): John Briggs, Russell Butcher WEST MIDLANDS (2): John Pountney, Andy Smith WOBURN (2): John Andrews, Ian Brookes BRISTOL: Deborah Henshaw. CAMBRIDGE: David Loose. CHELMSFORD: Ron Windebank. DORSET: F. Hill. ISLE OF MAN: Juan Bimson. KENT & SUSSEX: David Gubbins LANCASHIRE: Steve DesLandes. LONDON: Brian Wilson NORTHERN IRELAND: Desmond Haughey. OXFORDSHIRE: Peter Eden. STAFFORSHIRE: Robin Berry. WELSH: Arthur Hulse OVERSEAS Australia (5): Jeffrey Frankcombe, Raymond Goulter, Shaun May, Robert Morris, Christopher Page. USA (4): Christopher Biley, Mark Fisher, Johnathan Soons, Rod Youssefi Belgium (2): Dirk Fredricx, Dirk Van Ussel. Denmark (2): Thorkild Beck, Niels Larsen. Austria: Martin Dunst. Canada: David Allcock. Ireland: Peter McMurtry. Netherlands: Paul Janssen. New Zealand: Terry Bracey. Sweden: Lennart Karisson. CONGRATULATIONS: to these members who, according to our records, have reached the following years of continuous membership of the VOC. 25 Years: Peter Crook (ALC), Ian Pollard (DKG), Anthony Burt (DST), Roger Gull (EM), Doug Strange (USA) 45 Years: Michael Wilkinson (EM), Marius Tybjerg (WOB) Velocette Owners Club 5

Now, I have some apologies... To all those members who received a renewal reminder by mistake: These are generally being dealt with magnanimously by the recipients, who would rather pay two years in advance than cause me any headache. Thank you. Your true renewal date always appears with your membership number on your Fishtail address slip – irrespective of what you find on the reverse. Our Membership Database is somewhat limited in the data that can be stored – something I hope to improve upon – but it means that we have no original joining date for our respected Life Members: We should like to present them with Long Service awards where applicable, so if any of them would like to get in touch, I should be pleased to set the records straight. Thanks to Alan Cross [Member No. 0001, I believe! - Ed] for pointing this out. My telephone is going back to the supplier! A recent replacement has broken down. If you have left a message, and I haven’t responded, please get back to me. If you do have to leave a message again, please give your membership number. Thanks for your forbearance! Events Diary Ron Sabey Items for the Club Diary should be forwarded to the PRO, Ron Sabey, at [email protected]

Date Centre Details of event September 1 Tues South Hants Club night. 2 Wed Isle of Man 7:00pm at Creg ny Baa VOC meet MGP week. East Midlands Social Evening Red Lion, Kegworth. 8.00pm. North Yorkshire Club night, The Blue Bell, Kirby Hill, 7:30pm. 3 Thur Chester Club night at the Plough, Christleton, CH3 7PT. 7.30pm. 6 Sun Isle of Man Ken Blackburn’s Run, 2:00pm start at Grandstand. Scottish Angus Run. Start Dundee area. Malcolm Kervell 01337 830 452. VSL SPARES OPEN DAY, HUNCOTE. 9:30AM-3PM. Dorking Kent Lanes Run. Westerham 9.30am. Leader Alan Nightingale. Woburn Run with Jim M. 10.00am. Chelmsford Invite to Woburn Centre Run 10.00am to 12 noon Start “White Horse” Husbourne, Crawley. 6 Velocette Owners Club

Cambridge Meeting at Bees-in-the-Wall PH, Whittlesford, noon. South Hants John Hoskins Run, 10:30am, The White Hart Inn, Stockbridge, John Hoskins: 01264 400 261. 7-10 Bristol Mon-Thurs Dave Hoskins Camping Holiday, Lechlade. Day visitors welcome. Contact [email protected]. 8 Tues Bristol Club Night. Thames Valley Club night, Cherry Tree, Stoke Row. 10 Thur Wye Valley Monthly meeting. 11 Fri Devon & The Barge, Halberton nr Tiverton EX16 7AG. Cornwall Lancashire Club Night: Formal Meeting. 10-13 South Hants Thur-Sun Visit to Wales, Dave Jarvis: 01938 590 744. 12 Sat West Midlands The Deeley Dawdle. Starts Bewdley SVR. Tea and lunch stops. Contact Rod Fuller 01384 830 224. 13 Sun Scottish West Coast Ride In. Raymond Albeson, 0131 669 9219. Norfolk Meeting at The Gull Inn, Framingham Pigot 11am –1pm Chelmsford Monthly meet at The Ship. 12.00 noon. 15 Tues Chelmsford Norman Archard Day Run. Meet at The Ship 11.00am. Alcester Queenswood Café, Hope under Dinmore HR6 0PY 12 noon. 16 Wed Cambridge Meeting at Queens Head PH, Newton CB22 7PG, noon. Scottish Aberdeen members meeting in the lounge, Newmachar Hotel at 7.30pm. Contact Maurice Clarke 01651 873 034. Woburn Mid week Run with John S. 10.00am. Dorking Fish & Chip Run Rykas 10.30am. Leader Dave Gladwell. East Midlands Lights Required Run. Start Rempstone Crossroads 7.30pm. Social Evening 8.00pm Red Lion, Kegworth. 17 Thur Isle of Man Meeting at Creg ny Baa, 7:00pm. Chester Bhurtpore, Aston, CW5 8DQ. 7.30pm. 18-20 Woburn Fri-Sun Old Warden Steam Rally with Jack W. 19-20 Thames Valley Sat-Sun Kop Hill, Princes Risborough. 20 Sun Devon & Louis’ Tea Rooms, Kit Hill Callington, Cornwall Cornwall from 11.00. PL17 8AX. 21 Mon Woburn Noggin and Natter in White Horse, Husborne Crawley MK43 0XE. 8.00pm. Also Raffle. 22 Tues Thames Valley Club night, Cherry Tree, Stoke Row. 27 Sun Thames Valley Crofton Steam Gala. Lancashire Derbyshire Dawdle. Meet at Unicorn Inn, Dean Row, Wilmslow SK9 2LN 10.00am. For full details see http://tinyurl.com/Derbyshire-Dawdle-2015 Bristol Crofton Beam Engine Steam Fair. Meet with Thames Valley Centre. Velocette Owners Club 7

29 Tues Northumbrian Club night. Ride in TBA. 30 Wed North Lincs Run to Harry’s Place. Meet at the Butcher Nook, Hemswell at 7.00pm or contact secretary for details. October 4 Sun Dorset Bob Foster Run, Crossways nr Dorchester DT2 8BS Cambridge Meeting at Bees-in-the-Wall PH, Whittlesford, noon. South Hants Basil’s Minor Road Run, 10:30am, Basingwell Square, Bishops Waltham, Heathcliffe Moss: 01489 893 270 Woburn Run with Jim W. 10.00am. Chelmsford Copdock Show and Bob Foster Run. 6 Tues South Hants Club night. 7 Wed North Yorkshire Club night, The Blue Bell, Kirby Hill, 7:30pm. East Midlands Talk by ‘Blood Bike Biker’ and Social Evening 8.00pm at The Red Lion, Kegworth. 8 Thur Wye Valley Monthly meeting. 9 Fri Devon & Kings Head, Five Lanes, Altamun, Cornwall Cornwall PL15 7RX. Lancashire Club Night. 11 Sun Isle of Man Norman Cowin’s Run, 2:00pm start at Mooragh. VSL SPARES OPEN DAY, HUNCOTE. 9:30AM-3PM. Norfolk Centre Meeting at Stokesby Social Club. 11am – 1pm. Chelmsford Monthly meet at The Ship. 12.00 noon. 13 Tues Thames Valley Club night, Cherry Tree, Stoke Row. 14 Wed Alcester Cotswold Food Store & Café, Nr Longborough. GL56 0OZ. 12 noon. 15 Thur Isle of Man AGM at Creg ny Baa, 7:00pm. 18 Sun Dorking Run to Blackbushe Airport. Meet . Rykas 9.00am. Leader: Peter Read. 19 Mon Woburn Bring & Buy White Horse Husborne Crawley MK43 0XE. 8.00pm Also Raffle Jim M & Rolls Ray & Patricia T. 20 Tues Chelmsford Pete Merrick Day Run. Meet at Marks Tey Café 10.00am. 21 Wed Cambridge Meeting: White Swan PH, Conington, CB23 4LN noon. Scottish Aberdeen members meeting in the lounge, Newmachar Hotel at 7.30pm. Contact Maurice Clarke 01651 873 034. East Midlands Social Evening 8.00pm at The Red Lion, Kegworth. 25 Sun Wye Valley Lunchtime Meet at The Anchor from 11am. South Hants Rowlands Castle Run, 10:30am, Rowlands Castle Village Green, Paul Turner: 02392 353 041. 27 Tues Thames Valley Club night, Cherry Tree, Stoke Row. Northumbrian Club night. 8 Velocette Owners Club

November 1 Sun Cambridge Meeting at Bees-in-the-Wall PH, Whittlesford, noon. Dorking Veteran Car Run. Rykas 9.00am. Leader Peter Read. Woburn Noggin and Natter in White Horse, Husborne Crawley MK43 0XE. 12 noon. 3 Tues South Hants Club night and AGM. 4 Wed North Yorkshire Club night, The Blue Bell, Kirby Hill, 7:30pm. East Midlands EGM on the future of the Centres MAC and Social Evening 8.00pm at The Red Lion, Kegworth. 7 Sat VSL SPARES OPEN DAY, HUNCOTE. 9:30AM-3PM. 8 Sun Chelmsford Monthly meet at The Ship. 12.00 noon. 10 Tues Bristol Club Night. Thames Valley Club night, Cherry Tree, Stoke Row. 11 Wed Alcester The Touch Down Café, Wellesbourne CV35 9EU, noon. 12 Thur Wye Valley Monthly meeting. 13 Fri Devon & Morley Arms, Plymstock, Plymouth by Laira Bridge Cornwall PL9 7HP. Lancashire Club Night: Formal Meeting. 16 Mon Woburn Talk – Roger Franklin - Start 8.00pm in White Horse, Husborne Crawley. MK43 0XE. Also Raffle. 18 Wed Cambridge Meeting at Red Cow PH, Chrishall, SG8 8RN noon. Scottish Aberdeen members meeting in the lounge, Newmachar Hotel at 7.30pm. Contact Maurice Clarke 01651 873 034. East Midlands Mike and Yvonne’s Quiz Night. Also Social Evening 8.00pm The Red Lion, Kegworth. 24 Tues Thames Valley Club night, Cherry Tree, Stoke Row. Northumbrian Club night. December 1 Tues South Hants Club night. 2 Wed East Midlands Social Evening 8.00pm at The Red Lion, Kegworth. 5 Sat Wye Valley Christmas Lunch PROVISIONAL 1pm Anchor, Tintern. 6 Sun Cambridge Meeting at Bees-in-the-Wall PH, Whittlesford, noon. Scottish Christmas Lunch. Robertson Arms, Carnwath. Contact Raymond Albeson, 0131 669 9219. Woburn Noggin and Natter in White Horse, Husborne Crawley MK43 0XE. 12 noon. Thames Valley Dr. Barnardo’s Toy Run, Reading to Wokingham. Lancashire Christmas Lunch at the Farrington Lodge. VOC events listed above are covered by the Club’s public liability insurance. The Events Calendar for the whole year can be viewed on the “News & Events” page of the VOC website www.velocetteowners.com, where you will also find links to websites operated by several individual VOC Centres. Velocette Owners Club 9 S p a r e s N e w s ...from Vsl Tom Tunnicliffe

Various significant changes to the VSL Stock List, including items back in stock and price changes resulting from re-stocking, are itemised below:- A 220/2 Short Velo twistgrip rubber £ 7.95 A225/2 Short Velo LH handle-bar rubber £ 7.95 LE 681 Cruciform tank rubber £ 7.00 M 2/12A Inlet valve, VR unleaded £ 25.80 M 2/4 Inlet valve, ‘iron’ MSS £ 29.00 M 2/5 Exhaust valve, ‘iron’ MSS £ 29.00 M 3/5C Exhaust valve guide, Colsibro, VM etc. £ 18.00 M 3/6C Inlet valve guide, Colsibro, VM etc. £ 18.50 VSL 020 Paper oil filter element £ 12.40 VSL 094 Brass cage for clutch thrust brg. (not inc. rollers) £ 7.95 VSL 115 Sleeve gear nut tool (special item) £ 19.75 VSL 127 Front brake cable, VMT, heavy duty £ 15.60 VSL 180 Clutch cable boot, gearbox end £ 1.00 VSL 410 T- piece for petrol piping £ 4.20 VSL 411A Petrol tap, 1/4” BSP, push on/off, plated £ 18.40 (New item, not previously sold by VSL). The photo in this issue shows a selection of components that can be used in the refurbishment of the Velocette telescopic front fork. The parts shown are: solo spring F252, steering head nut MAS6, fork crown nut F253, taper roller steering head bearings VSL164 & VSL165, oil seal LE335/2, top bush F256/LE215, bottom bush LE216, circlip LE191 and damper pressure disc FK246. Other parts are available – please refer to our Sales List for full details. 10 Velocette Owners Club

It is apparent that some members (new ones in particular) have misconceptions about VSL procedures. Payment for parts: Unless you are registered for ordering by e-mail, all credit/ debit card details are destroyed after use, so it is essential that you provide some means of payment with each and every order sent by post or Fax. Processing of orders: Please remember that, whether received by post, Fax or e-mail, all orders are dealt with on a weekly basis, usually on a Thursday. If there is any problem with your order, such as payment, legibility, dodgy part number, etc., then we will attempt to resolve this by contacting you on your daytime telephone number - if you have supplied it! If this is not possible, your order will, in most cases, be held over for a further week, whilst we seek clarification. For an insight into some aspects of VSL’s operation, please read ‘Elves in the Chapel’ on page 31. The next Open Days at Huncote will take place on Sunday 6 September, Sunday 11 October, Saturday 7 November and Sunday 13 December. The January 2016 Open Day, which is traditionally held in conjunction with the East Midlands Centre ‘Bring & Buy’ is provisionally scheduled for Sunday 3 January (more details next time). Noticeboard The Bob Foster Run 25th Anniversary Sunday 4th October 2015

Closing date for entries - 20th September! Velocette Owners Club 11 Derbyshire Dawdle Ride VOC Lancashire Centre Start: 10.00 am 27th September Unicorn Inn Wilmslow SK9 2LN For details, see: http://tinyurl.com/Derbyshire-Dawdle-2015 Fishtail Mail... Trainspotting... rodney Wildsmith There is a mistake in Pete Thomas’s Dorking Notes. The first steam locomotive to be built for 50 years is not going to be an Atlantic class to be called Beachy Head. The last steam locomotive built for British Railways was a 9F 2-10-0 Evening Star, built at Swindon in 1960. The first steam locomotive to be ‘privately’ built was L.N.E.R. Pacific class A1 60163 Tornado completed in 2008. Tornado was built at Darlington, County Durham within feet of the route of the world’s first public steam railway, The Stockton and Darlington, which opened in September 1825. In the case of Tornado the whole loco was made new, including the boiler and has run many times on mainline ‘Steam Specials’. 60163 Tornado seen north of Retford, on a Steam Special. 12 Velocette Owners Club

That return valve... Phil Evans

In Fishtail 429, Alan Deacon wrote advising of the seizure of his engine because it was fitted with the Yamaha valve as well as the original one. In it, he claims that “None of the items in Fishtail mentioned removing the original”. On page 10 of Fishtail 422, when I recommended the use of this valve, I quite clearly wrote “I take out the spring and ball from the original setup”. I’m not sure that I could have been any clearer. I am sorry if Alan’s engine might have suffered any damage as a result of it nipping up. There are about 30 Velos that I know of, now running this set up, and his is the only one, so far, that has had any problem. Stay Upright. [I seem to remember one of my schoolmasters pointing out the importance of reading the WHOLE of the question... and probably emphasising it with a cane! - Ed]

NUTS! (for valve stems, that is) Dai Gibbison

Please see the response from the Avon Technical representative below There seems to be some different views on this. At Avon we recommend screwing the nuts against the rim (finger tight only). If the tyre spins slightly on the rim, leaving the nut against the valve cap can help stop the tube from splitting i.e. it lets the tube move slightly. Some people leave the nut half way up! I’m not sure if there is a right or wrong way, we recommend against the rim. Best regards, Peter J McNally (M/C Technical Product Manager) What does confirm it is that looking at the photos from at least 1930 to the end of production Veloce fitted the nut against the rim. If you look at photos of all the factory racers, all the many period ones I have show the nut against the rim. I can’t find one with one anywhere else but against the rim!

THE ‘VELOCETTE METISSE’ Marius Tybjerg

I fear that Lenny Hartley is attaching a greater significance than is warranted to the specifications of the various Rickman frames he has identified as being supplied to R.F. Seymour Ltd. At the time of construction of first Rickman framed special housing Ralph’s KTT engine and gearbox, it is likely one intended for an AJS 7R or G50 engine would have been selected. It is actually not significant to which engine type the frames were originally assigned as they were supplied to R.F. Seymour Ltd in an unfinished state and modified on a custom built jig at The Hawthorn Works in Thame. As to the quantity of frames supplied, the numbers provided do not agree with the generally accepted number of complete motorcycles constructed Velocette Owners Club 13 by R. F. Seymour Ltd. C. E. Allen refers to a total of 22 in ‘The Velocette Saga’ and a report in Motor Cycle News of July 25th, 1984 of the Velocette Stanford Hall rally gives a total of 21 Venom based machines. Maybe something was missed when viewing the Rickman archives or possibly they are incomplete. as has been mentioned by others trying to trace the history of Rickman frames. It concerns me that the two motorcycles which form the subject of the article are each referred to as a “Seymour Venom Metisse”. There are two reasons why this is not appropriate: • C. E. Allen comments that Bertie and Peter Goodman gave permission for the motorcycles built by R. F. Seymour Ltd to be registered for road use as ‘Velocettes’. The implication is that this should only apply to machines assembled at the Hawthorn Works. There is, therefore, no need to include a reference to the name Seymour when referring to a road going ‘Velocette Metisse’ as it is implied by the above agreement. • The complete machine in the picture is clearly not a product of R.F. Seymour Ltd and nor will be the second one. A little extra examination of the photograph reveals that is not even a sufficiently accurate copy to be classed as a replica. These then should be called ‘Rickman Velocette Metisses’. Technically I believe this criterion also applies to the Geoff Steele bike as it was constructed as a private venture and not as a request to R.F. Seymour Ltd to manufacture a complete frame kit. (Note: The bikes were actually sold as frame kits so as not to be liable for payment of Purchase Tax). The intention of this letter is to try to explain the heritage of the motorcycles built by R.F. Seymour Ltd and to protect that heritage by establishing a clear definition of the name ‘Velocette Metisse’ when used to register a motorcycle for use on the road. I hope that this will be respected by those who construct replicas and that they will not refer to their creations as a ‘Velocette Metisse’, with or without inclusion of the Seymour name.

SMALL WORLD... Jeff Waller

Went for a Sunday bike ride the other week with a small group of friends. As usual we stopped for a coffee.... sorry... cold drink as it was about 41C, nearly as warm as U.K. at that time.(late June). After a while two cyclists stopped and sat at the next table. We got chatting and it soon became obvious that they came from the Isle of Man. I made a flippant comment: “You must know Ken Blackburn then “?. (see Michael Hodgson’s I.O.M Centre News notes). “Yes. I know Ken” was the reply. Wow ! ! what are the chances of that happening? Ken’s brother Colin lives close by and I pass on FT. for his enjoyment as he had a Velo many years ago. Should have asked his name. 14 Velocette Owners Club

SOMETHING FISHY HERE? Tony Harris

Looking at the photo of the well used [Fisherman’s... - Ed] MAC in FT 429 I thought I would send you another one of a friend of mine who uses his MAC winter and summer as they were intended. His name is Roger Hextall. He was presented with the early ‘50s 350 for serving 25 years at our local learner training centre, some years ago. He uses it for local trips and especially his fly fishing. Roger has taped a piece of wood on the front down tube and lashes his rods onto this and the rear frame. He calls the bike his MAF (F for fishing). As I said it’s used all year round and is totally reliable. He puts us all to shame...

NMM CLUB DAY? and THRUXTON 50TH John Hawkings

There was a feeling expressed recently by some members that more should be done to promote the club. The National Motorcycle Museum is inviting motorcycle clubs to have ‘Club Days’ at the museum. Discounts of up to 50% of admission charges can be offered as well as exclusive guided tours. Shouldn’t our Club take advantage of this offer? As well as promoting our marque this should be an attractive event for members especially in view of the very central location of the museum. On an entirely separate note, I am disappointed that the 50th Anniversary of the delivery of the first Thruxtons has not been acknowledged by the Club. Although the first, hastily put together, Thruxton was presented at the 1964 Motorcycle Show, it took the factory over six months to get the bike into production. I took delivery of my Thruxton, ordered on the first day of the 1964 show, on the 26th June 1965, directly from the factory. I was told it was one of the first released. So, it seems reasonable to say that this summer is the 50th Anniversary of this model. I know some purists ‘sniff’ at Thruxtons but, as someone who also owns a KSS, a KSS springer and a standard Venom, I believe it is the best bike the factory produced for riding on the open road. Velocette Owners Club 15

LOST OPPORTUNITY... Mark Newsome

At the start of the year you will remember that I put out a request in Fishtail and an email to Centre Secretaries, about putting on a Club stand at this year’s Mallory Bike Bonanza on the 11th and 12th July. This is now a big event with bike manufacturers, Owners’ Clubs and racing stars there in numbers and, more importantly, lots of members of the public who are there to look around all the bikes on display and see them going around the race track. A big thank you goes out to the 5 people who came forward and offered their bikes for the Velocette Club stand but unfortunately this wasn’t enough to get the stand set up and put on a display. I am very disappointed that we, as a Club, missed this opportunity, especially when we are seeking to promote the club to potential new members or Velocette Owners. It is shows like Mallory, Stafford, Bristol, Donnington etc., where we will be able to show people what Velos are all about. I’m putting it down to perhaps not being mentioned earlier in our diary, so maybe this is something you can all pencil in for next year and we can try and put on a good show?? I am willing to organise a stand next year (if we haven’t been black balled!), but I need the support from you guys.

UNUSUAL TRANSFer George Sampford

This transfer was stuck to the top of the petrol tank of my Venom Clubman. You will note that it is similar to the headstock transfer but there are significant differences. I recently had the tank repaired; unfortunately the repair led to a respray and the transfer was removed before I realised its rarity. Chatting to the Velo stand at the ‘Banbury Run’ I was informed that this transfer was produced by the new owner of the Company after Velo ceased production. There is a 1954 Velo in the Motorcycle Museum in Brum (my ‘local’ VMCC meeting venue) that also sports this transfer on the headstock, whereas all the other Velo’ headstocks have the traditional version. Colin, who restores the bikes there, may be able to help. I have tried all the usual transfer people who advertise in publications such as OBM, without success. Can anyone suggest where I can obtain one or two of these transfers, please? 16 Velocette Owners Club

CRY FOR A VELO... Paul Janssen

I’m a Dutch pure-Anglo-motorcycle enthusiast, 45 years of age. As a student I bought my first motorcycle in 1991. All of my friends happily rode their Japanese and BMW bikes and I bought an old oil and acid leaking English motorcycle. They thought I had truly lost my mind. My bike was (and still is) a 1952 Matchless G9 Clubman, a roaring Londoner twin. Even in those days, on curved roads I could still keep up with my mates, although on the open road, of course, I mainly saw plastic Japanese tail lights, if any… In 1993, deprived of substantially all of my funds (that had gone into a Triton) I heard of a Velocette on sale in Eindhoven, I decided to have a look. It was a 1973 Reg Orpin aftermarket Venom. It was very impressive but I could not afford it. Ever since, Velocette has been on my mind but, alas, never in my garage. You don’t by coincidence bump into one of these fine machines in The Netherlands, especially if you are interested in a later type sporting one. In the meantime I did ride some other interesting machines such as a 1929 Ariel 500 racer, and a 1959 Panther with GE Clark double adult side car (‘DeLuxe’ - although my wife found it rather of the ‘Poor’ type). With the years gone by, the number of kids grew steadily to 4 and the number of motorcycles declined correspondingly from 4 to 1. At the moment I only have my original Matchless twin which I still ride regularly. Last year I went to London on this bike to visit the Ace Cafe and Brooklands. This trip fuelled my sleeping aspirations to one day own a Velocette Clubman or Thruxton. Near London my Matchless broke down (again) and a nice ‘young’ Englishman stopped on a Velocette Clubman to offer help. This motorcycle, in particular when compared to my Matchless, looked very impressive indeed and was my wake-up call to try and find such a wonderful machine for myself. A few months ago I became a member of the Club (as well as the Dutch Velo owners club) to become more knowledgeable about Velos and also, hoping that someone would offer a Clubman MKII or Thruxton at an affordable price. It seems that whatever is offered via the public channels are only those machines that are either too expensive or too messed up be sold to a true enthusiast that wants to use the bike for what it is meant for - making miles on the tarmac. Although I’m very grateful for the help offered via the Dutch network of Velo enthusiasts, our circle of owners is so small that the chance of a Clubman MKII or Thruxton being offered is very, very small. Hence my cry: is there anyone out there having a Clubman MKII or Thruxton standing in the garage, desperately waiting for a 2nd or 3rd life on the road? Please consider offering this bike to me. Make no mistake, I’m willing to pay a fair price, fitting the motorcycle offered. Most importantly, I would like to have that Velo for riding, not for collecting or as an investment… Many thanks and happy motoring! Paul Janssen, Holthees, The Netherlands. +31 6 1266 3910 [email protected] Velocette Owners Club 17 R e p o r t s VOC NATIONAL RALLY 2015 Alan Harper

Our second year at The Bowl was a bit easier for me to deal with as most of the issues that arose were a repeat of last year’s. The full weekend has again proved to be a success with the numbers staying on each of the nights - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - showing a good increase from last year. I would like to thank all those that helped in any way over the weekend, without it the Rally would soon descend into a bit of a mess. The Saturday runs into Staffordshire and to the Clay Mills pumping station were of interest even though it was not a ‘steam’ weekend. My thanks to the West Mids. members who worked the routes out and ‘proved them’ on at least a couple of occasions. The Saturday evening BBQ attended by around 60, was ably run by Jim Plant with some help from Eric Bushell and others. This year, I understand that they didn’t run out of beer, and there were still some burgers and sausages that were given out on Rally Day. Jim also kindly sorted out the buffet lunch for the helpers on Sunday. The attendance was only marginally up from last year, but more bikes were ridden to the Rally this year, and the Concours entries showed an increase from last years low of 54 to a respectable 123. There was a wide and interesting range of Veloce’s products on show as we all hoped there would be. The New Imperial Owners’ Association joined us again, and their machines really are a credit to them. They had two awards in the Concours to prove this point. I also feel that a special mention should be made of Markku Uuttu’s journey from Vaasa in Finland. He rode 1250 miles to attend the Rally, and was rightly awarded the June Markku and, er, Markku (longest distance travelled) enjoying the barbekku... 18 Velocette Owners Club

Sherwood Trophy for longest distance travelled. He was joined for a great part of the way by Markku Kallio also of Finland (I hope I have the names spelled correctly). Unlike last year the weather forecasters got it pretty nearly right, the ‘shower’ in the early afternoon meant that the marquee, where Ivan, our President, did the presentation of the various awards, was a bit crowded! My thanks to everyone for being so understanding. As soon as the rain departed we did the raffle draw outside the marquee in the sunshine. The following companies and individuals kindly gave us their support with a variety of prizes for the raffle Castrol Classic Oils Wheelhouse Tyres of Coleshill Frosts Auto Criterion Carole Nash Maureen Sherwood Dave Masters and the VOC, of course with vouchers and clothing. Following several requests we will be looking at the provision of on site toilets, it appears that with the aging membership we can’t run as fast as we used to! If you have any thoughts about the Rally please let us know where we can improve. A trailer spare wheel was seen to fall from a vehicle as it was leaving the field, please contact me to get it back. [email protected] - 01543 682 438

THE AWARDS

Concours Trophy/award winners Class 1 Pre 1953 June Sherwood Trophy 1 Pat Clancy- 1946 MSS (long distance) 2 Mark Newsome - 1937 MK II KSS Markku Uuttu 3 Bob Higgs - 1936 MSS Finland (1250 miles) Class 2 Post 1953 Red House Trophy 1 Peter De Kremer - 1967 Venom Clubman MkII (best Velo not in Concours) 2 Peter Higginson - 1962 Venom Veeline Not awarded 3 Dai Gibbson - 1954 MSS Don Harrison Trophy Class 3 Racing & Specials (machine of the Rally - 1 Paul Charlton - 1957 MkII KSS / RS 2 Tony Ainley - 1962 Venom Strode Special Brian Mason - 1932 GTP 3 Brian Day - 1957 Valiant Visitors Trophy Class 4 British non-Velo (non Velo - from class 4) 1 Mike Davis - 1926 New Imperial Model 8 Not awarded 2 Bob Stokes - 1960 BSA Gold Star 3 Uwe Karstens - 1924 New Imperial Model 5

Photos: Brian Coldicott, Danie Reeves, Tom Roche and Peter Turnill Velocette Owners Club 19

Pre-1953

Pat Clancy - 1st Mark Newsome - 2nd Bob Higgs - 3rd 1946 MSS 1937 MkII KSS 1936 MSS Post-1953

Markku Uuttu - Peter de Kremer - 1st Peter Higginson - 2nd Longest Distance 1967 Venom Clubman II 1962 Venom Veeline Travelled racing/Specials

Graham Austen - 2nd Paul Charlton - 1st 1962 Venom Strode Brian Day - 3rd 1957 MkII KSS / RS Special 1957 Valiant british non-velo

Brian Mason - Mike Davis - 1st Uwe Karstens - 3rd Machine of the Rally 1922 New Imperial M 8 1924 New Imperial M 5 1932 GTP 20 Velocette Owners Club

Bob Higgs - with Dr Franken..., er, Coldicott shows a handy toolkit how to attach the electrodes... Velocette Owners Club 21 22 Velocette Owners Club

France 2015 Chris Stevens

Why is it that the more we do it, the more we want to? Our annual visit to France that is. Whatever were you thinking? Dave Humphrey had volunteered to organise it this year and he proposed a visit to Dinan in Brittany. Whoopee! Way back in February, we booked our ferry crossing from Portsmouth to St. Malo for Wednesday June 17th. For the first time it would be a night crossing, which meant an extra full day in France. After a flat calm crossing we docked at 0800. Our group had been the first on to the ferry so, logically, we should all have been first off, right? Wrong! Just three of us where allowed off. The rest of our happy band were the very last off, which did mean a long and perplexing wait. Have we missed them? Are they in trouble? Anyway, eventually they appeared and we were on our way, out of St Malo. Dave lead us on the scenic coast road, south of St. Cast and Cap Frehel, to lunch in Erquy. The roads were dry but there was a definite dampness in the air, blown in from the sea by a very strong wind. After lunch, we followed yellow and white roads (look at a French road map, you will see what I mean), to our hotel in Dinan. Just opposite the front door was a small open area, full of tables and chairs, where we all collected every evening before dinner for the usual drinks and repartee. It had nothing at all to do with getting the delightful young lady from the cafe to dash back and forth to and from the bar - oh no, we wouldn’t do that. She was very nice though! Our little hotel did not have a restaurant, so Dave had booked a table for us in town. My, they did look after us. He had also booked another restaurant for Saturday evening, the plan being to let us make our own choice on Friday. On Friday some of our party chose to stay in Dinan for the day, to enjoy the medieval town. After a day of riding minor roads, in beautiful scenery, we returned to Dinan, tired but very happy. While we had been out, Ian and Jeannie Medd had booked us all into another local restaurant for dinner. The dining room was up a tight winding stair and to watch the staff dashing up Velocette Owners Club 23 and down, with arms full of plates of lovely food was very entertaining. So ended another great day. Saturday is traditionally a picnic day with our group, so off we all rode to Dinard, Saturday being market day there. By this time it was becoming seriously hot, so when most of the others disappeared into the vast market. Claude and I sat in the shade listening to a choir and very good they were too. Claude told me that they were singing sea songs and shanties. As the plan was to head for Cancale after Dinard, Claude and I had decided to have moules marinière in one of the sea front establishments. After Cancale, we took an extremely devious route back to Dinan. Pre dinner drinks were again taken in the square opposite our hotel - I really can’t think why we enjoyed being there! Then off to the last evening dinner together and what an evening it was! It always seem to me that staff in shops, cafes and restaurants in France, make you feel special, as though you are the only one there. [Especially if your wife is French... - Ed] Sunday dawned, the day for most of us to ride to Cherbourg for our return home. Most of us that is, because Dave Humphrey and Ian and Jeannie Medd were going down to Spain for a week. Chris and Geogina Beare with Trevor and Jennifer Dovey were sailing from St. Malo on the Monday morning. With the prospect of rather a long ride before us, we set off soon after breakfast, having filled up with petrol on Saturday (most petrol stations are closed on Sundays in France). Alistair Grundy was volunteered by some of us to lead us to Cherbourg, which he did as though he knew the route like the back of his hand. We had agreed to stop for lunch at Granville, which, on a Sunday was very busy. We stopped at the sea front opposite a restaurant that looked full, really full. Claude went in to enquire, came out and beckoned us in. By the time we had crossed the road a large table was put together and laid up for us. The welcome and good humour was wonderful, as was the food. Then on to Cherbourg and the fast cat to Portsmouth. Unfortunately, arriving in Portsmouth, I chose the only passport control check that demanded we remove our helmets. The dragon lady snapped “take your helmet off”! It seemed that she was the only one doing that. Hey Ho! We arrived at our house at about 11.30pm and as I was pulling the Velo onto the stand, it started to rain. So ended another wonderful trip to France. We must not under estimate the effort it takes to arrange such an event as this, so, special thanks to Dave Humphrey for a truly fabulous visit to France, thank you from us all. 24 Velocette Owners Club

Wye Valley Camping rob Jones

The 2nd Wye Valley Camping, at Talybont on Usk in the Brecon Beacons, was from Tuesday 21st July to Friday 24th. In tents we had: Dave from Cirencester, Rod and Brian from West Mids, Phil, Vince and Rick from Welsh, and Dave and Graham from Wye Valley. Roughing it in motorhomes were John, Welsh Centre, and Rob and Peter, Wye Valley. Jim Plant was in B&B. We met in the ‘Star’ for a drink, meal and a natter. Wednesday’s planned ride was to be a scenic tour to Llantony Priory, then over the Gospel Pass to Hay on Wye and lunch at the Garden Centre at Three Cocks. We were joined by Chris B, on his Viper, and so parked on the main road were 11 Velos one BSA and one Ariel. Peter’s MAC suddenly snapped

a throttle cable at the campsite so he said he would join us later. As we pulled away the sky darkened and it began to rain. Turning off the Hereford Road and on the Llantony Road we found a yellow warning sign showing the road ahead closed - exactly where we were going. A quick discussion with Chris and the decision was made to take a diversion As we arrived at the B road we found another warning of a road closed and, yes, it was the route that we wanted to take! We had no option but to back track and take a narrow country lane towards Hay. As we rode along the high ground around Cusop the rain began to ease giving us a good view of the Golden Valley to the east of Hay. We were soon at our lunch stop at the garden centre where we met with John and Moll, had some warm food and dried off. The sunshine soon lifted our spirits and we starting our afternoon run with a northward loop before turning south to Talgarth where John Wilding had arranged a very interesting guided tour of the recently restored Watermill. From the here it was a quick 12 mile run along lovely, Velo friendly roads back to the camp. Here we found Peter who informed us that he had made the journey to the Priory at Llantony, waited in vain for us, then went over the Gospel Pass on wet, muddy and just about passable roads to Hay, but being unable to find us went for a ride on his own! Some of the riders went off to the ‘Star’ for an evening meal while others enjoyed Linda’s (Graham Plenty’s wife) lovely homemade cake and pastie before heading for the pub. Velocette Owners Club 25

On the Thursday we were joined by Eddie, Richard W and Keith. (Wye Valley). In dry and sunny weather, we headed up the Glyn Valley passing the Talybont Reservoir. Looking back at the top of the valley it was impressive to see 13 Velos twisting around the last hairpin bend. We had a tea stop at the Brecon Mountain Railway then went over Gelligaer Common, avoiding the usual wandering sheep, horses and cattle, and spotting the Severn Estuary and the Somerset Hills in the distance. We had lunch at the Railway Inn at Nelson leaving 13 Velos, a BSA, an Ariel and a Suzuki being admired in the carpark. From here we took the old main road to the cafe at Cyfarthfa Castle, Merthyr. This was once the home of the Crawshay family, owners of one of the largest ironworks of the 19th Century, before becoming a school and now a fine museum. We mislaid Dave Francis in the middle of Merthyr but he phoned me to explain that his MAC had refused to start. I left the rest at the museum and went back for him (after bump starting my MAC as it refused to start on the kick). My spare plug and jumping on the kickstart to get rid of flooded petrol got it going and luckily mine started without too much trouble either! On returning to the museum we had a cuppa and said our goodbyes. We all caught up for a meal at the pub, later, and chatted about the rides. Good routes, good company and mostly good weather.

Dorking GOES to Shropshire Dave Gladwell

Four days at the ‘Olde Boote’ Inn. Four days in Wales with no rain! Well almost none. 600 plus miles of great riding. Mike Toplis, George Howarth, Nigel Firth, Roger Catt, Alan Nightingale and myself, all had a good time. Very reasonable prices at the “Boote”, lovely beer. We met, as in previous years, at Jack’s Cafe on the A5 at Towchester. I was allowed to lead, as even I could remember Stay on the A5 till turning off on the B5009 for Whittington and the ‘Boote’. We decided to give Alan Nightingale a start as he was on a Triumph, this may have been a mistake as we didn’t catch him... We soon made contact with John Wakefield (a Centre member who moved to this area a few years ago). Next morning, after meeting Alex Wood, our new membership secretary, who lives locally, we set off on the first of our trips to great places led by John. First, to see the collection of racing motorcycles, helmets and leathers from famous riders and other race related memorabilia, owned by Phil Morris (selling cleaning products and polish - I resisted, but he was sure he could clean my KSS). Then an ancient wooden church at Melverly and the Roy Hill pub for lunch. We went to Stokesey Castle and could explore it all from dungeons to battlements. Then the unique Hoffman Kiln at Llanymynech, a grim place to have worked at, and the British Iron works at Oswestry (free ice cream). The high point on Friday was our trip to Ffestiniog and journey on the narrow gauge railway to Porthmadog and return. The train is hauled by a 26 Velocette Owners Club special double steam engine with two boilers and fire boxes so it could climb the steep gradients hauling slate. Mike Toplis could explain this engine, ( but he might be too big to stoke both fires in a cramped area). On Saturday night John and Diane made us welcome at their bungalow and a splendid meal was enjoyed by us all. Thanks to both of them. Diane said; “Women are known for chatter but you blokes would have outdone them.” Sunday, on our way home, we attended the VOC National Rally at Burntwood Rugby Club. It was very well organized. George and I met the new club chairman, Roger Franklin and his lovely wife, who gave us a cup of tea in their caravan (just to make everyone jealous). A great trip. I was a bit worried about getting old but the KSS (aged 78) loved it and so did I [Even though you’re 8 years older... - Ed].

Cadwell Park Festival John Hannis

North Lincs Centre were again invited to put on a club display at this year’s Cadwell Park Festival held on July 25/26. This was a much more ambitious event than the first one held last year with a top quality programme of races and parades and a host of stars from the past with Giacomo Agostini with his MV3 headlining the event. No Velos in the Lansdowne Trophy races these days but the Manx Nortons entered by club members Richard Adams and Jack Gooch were well up in their classes.

We had 7 to 8 Velos on the stand each day ranging from an early 2 stroke to a late Thruxton and attracted a lot of interest from the large crowd. TT rider Lee Johnston was very taken with Dave Wells’ 2 stroke. The weather was good on Saturday but the forecasters got Sunday spot on with the rain arriving at 12.30 just after a superb dogfight display by a Spitfire and an Me 109. Some slick organisation had got most of the race programme over before the rain came we left for a wet ride home. Thanks to John Mundey for organising the stand and to Dave Wells, Derek Manders, Graham Trowhill, Ken Barker, Peter Bateman, Frank Allinson, Paul Charlton (photo) and Pete Livesey for bringing bikes. Velocette Owners Club 27

A THRUXTON FOR THE ‘THRUXTON’ Paul Stewart

In June, the North Glos Road Racing club held its annual race meeting at Castle Combe Circuit in Wiltshire and, as part of the weekend of racing, the circuit owners decided they would like to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their running of this famous event by staging a parade of 3 laps. As one of the Bristol Centre runs is to the circuit for their mid-week track days, we are well known as a group of Velocette riders and were approached by the circuit motorcycle co-ordinator to provide machines for the parade along with other examples of marques that took part in the original event 50 years ago. I entered my Thruxton with slight apprehension, as the bike had had recent engine work and I had never even been on a race track and understood that it is easy to be drawn into going faster than you or the bike want. I rode my bike in heavy rain to the circuit to find I was the only Velocette present and the only participant to have ridden to the event. Seeing the quality and race history of some of the bikes I can quite understand it. There were only 8 entrants: five Triumphs, an Ariel, a Cotton and me. During the lunch break, with a thankfully dry track, we did our 3 laps with a Le Mans type start which all added to the event and the amusement of the crowd judging by the audio on the video. As my bike has a prop stand and Mikuni, it ticked over so I did not need a helper to support and/or keep it going, like most of the other bikes, and after we all found our way across the track at varying speeds, I was 3rd away. By the time I approached Quarry Bend the last of the Triumphs flew past me. Taking the bike to 5,000rpm and my probable unorthodox lines and braking I shouldn’t have been surprised how quickly the corners came up on you even at my modest speeds, but I was. Another thing that struck me was how wide the track was, which is easy for me to say when there were only 8 of us going at relatively low speeds. I know that it would shrink considerably when 20-30 riders are all after the racing line! After a thoroughly enjoyable 3 laps I checked the bike over and spoke to the others who all agreed it was good to be involved in a celebration of a well known event that happened half a century ago. The organizer also thanked us for providing bikes from the various classes that took part originally. No need for the oversuit for the ride home and I have a few pictures and a short video that will remind me of an enjoyable day in the years to come [Youtube? - Ed]. 28 Velocette Owners Club

‘Velo YOUR GARDEN’ tim Hendy

Thursday 21st May saw the unlikely arrival of twelve Velos at Chessington, assembling in secretive fashion at The Star pub, Leatherhead Road, with almost military precision, at approximately 16:45 hours... Fifteen minutes later, our gleaming cortege of chuntering examples of Veloce’s finest were heading towards a side-street nearby, the agreed rendezvous with an ITV film crew. Here’s how it came about. On 27th July last year, Alan Rendall, a Dorking member since 1970, noticed to his horror that smoke was billowing from his neighbour’s adjoining semi. He rushed outside to see blackened windows, melting guttering, and Roy, his elderly neighbour, prostrate on the floor, not moving. Dorothy, Roy’s wife, was seated in her armchair in the front of the house, motionless, engulfed in smoke, inaccessible. Alan plunged into the burning building, grabbed Roy by his ankles and dragged him out into the back garden, making to go back in to rescue Dorothy, who was by now beyond saving; beaten back by the inferno, Alan phoned fire, ambulance and police, and comforted Roy, who was conscious and unhurt, albeit deeply distressed. Several fire engines attended, the crews entering the blazing building from both front and rear, eventually bringing it under control. The roof was gone and with it almost everything else, leaving a bare shell. Sadly, Dorothy perished, of smoke inhalation it would appear, but Roy has survived, now wheelchair bound, living in a local nursing home. Alan’s house was not unscathed; he lost some guttering, and the place stank of smoke, from where it had filtered through under the floorboards. Also, his garden had suffered considerably from the fire crews who had accessed the burning house through his property. With this in mind, and taking into account Alan’s considerable bravery and heroism, Kate, his daughter, contacted the production team on the ITV series ‘Love Your Garden’, presented by Alan Titchmarsh, resulting in them agreeing to do a makeover. In the fact-finding and interviewing process, the team asked Kate to contact VOC Dorking, without telling her dad, to arrange Velocette outriders as part of the presentation. Thus it was that we assembled at the appointed place, waiting for Georgia, ‘Love Your Garden’s PA, to meet us in the company’s BMW 4WD. Duly it rolled up, and myself on Thruxton, and Brian Howard on MSS led, the other ten Velos bringing up the rear. We stopped at the church where Alan Rendall was unveiling a bench commemorating the life of Dorothy. Later, he said to me “I wondered why I should be collected by car to go back home when it’s only five minutes’ walk, and then I heard what sounded like a Velo, and then there were two, and..!” With stately pace we flanked the gleaming 4WD with Alan and wife Rosemary within, to his home but a few hundred yards further down Velocette Owners Club 29 the road, to gawping passers by; and there we assembled, a dozen mounts, KSS, MAC, Viper, Venom, etc, on Alan’s drive. He stepped out of the car and through and out the back, as if in a dream, to see his newly made-over garden for the first time! Here, too, were Alan Titchmarsh and the team of around ten muddied, strapping, ruddy-faced young gardeners, who had been labouring there for the last few days; and what a sight it was too! Fashioned on an automotive theme, with curved beds, (think Brooklands banked circuit) a Rover 75 garden seat (yes, actually the front end of a Rover 75 car!), actual-sized murals of a vintage Bentley and BMW(!) motorbike on the workshop doors at the end of the garden, and, not least, the weathervane salvaged from neighbours Roy and Dorothy’s wrecked roof, in pride of place in the newly- beautified garden, depicting two girder-forked vintage motorcycles with riders, one of whom is the late, great Freddie Frith. This had been made by Roy, an expert in wrought iron fabrication. Alan R seemed overwhelmed at times, a tear in his eye, confiding in me that, aside from the garden which is absolutely brilliant, “the three best things of the day were: dedicating the bench in Dorothy’s memory, showcasing the weathervane, and, best of all, twelve Velo-borne Velofellows!” Alan T took the whole thing in his stride, all smiles, agreeing to photographs with all and sundry, on that fine sunny day in late May which showed the garden, bikes, guests, friends and family in the best ever light. The latest series of ‘Love Your Garden’, presented by Alan Titchmarsh, began early June, and this one, featuring Alan Rendall’s makeover, was shown on 14th July. Velos on prime-time ITV! 30 Velocette Owners Club

Elves in the Chapel by our Staff Reporter When you send off your order to Veloce Spares Limited do you give any thought to what goes on between your envelope sliding into the post box and the jiffy bag coming through the door? No? Me neither, it’s just another mail order business isn’t it? Well, actually, it’s not. With the prospect of Velo dealers disappearing, VSL was set up by the Club to ensure the continued availability of spares for our machines. So, it’s OUR mail order business and it’s run entirely by Volunteers - Club members just like you and Nick, Dave, John and me. This made me think more about what they Tom at the ‘Old Chapel’ do and I spent a day with them to find out... Thursdays is not usually a good day for chapel attendance, but at ‘The Old Chapel’ at Huncote, things are different! This is the day when members’ orders are processed and despatched. Currently there are 13 ‘Helpers’ on the list from as near as Burbage (just down the road) to as far as Lincoln. There are usually 2 or 3 rostered for each ‘Spares Day’, working with a couple of VSL ‘officials’ (still Volunteers – but with more responsibilities…). I joined Dave Wright (VSL Company Secretary), Tom Tunnicliffe (PRO), Tony Harris (Asst Spares Sec) and Helpers, Nick Morrish and John Taylor, to try my hand. Orders The first task is to collect all the orders. These may arrive in the post, by fax or by email. All the post is held by the post office, and Tom and I went off to collect it from ‘J’, the postmaster, who is an obliging and amiable man. Changes are afoot and ‘J’ is to retire: we hope his successor will continue the excellent service he has provided. Meanwhile John had printed off the emails, and we were ready to start Picking Anybody who has bought parts from a motor factor will have marvelled at the ability of the staff to know the part number (among thousands…) when you wave some grubby item at them and say it’s from an ‘86 Nissan… It’s no different here, except that this new boy, being Velocette Owners Club 31

clueless, had to do some cross-referencing. Taking an order at random, I find that out of 5 lines, 2 are incorrectly referenced. Happily, other information (model, price and associated parts) enable us to sort this out. Hence the importance of experienced and knowledgeable Velo enthusiasts in the team, and, as a last resort, a telephone number! This is by no means uncommon, adds to the workload of the team and may lead to delays in fulfilling the order or an incorrect part being supplied. Quality starts with YOU! Parts, Administration Parts, The admin is managed through a computer system designed and programmed by Tony Wright, another Parts, VSL volunteer. This integrates order processing with stock control and the Club’s membership Parts! information. It is sophisticated yet easy to use, and I was able to do so after watching Tom perform just one cycle. At each stage there are checks and feedbacks which ensure that parts are only supplied to current members and that the invoice is in accordance with the order. This helped me to avoid an error in the number of pieces ordered by Alex Wood, our new Membership (Renewals) Secretary. It was surprising how many names I recognised on the orders! Payment Credit cards simplify the collection of payments, but can get out of date – including my own! I was able to update the record, noticing that my ‘new’ expiry date is in September, so I will have to do this again soon. Another thing to bear in mind, if you don’t want your order delayed… There is also an option in the system to correct the postage and packing charges. It flags up the ‘standard’ allowance (15% UK, 25% overseas) but this can often exceed the actual cost, so care is taken to adjust this appropriately. On one of the monthly ‘Open Days’ of course, this step is skipped. The final step is to collect the payment from the credit card. Details of card numbers, etc. for email orders are held on a paper file, which is always securely stored in the safe when not in use. This has further verification routines which ensure the right card is used for the right order, and when all has gone through, the admin system is updated to show the amount collected and reconcile it with the order total. 32 Velocette Owners Club

Stock Control At the end of the process any stock shortage Help US to thrown up by this order will be highlighted so that help YOU... they can be addressed immediately, if necessary. When ordering, In my case I had used the last three ‘VSL180’ clutch cable boots, and a ‘pop-up’ confirmed that there • Double check your were none left. Happily (and unsurprisingly!) part numbers and there were 250 more in ‘Goods received’ awaiting prices placement in the relevant bin. Yet another task for • Make sure you the dedicated band of Volunteers who help us to include a contact keep our bikes on the road. telephone Packing • Ensure your credit On this day, we had several orders to be collected card details are from the Club Rally, the following weekend. up to date Those to be posted had to be bagged and labelled • Write CLEARLY… and I had been hoping to meet the long serving ‘Head of Packing’, Bill Morris. Sadly he wasn’t rostered to be there on the day (although that doesn’t necessarily stop him...) but Tony Harris got stuck in before having to leave. The pile must then be transported to the post office and the given into the care of ‘J’. Housekeeping This leaves things like restocking and generally leaving the store in good order for the next time - a time consuming but very necessary task. All in all... While this is serious work and demands attention to detail and a firm commitment, it is also a pleasant social get together with the warm feeling that we are making a contribution to the club and keeping these splendid motorcycles on the road, where they belong. I’d like to thank all the Huncote ‘Elves’ (Extra Lpful Velo Enthusiasts!) for putting up with me and for their good company at a convivial lunch we were able to purchase at the ‘Red Lion’.

A BLUE VIPer stephen East

I thought members might appreciate a look around my 1962 Viper Clubman. Supplied by Jordan’s of Hull on the 5th November that year, she was one of only 6 finished in ‘Oxford Blue’. She still sports the TT carb and magneto but has been refurbished in black. [Has anybody got one in, er, blue?! - Ed] Velocette Owners Club 33

The end of THE Crank Case Study Peter Woodward

The damaged Venom crank case has been very useful to sort out a suitable position for the reed valve. The area I finally decided on was beside the oil pump housing at the rear. The photograph shows the valve in position, with the cover removed for viewing the gold painted limit stop arms and reeds in position below. A slot just visible under the reeds behind the ports, is to control flat surface adhesion in this area. Valve performance can be watched on the dial of a pressure/vacuum test gauge. The timing chest drain down to the suction filter connection has changed the situation completely in the timing chest. The original oil drain hole should be blanked off with filler and the balance breather hole between the compartments also blanked off. Blow back now avoided, the breather under the magneto vents air out. The photograph show the flexible rubber pipe and fittings for the chest scavenge and they are styled in a positive way. The square end of the suction chamber fitting was Velocette practice, used in the past for mounting a union fitting on one of the flats. The crank case suction filter face, has been counter bored a ¼” deeper to reduce the projection of the square end fitting and the BSP thread tapped deeper to suit. The nozzle, now a separate item, screws into the square end body and has a lock nut. Adjustment provided here of ¼” should find the ideal position in the Venturi to assist with the crank case scavenge. None of the above has been tested. However, it has been engineered with care and attention to detail. 34 Velocette Owners Club

Velo front brake adventure Alan Glen

I bought a pile of junk as a project in about 1980. Over several years I established myself as a customer of Geoff Dodkin, whose advice I found priceless. Eventually I got the 1956 MSS (17/8 cam, 8.86 compression ratio) on the road and realised how poor the small front brake was. I tried to improve this and converted a Kawasaki 250 3cylinder TLS back plate to fit the half width MSS drum. I had to reverse the rotation as I had a ‘TTS’ brake initially (I never thought about this as I was so focused with alloy welding and machining etc.). I needed to make a new brake anchor for the LH side slider. The brake worked well from about 90 to about 40 MPH but was overheated at that stage. I raced it for the first time in Mondello park in Ireland and was dismayed with the performance. A fellow classic class competitor gave me a TLS front wheel from a Norton Commando (forgotten his name). This was an improvement with some tyre screeching possible when the brake was cold to hot, but it was useless from hot to extremely hot. The stiffening plate improved the spongy feel of the brake but did not improve the hot/extremely hot performance. I got used to it and worked with it. Years passed and, as I rode the bike again, I contrasted it to a twin disc set up (Trident T150 c1973) and realised it was borderline acceptable for modern traffic; indeed it curbed my enthusiasm a little bit for the old bike. I decided to fit an original Velocette TLS brake, as I had never had one. Good old Nick Payton, Colliers Wood, London, had a kit of parts in stock which included a raw casting and a sample TLS back plate from which I could take dimensions. The parts were new old stock but I found machining inaccuracies in the alloy hub carrier as well as the brake drum (the casting was not round). My first assembly of the drum showed a run out of about 0.006 ins. When I checked the alloy drum carrier I found this was out of spec.. I managed to set up and machine the carrier and then install the hub and then machine the drum true to the wheel bearing axis after I had laced up, and trued the wheel. All this was routine. The interesting bit was the The raw casting and a sample back machining activities on the back plate plate for dimensions casting. My small Myford Super 7 lathe and Dore Westbury milling machine were taken to the limit in my small workshop. Velocette Owners Club 35

Plan • Measure up the old sample back plate • Confirm the machining strategy and ways of managing machined items. I have only two 3 jaw chucks and one 4 jaw chuck. I recognised the need to keep the position checking pins secured in the 3 jaw chuck (accurately machined on centre) until I had achieved a particular process step - trying to realign items removed from a chuck is always tiresome. I chose to eliminate this variation from the process; fortunately the machine tool registers are accurate. • Confirm the machining strategy for the Model Engineering sized Lathe and Milling machine. (items, far, far too big for the machine tools, but I found a way to get at the surfaces which needed machining). • Make up a pattern plate and sample pins to confirm the geometry of the centre lines of any bored holes in the casting. Materials The back plate was an original casting , no idea of the date, and appeared to have a small blow hole, impurity near the plate centre. This may have been the reason why the casting was not machined originally. No data on this, however. Machining Items 1. Master plate, 2. Backplate, 3. Hub Carrier, 4. Hub, 5. Air scoop front. Datum The original measurements on the sample back plate were not symmetrical in any way. The dimensions were checked and differences averaged around the possible fractions of an inch rather that decimal points of an inch. I made up a master plate. A friend The alloy plate with centres for checking helped out with a CNC machine to geometry and central register pin which position holes on the averaged out was a tight a fit as I could make it in both symmetrical centres etc.. the plate and the machined back plate Mounting backplate 1. Tap threads into the brake shoe post holes (8mm x 1.25) to secure backplate to faceplate. 2. Mount the back plate on the milling machine and machine 2 flat reference surfaces for mounting it on the face plate. 3. Make up 2 x parallel spacers to facilitate mounting. 36 Velocette Owners Club

Turning Fortunately the plate fitted in the gap of the Myford and this enabled machining with the centre boss 0.060 approx proud of the outer edge, and also the recess for the air dam on the edge of the drum. I bored the centre to fit the insert which pushes into the back plate to receive the wheel spindle. This diameter was a reference datum for the central guide pin and the masterplate used later on the milling machine with guide pins to confirm geometry. Backplate mounted on faceplate. No Plate chatter evident when turning The plate was made to confirm the positioning of the back plate on the milling machine prior to boring holes for the cam bushes and the posts. Pins Machined pins with Go / No Go diameters were made as I find that accurate measurement of small holes is difficult especially when I don’t have spring-outs that small. A location test pin was made for the posts and cam bush holes. These were left in the 3 jaw chuck so that it could be repositioned on the machine tool registers accurately. Boring Boring the plate for the posts and the cam bushes was routine but also anxiety ridden as I did not want to go too far. Hub Carrier/Hub The carrier and hub both needed to be machined. The carrier was turned by hand (mounted on its own bearings and external dirt shield, etc.) very slowly while a fly cutter was used to address the surface which the iron hub mounts on. The hub was fitted and I built the wheel and cleaned up the hub run out by a few thou to get a nice even surface. I marked the surface with felt pen to see where the high spots were machined away. I drove the built up wheel, with an electric drill and a pulley and a belt, and wound down the milling machine cutter vertically to cut the cast iron. High spots were easily visible where the tool cut away the material. Performance on the road Initial assembly/cable adjustment: the brake felt spongy and I needed to extend the cable length with a 530 split link until the shoes bedded in. First application was disappointing - very spongy - but a braking effect was clearly discernible. Second application at about 40 mph gave tyre screech at Velocette Owners Club 37 about half sponge (very reassuring). Now, after 200 miles, I am delighted with the feel but due to self servo effect I have added an external spring to the cable just above the connection to the brake arm to help push off the brake. The brake is firm and progressive and many times better than the Norton brake. I am using an old heavy duty (HD) cable supplied by Dodkin 30 years ago. Much different in dimensions to the latest HD cable supplied commercially. Given the effort I had to exert to the Norton brake through a Norton cable, I was anxious about pulling the nipples off the cable, however this is unlikely now with the way this brake performs. At last, ready for the road. I have not road tested the current linings to see if the material will stand 110 to zero without becoming smoke (they are new old stock - riveted on). The silver paint on the drum is already burning off around town. The brake is converting kinetic energy into heat. Plenty of it, as I am a large person... Thoughts on cooling I secured the wire mesh at the cooling air exits with ‘JB Weld’. The air scoop into the drum is many time bigger that the exit from the drum. At speed, this probably creates a positive pressure (not to mention hot air expanding) which helps drive air to the hottest place on the hub. Cooling takes place as the air moves around the edge of the hub/air dams groove in the back plate. The air scoop is asymmetric and clamps the wire mesh. The next step... When the brake has done some more miles the spokes will be tightened again post ‘running in’, etc.. The performance is very positive due to the rigid feel which gets better every journey. If I get high speed heat fade , which is plausible, then I shall source better lining to deal with this. I have to say even post modification to the Norton front wheel/new drum/skimmed post-wheel building/oversize linings machined to just clear the new drum diameter/new bushes throughout the brake plate/stiffening plate/etc./etc./etc… the Velo brake appears to be far superior, right now, and I say this despite the fact that I am not as skinny as I used to be, and there is even more of my wonderfulness to be brought to a halt and turned into heat than before… PS - If anyone is interested in a more comprehensive set of photos or indeed a small air scoop to bolt to your front brake plate then do get in touch - [email protected] 38 Velocette Owners Club

A Velo in the Family Alan Borthwick

It all started in 1944 when my dad and his pal Ted bought the Southampton registered MAC. It had been previously owned by someone in the Army who used to travel from there to Catterick Camp in North Yorkshire. The bike was well used by Dad for his daily commute to work and for touring with Ted at weekends and holidays. The sad photo below was taken in 1950. Dad and Ted were travelling around Loch Ness when the front wheel got stuck in a trench that had been dug across the road. The gravel backfill had been washed away after some heavy rain. Dad came off and hit a granite wall leaving him unconscious for five days. Ted rolled down a grass bank towards the loch. The final picture shows the same setting created at the Beamish Open Air Museum in Co Durham. Anyone familiar with the museum will know that a row of miners’ cottages from Francis Street in Hetton-le-Hole was taken down and rebuilt at Beamish. This is the street where Dad was born and the opportunity was taken to replicate the photo in the same back yard 64 years later. Dad used the bike daily until I was born when four wheeled transport called. The bike, like many others, was laid up in the back yard shed. It stood for fifteen years until I became interested and the job of restoration began - the engine was seized and the tin-worm was evident. With money being tight before the bike was laid up, both tyres were completely smooth and the lighting system comprised of a dry 6V battery tied under the saddle and the bulbs replaced with 1½ watt torch bulbs. This system was used to travel from Hetton-le-Hole to Hartlepool each day a return trip of approx 40 miles, this was in 1957 so don’t knock Mr Miller with 45 watt headlights. After putting the bike back together I used it regularly from 1974-77 and the Beamish Trial for many years after that. In 1977 I bought a Viper for £150, a Venom Clubman was also available, but at £175 totally out of reach, financially. The Viper was eventually Velocette Owners Club 39 transformed into a Venom Doreen, Alan’s in Clubman’s trim after I mam, 88 melted a hole in the piston this year! and Frankie Blacklock, who owned the local bike scrap yard, just happened to have a Venom barrel and head lying in the grass. The ‘Venom’ was well used until the late ‘80s, eventually being sold and replaced with a 1925 Aveling and Porter 8 ton steam roller. [See front cover -Ed] Dad died shortly after the roller was bought and the MAC hardly saw the light of day until my son Andrew passed his test and took an interest in it. Half a day spent cleaning the carb and mag, and an oil change, brought all the memories rolling back. We had planned to take the steam roller to the Isle of Man for the ‘Transport Festival’ and leave it there for the ‘Island at Work’ weekend two weeks later, so put the bike on the wagon with the engine. One of the highlights of the festival week was the Sunday. We were at Laxey Station with the engine and bike when a familiar noise was heard. It turned out to be the VOC on an organised run. What a beautiful sound as all the Velos went past through the valley and turned, heading towards the Creg. Returning a fortnight later for the ‘Island at Work’ we spent the Saturday at Douglas railway station so the opportunity was taken for Andrew and myself to take the bike round the TT course. We couldn’t have picked a more unpleasant cold and windy day, third gear all the way up the Mountain. Sunday was spent at Port Erin Station and again the bike was out and about. A familiar voice was heard: it was Grant Sellars on the island for the Manx. I thought I recognised the bike, especially when I saw those two scruffy buggers on it - Andrew and his friend David in their period steam engine attire! Plans are under way to return to the Island in July this year for these two events. From there it was back home and to Beamish for the ‘Transport Festival’ where this reconstructed photo was taken. 40 Velocette Owners Club Centre News ALCester Stuart Smith

I had planned to shock those who turned up for our July mid day meet by arriving on my MSS but sadly it didn’t turn out that way. An unforeseen prior engagement in Birmingham on the morning of our meet meant that I didn’t have time to exercise my partially lost knack of kick starting a Velo and I had to continue to the meet on my modern machinery. I managed to make it to the Witley garden tearooms at Witley Court just a little later than intended and found a good few already well settled down in the gardens and enjoying the ‘ambience’ of the place and the steadily improving weather. Around twenty turned up which included a good turnout of the West Mids mob who had called in on their excursion into the delights of the Worcestershire countryside. The ladies at the tearoom looked after us admirably and it was only the heat of the afternoon sun that eventually encouraged us to make a move and depart this delightful spot. As you might have guessed my MSS is back on the road after its rather long ‘overhaul’. The replacement piston together with the ministrations of Nick Payton in sorting the cylinder head has resulted in a much improved sound and feel to the bike. I’ll not go into detail about the traumatic experience Parcelforce inflicted on me when it managed to ‘lose’ the return of my (under insured) cylinder head from Nick, redirecting it to their overseas depot before someone thankfully realised that it wasn’t destined for the Birmingham in Alabama. Nina and I rode down to Fairford earlier this month. We went to see the Vulcan. No, not THE Bob Higgs Vulcan, the other one, whose flying days are sadly coming to an end this year. Purely by chance, just ten minutes after we arrived, with a roar like a nearby a train it appeared over the horizon for its display. What a plane and how sad that it will soon become a museum piece! Has anyone any old photos from the early days of Alcester Centre that would be suitable for our new website? If so and you are willing for them to be published, send them to me via my email address and I will pass them on to our Webmaster. Finally, a rumour is being put around that Alcester Centre members find it “too difficult” to get to the VOC National rally at its new venue. Like a good many rumours this is a totally distorted version of fact, usually the invention of either malicious or misguided persons. I believe this rumour is based on a conversation at a recent Centre midday meeting where one Alcester Centre member recounted how he had mistakenly taken the wrong turning from a roundabout and unfortunately ended up on the M6 toll road whilst trying to get to the National rally, something that could happen to anyone... Velocette Owners Club 41

BRISTOl adrian Holloway

It’s been a fairly quiet few weeks as a result of members enjoying additional pursuits during the school holidays - entertaining their grandchildren, keeping the gardens under control, holidays and so forth, although a few rides have been squeezed in during favourable weather! In late June, Castle Combe staged a parade to mark the 50th anniversary of their first running of the ‘Thruxton 500’, in which member Paul Stewart rode his Thruxton. [See page 27 - Ed] Well Done, Paul! A good turnout there on 5th August: 9 Velos plus 2 members on other bikes. We had a good natter with each other and with some of the other track day riders who were commemorating two who had died of cancer. They kindly offered us tea, sandwiches and cake, in return for a small donation to their charity fund. The sight and sound of the bikes departing more or less en masse caused a bit of a stir. The Classical Vehicle Meet at Frenchay, Bristol on 11th July proved to be a glorious day, weather-wise, and generated considerable interest with an abundance of vintage cars and motorcycles making an appearance, including 6 Velocettes. It was great to see Keith astride his Velo LE again, which delivered him to the venue, but played him up no end on the way home! Keith, you were lucky you were only 5 miles from home! The weather was somewhat damp, to put it politely, for the Stourhead Gardens run on 12th July, but I understand that one stalwart member attended in his car and was most disconcerted to find himself completely on his own! To add to his consternation, his windscreen wipers failed on the way home - not a good day at all. I must mention that one of our loyal, long-term members, John Willmott, tells me that he has been riding motorcycles for over 70 years. John regularly attends our Tuesday club nights and is an inspiration to us all. CAMBRIDGe Peter Tibbitts

We were represented at May’s Border Run, courtesy of Steve Hallam. I gather he had a great time up there on his Venom. Our first Sunday meetings continue to be popular. This month new member John Goodchild made an appearance, and Don Daly rode up from Essex on his MAC. Readers following the Valiant saga reported last issue may be interested to learn that that front crank oil seal was determined to be a main factor in the rate of oil loss. All efforts by the owner and his chums failed to separate the flywheel from its tapered shaft, and the whole job has been handed over to the professionals (who will doubtless apply more force…). 42 Velocette Owners Club

On the admin front, I am still trying to get the Centre’s email address list correct. This is used to send out reminders of our local meetings. I have incorrect addresses for Bill Smith, Mark Barker, and Sean Gentle. Please could they email me if they wish to be on the circulation list, thanks. Hope to see you at either our 3rd Wednesday or 1st Sunday lunchtime meetings. Chelmsford Alan Morris

Tuesday 16th June was Rob Urand’s planned Day Run, unfortunately Rob was unable to make it so he changed with Norman Archard. Although the alteration was on our website no one noticed the change. So it was only myself (Venom) and Norman (750 Honda) who set off from the”Ship” towards Newmarket for Anglesey Abbey. Both of us had visited the Abbey before, however navigation was a little bit out. So we found ourselves chasing along the Cambridgeshire roads and lanes eventually arriving at the Abbey in time for lunch. The weather was fine and 170 miles was put on the Venom clock, so thanks Norman for an interesting run and lunch. Pete Gilmore was given the opportunity to do an evening run on Wednesday 24th June. Only John Chisnall and I met Pete at the ‘Ship’ at 7.00pm. Being Pete’s first club run, John and myself thought he had done very well, covering about 24 miles of mainly traffic free Essex lanes - and no U turns! We ended up at the ‘Viper’ PH Mill Green Ingatestone for a pleasant pint. Pete Merrick arrived later on his Yamaha Diversion (shame more members did not participate). Disappointingly none of our regular Chelmsford members who generally ride to VOC Rally could make it this year. However I was informed that Ken Morris did - not sure if it was on 2 wheels though? Our July meeting at the ‘Ship’ brought forth 7 of us. John Chisnall and myself were first on the scene followed by Patrick Waters on a moped Yamaha 80. Later on 3 lads arrived on their immaculate machinery: 2 Venom’s (may have been Clubman’s) and a 750 Norton Commando. One of them was Mark Woodland a new member, but I did not find out who his 2 friends were. To complete our gathering Bernard Stripp drove in on his very nice 3 wheeler car. We are certainly getting a good selection of different machinery at these meetings. Finally on Tuesday 21st July George Coates turned up at the ‘Ship’ to take us on a days run around the Essex lanes. Seven of us set off at 10.00am on various machinery. George C. (Venom Clubmans), John C. (MSS), Alan M. (Venom), Norman A (750 Honda), Rob U. (916 Ducati), Graham O. (SRX 600) and new guy Geoff (Suzuki 1400). George’s route was on traffic free pleasant country lanes, some of which were quite new to me. A tea break was a most welcomed Velocette Owners Club 43 stop at a Garden Centre (thanks for the treat, George). In brilliant sunshine George led us to our final destination for our pub lunch at ‘The Compasses’ Littlely Green. Thanks George for a splendid days run in good company. Don’t miss out keep checking our events on the Chelmsford Website. Safe Riding CHester Bob Derry

Our summer meetings continue with a reasonable level of attendance, usually about twelve centre members although our August 6th meeting saw seventeen of us at the Plough. We have recently seen five new faces plus we’ve had visits from long established members who haven’t been able to attend for a while. It will be great if we can keep up this level of attendance. We recently met at the Kings Head at Pentre Llanrhaeader on the same night as the Vintage Sports Car Club (as last year) and saw some rare cars 2 pre-1930 Bentley’s, a pre-1930 RR, and an ‘E type’ Jaguar to name but four). Six members from the centre attended our national rally and thoroughly enjoyed the day. The man with the miniature engines was well worth talking to and these mechanical marvels were incredibly well made. Thanks to the committee and the West Midlands centre for all their hard work in putting on this event. It is worth noting that second hand spares appear to be getting rather more difficult to get hold of judging by the auto jumble ! On Sunday July 26th we held our Harold Willis memorial run arranged as usual by Geraint Jones. The weather was foul but we had six Velocettes and a Honda. It rained hard all the way to Harlech but when we arrived it stopped, which allowed us to enjoy our lunch at the Beach cafe. The proprietor showed us this years Norton O.C. calendar. October’s photo was of a very nice Manx which belonged to his brother. As we set off for home, it started to hammer down again but this time accompanied by very strong winds. Despite that we all really enjoyed our day out and will be doing it again next year. Thanks, Geraint. By the time this issue arrives on your doorstep our evening talk by ex- velo employee Gareth Lewis will have taken place so I will let you know how it went in the next FT. Safe and hopefully dry riding to all. 44 Velocette Owners Club

DORKING Dave Gladwell

The weather forecast had predicted rain all day for Sunday June 28th but ‘God rides a Velo’ obviously. The barbeque at Ian & Avril’s was blessed with perfect motor-cycling weather. A couple of “threatened” rain falls were just sufficient to make us enjoy the sunshine even more. A fine turn out of Velos came including Denis Frost’s 1928 T.T. winner KTT. He has a ‘slick’ back tyre now - slick, but not in the usual sense! The run out into the Sussex countryside was planned by Ray and Sandra Smith, we set off soon after 10am and rode as a group, following Brian Howard and Peter ‘pathfinder’ Read. We had each been given a superb detailed route card by Ray, in case anyone wanted to be alone or managed to get lost. A splendid route of about 40 miles including a halfway stop at ‘Heaven’ Farm near Danehill for coffee and bacon sandwiches. Entertainment was provided at the farm by Tim ‘Thruxton’ Hendy who played with a hen from the farm. A cockerel strutted up: “You messing with my bird?” Tim quickly released her! When we got back to Clayton a splendid Barbeque was ably dealt with by Ian, George Howarth, Peter and Di Thomas. The ‘afters’, of cakes, pie, trifle and cream, were provided by Avril and her helpers. They worked hard all day while we enjoyed ourselves. The bar did good business presided over by Mike Greenfield, Gerry (our Chairman), Peter Read, myself and others. Rumours that Bar staff got free beer are not true (well, hardly). Towards the end of a wonderful day, the raffle was drawn by Dave Hempsted - the star prize going to his wife, Heather!!! Thanks to all who sold the tickets and provided prizes for us to win. A total of £250 was raised to be donated to Avril’s chosen charity, the N.S.P.C.C. What a happy day!

DOrset John Fear

No Dorset notes in FT 429, partly due to family matters, but also due to generally poor weather such that not much was worth reporting. I have rounded up a few topics which I hope are informative and possibly even interesting! Firstly I am pleased to report that the planned visit to Devizes to see Dave Cox (ex Secretary and mainstay for the Bob Foster run for many years) has taken place recently, Three club members rode up to Dave and Jan’s new abode, all on Velos, of course, including Steve on Dave’s old MOV. The trip was not entirely trouble free, but I won’t go into details! Unfortunately I managed to break a collar bone prior to the run, so was unable to make it myself and in fact it rather messed up the ride-in day as well (more of that later). Velocette Owners Club 45

I am informed by our illustrious Bob Foster Run Director (Sandy) that the intended changes for this year’s 25th anniversary event have been implemented and will mean a change of rotation around the course - i.e. clockwise - with some changes to the route as well, such that the outward and return sections are fairly equal I understand. The lunch stop will be as before at Freshwater Beach Caravan Park and the usual bun fight and presentations, etc., will be unchanged. Fairly shortly, I will be sending out electronic forms and info to all Dorset members with email, but be aware that Sandy has recently moved and has a different address since last years paperwork, also note the pre-entry closing date is 20th September and not the 4th as shown on the form. Anyone without email can check out more information and Sandy’s contact details in FT 429 [And in this edition - see ‘Noticeboard’ - Ed]. So, back to the Ride In on 12th July. With me incapacitated Steve Gayler kindly stepped in at short notice to cover and in particular take the ride. Unfortunately the weather was pretty grotty and turnout was poor after last year. Nevertheless three or four brave souls took it in their stride, not least of all a couple of visitors from the Isle of Wight of all places. Les and Dot started out very early, came over the ferry, rode through the New Forest (foreign territory) to arrive on time, determined to do the 40 mile ride whatever the conditions. They completed the run, stayed for lunch and then left for the lengthy journey home. That’s what I call enthusiasm! Apparently they enjoyed the whole day and were keen to join us on any future activities we organise. They will be most welcome. Finally, it seems that summer in Dorset has come in fits and starts with blazing sun one day, cloudy cool days the next or thunder and pouring rain at a moments notice. Not ideal for planning a riding season, not that I am doing any riding at the moment due to an incident with a large British twin on a gravel drive and a vicious sprung side stand! Still it’s Popham this week end albeit on four wheels, plus Shepton and Netley Marsh in September and hopefully I will be on two again for the Bob Foster.

EAST MIDLANDs Geoff Bloor

The Centre was saddened by the news that Dave Mead had passed away. Dave was a really nice guy and a good friend to all who knew him; he will be sadly missed. Sincere condolences go out to his wife June and family, and also to our President, Ivan, on his loss of his partner Joy. On the 27th June our Centre’s annual BBQ took place at the windmill home of Mike and Yvonne Lawrence. This is a superb event not to be missed. Thanks Mike and Yvonne, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. On July 1st we had our ‘Show off your Velo’ night with over 30 bikes attending. The winning Velo was Nigel Lines’s Cammy Special. In 2nd place 46 Velocette Owners Club was the Velo Racer of Graham Austen (see picture ) which will be raced by Tony Ainley in this years Manx GP and the best non Velo was the Calthorpe of Trevor Bostock. The Rempstone Crossroads Run on the 15th July was well supported we went through all the local villages then back to The Red Lion for a pint. Thanks to Paul Hunnicette for piloting us and also on the 1st August when we had another run this time to the private museum of Mike Wilds at Crich. We had a good turnout 11 Velos and 1 Triumph, including our President, Ivan, on the 1928 Bennett TT bike. We were all so pleased to see him on this fabulous iconic machine. The museum was full of Rudges and a solitary Venom Sport. His collection and memorabilia were amazing. The ride home was a bit wet but it did not matter - we had had a superb day. While writing this I have just packed my MK8 and Aermachi into my van before going off to Germany to compete in the Schottenring Grand Prix, This will be my 15th time to this great event. Safe riding. [And you, Geoff! - Ed]

ISLE OF MAN Michael Hodgson

Excellent turn outs for the last two runs. Steve Cox’s on the 12th June followed by Cliff’s run last Sunday (August 9th). We seem to be getting some better weather after a disappointing summer for us ‘Northern folk’. Less and less Classic Bikes seem to make it over for the TT these days but bikes are already appearing a week before the Manx Festival. We are all set for another 3rd Thursday meeting at the Creg ny Baa this month followed by our M.G.P. programme starting with a 10.00am gathering at the Ginger Hall Hotel on Sunday August 30th then on to the Jurby Festival the same day, hosted by Tony East and his band of VMCC helpers. There should be over 16,000 people expected this year with a full complement of exotic classic race machines and their famous riders. Wednesday September 2nd evening (7.00pm on) sees us as usual upstairs in the function room at the Creg. Order your food at the bar downstairs and it will be delivered upstairs. Our September run will again be set by Ken Blackburn starting 2.00pm prompt from the Douglas Grandstand on the 6th. Velocette Owners Club 47

KENT AND SUSSEX Clive Larby

Hello! I am back in the fold again after an 18 month lay off. My MAC now has an Alton electric starter, hopefully to keep me riding a few more years. Harold Beal had one fitted to his Venom first. He fitted mine with great difficulty as they are not made for the MAC and MOV, which have smaller crankcases and main shaft than the others. The Sittingbourne Run and the West Kent International were blessed with good weather. By the time you read this the Ramsgate Sprint, and the bike night at the ‘Frog and Orange’ will have been and gone. On the 6th September will be the Dickie Dunster Run (Kent Gliding Club, 10.30am) led by Brian Andrews. On the 7th there it’s Club Night at the ‘Wagon & Horses’. Details of the run on the 13th are yet to be announced. Looking forward into October, we have the Girder Fork Run on the 11th from Dunkirk village hall This year Nick Pearce will be leading the run instead of Richard Mummery. This will be followed by the AGM at the ‘Plough & Harrow’ in Bridge at 8 pm on the 14th.

NORTH LINCs John Hannis

A busy month with two evening meetings as well as putting on a display at the Cadwell Festival, reported elsewhere. On July 22nd we had our annual visit to the King William at Scaftworth to meet with the Vintage Sports Car Club and the VMCC. For the first time, Velos outnumbered both the cars and the VMCC. On July 29th we visited Dave Wells to view some of his collection of Velos. The bikes cover the whole range of Velocette production and the whole range of conditions from ‘as found’ to fully restored. It was so interesting we never got to the pub but stayed at Dave’s chatting and drinking his tea and coffee. It was good to see a new face, Les Humphreys from Grantham. I hope we were able to convince him that the rattle from his Venom was only piston slap from a solid skirt piston in an Alfin barrel and not an indication of impending disaster. It’s a nice bike. Last weekend on August 9th there was a concours at the Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa that used to be the officers mess for the Dambusters 617 squadron during the war. Mainly cars but John Mundey brought along the Mk1 KTT that he’s only just finished restoring for a Velo enthusiast in Australia. It’s a superb job and rightly won first prize in its class. For those with long memories, this is one of the KTT’s that used to be campaigned by Barry Blyth in vintage racing back in the 70’s. I don’t think Barry would recognise it now. Photo (overleaf, by Paul Charlton) from our visit to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at Coningsby. We were shown round the BBMF hangar by a volunteer guide. Inexpensive and a highly enjoyable experience. 48 Velocette Owners Club

Peter Livesey, Derek Manders, John Mundey, Ray Meggett (a guest on a nice 650 CSR AJS), Peter Snowden, John Hannis, Peter Bateman and Frank Allinson Northumbrian John Duguid

Our June Velo Club evening run had an excellent turn out at The Dyke Nuke with, surprisingly, Velocette being the most prominent marque. My Vogue had a run out to The Quay Motorcycle Clubs 10th Anniversary Show at North Shields on Sunday 19th of July. 321 various two and three wheeled vehicles attended on a mostly sunny day. Quite a few people including motorcyclists had never seen a Vogue ! Comments like “is this a British motorcycle” , “it looks like something from Thunderbirds” and, lastly, “I can see why they only built 380 machines”. How unkind. Our next Club evening ride will be to the Swinburne Arms Stamfordham NE18 0QG on Tuesday August 24th for 7pm.

Scottish Raymond Albeson

By the time you read this the Biggar Show will be passed. We have 14 signed up for the Club Stand so we should have an interesting display, and hope to have caught up with a few members between wolfing down burgers and rummaging round the autojumble. Next up will be Malcolm’s Run on the 6th September, departing from the Dundee area. This should be a great run round Tayside, so contact Malcolm Kervell at [email protected] for more details. The Sunday after this on the 13th September is the West Coast Ride In. This will again be at the Irvine Maritime Museum, as it has been a popular venue for the last couple of years. It is such a draw that David Rankin is coming across from Northern Ireland especially for the meet, so it would be nice to get a good turnout for him. For more details e-mail me on [email protected] . Roger Perry has taken a few pictures at the S&T and Scottish Velocette Owners Club 49

Convention, and I have put these up on the website (http://velocettescotland. weebly.com/past-events.html). I heard that Peter Oram was very taken with the LEs (!!). Bill Dunlop has decided to keep hold of his KSS, as the deal for the bike of his dreams fell through. If you offer him obscene amount of money, he may reconsider though. On the Members’ Bikes page (http://velocettescotland. weebly.com/members-bikes.html) there is also a photo of Bill’s KSS along with his mate Gary’s rigid MAC on an evening run to Falkland Palace, as well as a couple of shots of Ian Spinney’s new rigid MSS. Ian is only the 3rd owner of the MSS, and after a bit of fettling courtesy of Ron Sabey and Jim McKillop, he has put a few hundred miles under the wheels and the post vintage experience is fully living up to his expectations. On 20th July I went along to the Edinburgh VMCC Inter Club night at the Ratho Hotel. Bad weather and an accident on the M8 meant there were fewer people than usual, but with 4 Velo owners, we held our own. Hopefully the weather will be fine for the next one and we can have a car park seething with black and gold. Like many of you, I will be off the the Manx Grand Prix at the end of the month, so If you see me, give me a wave.

South Hants Chris Stevens

Variety is the spice of life, so it is said. If that is so, then there has been a lot of spice spread in our neck of the woods this year, due to the unpredictable weather. Our June Club Night run was to be led by Peter Halladay. We do enjoy these rides on our local, very minor lanes. Then the heavens opened and we all dashed inside for a consoling pint or two. Isn’t it amazing how such a collective decision is made with not a word said! It was agreed to have the run on the following Thursday lunch time - unfortunate for those still in gainful employment. However, we had a really good turn out, a cracking ride, returning to the pub for lunch. Thank you Peter. Claude and I have been running the ‘Up The Downs Run’ for more years than I would care to admit. Except for the occasional shower every run has been dry. This year was different though - oh boy, was it ever! The forecast was not good at all. We decided at least to go to the start at Stockbridge to see if anyone would turn up. Sunday 26th July 2015 will go into my list of memories, as one of the wettest, windiest, wonderful riding days I can remember. Claude and I were the first to arrive at the White Hart and, soon after, we heard the unmistakable sound of an aproaching Velo over the thrashing rain and wind. We were soon joined by six happy chaps, eager for a good ride and I think they deserve mentioning by name as it really was a foul day. They were, Ron Willis, Simon Brindle, Malcolm Hole, Dave Humphrey, Roger Sloley, Alistair Grundy and Simon Stevens, Claude being the only lady. Having ridden through the 50 Velocette Owners Club floods and tempest to the Calley Arms at Hodson, just south of Swindon, for our lunch stop, I was quite surprised at the warm reception we received. Our table was laid out ready for us and food served very promptly (I had a menu and phoned everyone’s requests through before we left Stockbridge). We left Hodson in intensifying rain and wind, so, after Lambourn we headed for Newbury and south on the A34 and home. I was surprised just how clean the bike was when we arrived home, but it had been jet washed for a hundred miles... Our August Club Night run was lead by Alistair Grundy, with really good support. I counted thirteen Velos and four others. It was grand to welcome our pal Mike Love, who we haven’t seen for many years, with his recently finished scrambler. Also, on a purely personal note, to welcome my son Simon to his first Club Night. As usual, we enjoyed a lovely ride, on a warm clear evening, returning to the Bowman for a pint and repartee.

STAFFORDSHire Arthur Muller

The midweek rideout to Ironbridge was poorly attended. However the weather was good and all enjoyed the experience with requests to repeat the event. The Friday club nights are keenly attended with an average of 14 enthusiasts discussing all topics, even Velocette motorcycles... The main topic was the Staffs Centre stand in October and which motorcycles to exhibit. As if by magic, Arthur Warham arrived at the centre, on his very nice newly rebuilt Thruxton. After a brief discussion it was agreed that it would be displayed on the stand. Several members travelled to the IoM for the Southern 100 and unfortunately missed the Velocette annual rally at Burntwood Roy Gimbert (secretary) has finally resolved the issues with his Velocette gearbox and he thanks all those people who gave him advice and help with his technical problem. THAMES VALLEY Dennis Edginton

We had 6 bikes leaving the start point on the A4: Keith and Richard, both on MSS’s, Les on his red Venom, Dai Gibbison on his Venom/MSS, Mick on his Thruxton and myself on my Venom. One bike was a bit slow at starting and Dai went on to the Hungerford meeting place to advise delay but no problem as we had no-one waiting there. The rain started gently as we left and persisted throughout even after we had picked up Dai at Hungerford, so we all arrived at Crofton safely but damp! After coffee and cake etc. in the café we started to dry out and warm up, although it was cool but dry for the rest of our time there. Then Chris Wiggins and his son from Trowbridge arrived shortly after on their lovely Velo KTSs Mk1 and Mk2. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour on the engines which were in steam Velocette Owners Club 51 and the barbeque was producing excellent food so lunch was much enjoyed. We set off for home about 2:30 all having had a very enjoyable day. Woodcote Steam Rally was well attended over the 2 day event this year, with a number of Velocette Members rallying around the Banner in the Motor Cycle Arena. 2 days to enjoy meeting and speaking with other like- minded people and enjoying vehicles from a past era. West Hagbourne was an excellent turnout. 9 members met at The Bull at Streatley early evening and the proceeded to West Hagbourne where we teamed up with 5 other Velocette members. Simon Kay, a new member, joined us at Streatley on his Venom which was on its debut run since being re-built. Great to see you Simon. Once again the weather did not perform as had been forecast and as the rain set in we made our way back to our ’watering hole’, The Cherry Tree, for our Tuesday club night where 6 other members were keeping our places warm and dry!!! It was a cold wet night – but after all it was only July!! Our main event of the Year, ‘Show off Your Bike Day’ was held at The Cherry Tree and what a great turn out!! 55 Bikes, families and children and some members of the public. I think everyone who attended really enjoyed the weather, bikes, food and company. It was wonderful to see a number of the younger generation taking an active interest in the Velos. The Awards for 2015 were as follows: Best Rigid Velocette 1953 MAC Peter Read, Dorking Best Spring Frame Velocette 1960 Venom Bill Grimes, London Best Pre 1945 Non Velo 1935 Nimbus Bumblebee richard Reich, Dorking Best Post 1945 Non Velo 1957 Ariel Square 4 Mike Kowalczuk Best Post 1972 Classic 1982 Laverda Kevin Cornwell Arthur Lavington Trophy 1959 Venom Heathcliffe Moss, S. Hants Ben Mallinson Cup 1937 KTS Chris Wiggins , Bristol Cherry Tree Shield 1959 Gold Star Ivor Reyland Brian Harris Trophy 1975 Norton Commando Chris Winsby The Ted Portsmouth Trophy, the Chairman’s Merit Prize was presented by Norman Bailie to Jon Dunsden for his excellent work and advice he has given over the past year. Norman also presented the Thames Valley Trophy for outstanding effort and service to the Thames Valley Velocette Centre to Pete Woodward, who surely must be one of our oldest ‘active’ members in the Club. We would like to thank everyone for making this a special and memorable day for the Club, with a special thanks to Dave Downer and his Marshalls who all did a great job. And sincere thanks also to Dave Hogg and Richard Knight for judging the awards (a particularly difficult task this year) and to Dave Hogg’s wife for organising the raffle and all members who kindly donated prizes. And thanks also to the members from the Dorking, S.Hants, Bristol, London, Oxford and Dorset centres that came along to support us – we do hope to see you all again next year. 52 Velocette Owners Club

Our annual run down to Sammy Miller’s Museum at New Milton was our next outing with 9 riders turning up at the Reading meeting point. An excellent run in ideal motorcycling weather, plus little traffic on the Sunday morning. Sadly a very different matter for the journey back with considerable traffic and many delays, but still a very enjoyable day at the Museum plus the added bonus of the Auto Jumble. Dave Downer was pleased with his purchase. Just a reminder to every one of the forthcoming events in September (where has the year gone?). On the 13th September we have the Seymour Charity Run starting and finishing at The Cherry Tree. 19th/20th the Kop Hill 2 day event. We have reserved a pitch for us but you will need to register for this event. Please see me at the Club night and I will explain. This is a great event with a high public profile. 27th September is the Crofton Steam Gala, which has a large number of steam vehicles. Times/meeting points via email soon. Sadly I need to advise you that one of our long standing members, Bob Prior died of cancer at the age of 65. Bob was a very keen motorcyclist and his first job at the age of 16 was a telegraph boy on a BSA Bantam 125 in the Henley on Thames Post office. Bob owned a number of Velos and other bikes and our thought go out to his family for their loss.

WELSH Phil Edwards

July saw two potential new members for the Centre. It was a close race won by the Chairman’s grandson, Max, who arrived at 6pm on the 28th June closely followed by my grandson Aidan Sahan at 3.25am on the 29th June! Mothers and riders are doing well. Only John made it to the National Rally with June, Emma and Wally the dog. He managed to pick up some bargains at the auto jumble and a raffle prize. On Wednesday 15th three Velocettors met at the ‘Station House’ and rode to the Museum of Speed in Pendine, then Amroth for lunch and a tour of the coastal roads of Pembrokeshire ending at Pembroke. On the 22nd John, Rick, Vince and Phil joined Rob at TalyBont on Usk campsite and, during the following two days, did ride-outs over the mountains. The weather was atrocious in the morning but we dried out in the sun in the afternoon. The sensible amongst us rode home Thursday night leaving Rick, Vince and Graham to brave the predicted rain on Friday. Many thanks to Rob for organising the camping do. It was great to be part of 20-ish Velos roaring through the beautiful roads around Brecon. Rob’s daughter made an excellent job of designing our Welsh section badge which is in the process of being made by a local company. Not many at the August meeting but good to see our promotional sign attached to the side of the ‘Station House’. Already people are showing interest while we were erecting the sign and we are looking to advertise the club in the press in the near future. Here’s to the rest of the summer being sunny and dry. Velocette Owners Club 53

West Midlands Brian Coldicott

Our main event since the last edition was the National Rally. Once again Alan Harper and his little West Midlands helpers got everything in order for yet another successful Rally and can I thank everybody that volunteered and of course, everyone that turned up. The Rally has now established itself as a weekend event, with a number of regular faces turning up on the Friday afternoon and leaving on the Monday morning. I do believe that some would have also turned up on the Thursday evening if they’d have known it was ‘Pie ‘n Mash’ night at the Rugby Club (if you give me a ring next year I’ll check to see what they’ve got on). This year we organised two runs on the Saturday, a shorter one around Cannock Chase Forest and a longer run through the villages of South Staffordshire to Burton on Trent, where we visited the Claymills Victorian Steam Engines. I have received a note of thanks from Claymills for bringing the group to visit them. However the pleasure was definitely ours and I think we all enjoyed a most informative tour. It is definitely worth a visit, especially when they’re in steam www.claymills.( org.uk). Saturday evening was spent ‘socialising’ at the BBQ event and thanks go to Jim Plant and the team for putting it on, doing the cooking and supplying the ‘refreshment’. Further, post-BBQ, socialising carried on at the Rugby Club and as per last year’s request they’d kept the cask ale on tap for the Rally. 54 Velocette Owners Club

The weather behaved itself until the award presentations, when somehow most of us managed to squeeze into the marquee. I say ‘most of us’, but I believe a few were left out in the downpour trying to hold down Kevin Thurston’s gazebo which was re-enacting the tornado scene from the Wizard of Oz. Here’s looking forward to next year’s Rally. Toward the end of July, Rod Fuller and I joined in with the Wye Valley Centre’s camping event at Talybont-on-Usk. Having not really done much Velo’ing this year I was certainly looking forward to the outing. We had a decent run to Tal-y-Bont, stopping for refreshment at Dom’s Bike Stop in Leominster. Once at the campsite I needed to make repairs to the charging system with the fault being quickly and expertly traced to a dodgy bullet connection – thanks to Dave Hoskins for the connector block. The Campsite was very pleasant and just a sobering stroll from the local amenities and apart from a bit of damp weather on the Wednesday morning run (which included an off piste detour due to road closures and the disastrous loss of the morning tea stop!) we managed a few dry miles over the couple of days. With a very poor forecast for the Friday, Rod and I decided to break camp after the Thursday run and head home in the dry. You know what it’s like, you’ve just packed the tents away, loaded all the gear on the bikes, put the riding gear on and I’m sat there watching Rod failing to start his machine. Off comes the camping gear, off with the riding gear, off with the seat. Once again, with expert diagnostics an ignition system fuse was replaced and off we went. Many thanks to Rob Jones for organising the event. And now for a bit of an apology. Having read Raymond Albeson’s account of the Borders Run in the last edition, it would appear that Rod Fuller was awarded the ‘furthest travelled’ prize in error, albeit by a ‘tappet’ clearance. However, as the rightful recipient Colin McMurray will probably agree (Raymond re-presented Colin with a belated prize), it was probably the best litre of finest malt we’d enjoyed for some time. Both Richard Bettles and I would like to thank Rod for sharing his ill-gotten gains whilst we were on the Wye Valley Tal-y-Bont camping event.

WOBURN Patricia Thurston

Some of our members went to the VOC Annual Rally back in July. They felt that the event was better attended than last year, and apart from some rain they all had a pleasant day. They thought the food was a bit limited in the bar tent [Not surprising - it was not a bar and the food was intended for the volunteer helpers! - Ed] but that changed later in the day with free sandwiches and other goodies [the surplus...]. There was plenty to see in the way of bike displays and also the whole range of the club regalia was available to buy including items with the new additional VOC logo. Velocette Owners Club 55

There were stalls with Velo related offerings and Kevin Thurston’s stall had a great deal of interest with his Velo upgrades. We have a very happy Club member by the name of Mark Huggins who much to his surprise was presented with a trophy and a plaque at a recent NSA sprint which took place at Weston Zoyland, Somerset. The award was for post 1945 500cc vintage Southern Champion of 2014. Many of our members attended the Founder’s Day Rally (a VMCC event) back in July. Ray had a stall there and had a good weekend. Unfortunately, the mid-week run in July was cancelled at the last minute but hopefully that will take place at another time. Coming up there are two more runs booked for September. We have our annual Old Warden Steam Rally from the 18th September to the Sunday 20th. Lots of Velo’s are on the club stand which gathers a lots of interest. There is a lot to see, apart from the bikes and is a good weekend for the whole family. Happy days and keep safe.

WYE VALLEY Rob Jones

Rob J and Richard W headed north and took part in the VMCC Scarborough Week. Lovely riding over some great scenery and all Velos performed well. Rob came home via the VOC National Rally doing the run to the Victorian Pumping Station on the Saturday and the Rally itself on the Sunday. Also there were John and Molly and Mike P. The second Wye Valley Camping Experience went well, although a bit damp on the Wednesday morning. Thirteen Velos and three other makes enjoyed the country roads of the Brecon Beacons. Chris is organising parts ready to begin a build on one of his bikes and Peter has made substantial progress in obtaining a registration number of the DVLA for his Venom rebuild. Sunday 9th August saw Graham, Brian, Rob, Chris, John PJ and Neil heading over the Seven Bridge for a visit to the Helicopter Museum at Weston Super Mare. Graham had organised the day and his planned route took us through Portishead and Clevedon with views of the Bristol Chanel before heading through Yatton and on to Weston. Here we met up with George and Graham Drinkwater and visited the Museum. It was nice to see George making an improvement after his recent knee operation. The Museum houses 56 Velocette Owners Club a large collection of helicopters, including ones from the Royal Flight, a speed record holder and ones that fought in Vietnam and Afghanistan as well as numerous others. It is well worth a visit and we sent a good few hours there. Leaving the museum Graham took us on the main roads to Bristol before crossing the Old Severn Bridge and heading for home. A good day out. Picture shows Brian, John PJ, Chris, Rob, Neil and Graham. By Rob Jones. Finally our best wishes go to Jim Bennett who has taken early retirement. Unfortunately this means he will be heading back up to North Wales and the Chester Centre. We’ll miss you in Tintern but we’ll keep in touch. Enjoy your retirement. going spare motorcycle boots Frank Club members may place adverts Thomas Euro Aqua, small, 8. Brand in ‘Going Spare’ at no charge. All new, never used: £35. Pair of ads. should be sent to the Editor. mirrors, end of handlebars: £25. Only ‘For Sale’ ads. are accepted 01908 640 316 (Milton Keynes) from non-members. Pre War MAC as a restoration PersoNal... project. Frame (broken tube), Side stand, Rear stand arms, Engine (more Would the gentleman who rang re or less complete, but dismantled, ball the rear half of the KSS MKII valve in crankcase type), Gearbox, primary chaincase in FT429, Engine Plates, Oil Tank, New Indian contact me again as the phone line was Petrol tank, Original Tank, New very poor. Brian Ling Mudguards, Wheel hubs, Dowty forks, seat, refurbished Speedometer - no Did you buy a Venom dual seat logbook, but registration number at the VOC rally? Please contact John HTT 18 with original front & back Goodall on 01283 713 715. We got plates. A bargain at £600. Martin soaked in the downpour, checked the 01743 821 266 (Shrewsbury) marquee and also drove along the line of parked vehicles to no avail. TT magneto BTH (BKH1) Venom Clubman. Rebuilt and refurbished by for sale... Salmons correctly last year and never MSS 1956, restored to a good standard used. Complete with new steel pinion 12V electrics, S/S rims, etc £6,200. Stan and manual cable. £425 – no offers. Bayliss 01926 858 615 (Kenilworth) 020 8524 0489 (NE London) Velocette Owners Club 57

1953 MAC One of the first of the Free standing 45 litre parts swing arm MACs, it has most if not washer. Height 35” length 30 ¾” all the original fittings plus pannier width 21½”. Sliding drip tray and frames. Needs some TLC as has stood electric pump with nozzle to wash for a few years but would not take your parts (motorcycle parts that much to get going again. An ideal is). Won’t fit in the hole I thought it winter rebuild project. £3500 ono. would, you need one about 32” wide See below. to be safe. Brand new, assembled BMW R80, approx 1982 reg. Has had and unused. Similar to the red one cylinder barrels removed some time in Machine Mart but in a much more ago to do work on it but life got in the attractive shade of bright orange. Can way of finishing it off. Has Panniers email a picture. Cost me £129. Yours so would make an ideal tourer. Needs for £95 so I can buy a smaller one. some TLC as it has stood for some Buyer collects. Jim 0121 709 4906 (W time. £1500 ono Transport can be Mids). [email protected] arranged to a UK destination for relevant fee. Adrian 02392 377 488 BOOKS ‘Velocette Motorcycles – (Portsmouth) MSS to Thruxton’ - Rod Burris, new, 3rd edition: £20. ‘Velocette since Complete Venom in pieces £80 1950 – the Big Singles’ – Steve Wilson: (well, a model, anyway). RAE Models £10. ‘Built for Speed’ – John Griffith, produced these very detailed white features two Velos: £5. All as new. metal kits some 16 years ago. This one Collection only. Kelvin 07463 547 758 was started but needs someone with (Oldbury) more patience than I to finish it. Ken 01202 888 248 (Wimborne) 1938 KSS £10,000 ono. 1960 Mk II 1934 MAC very early, registered MSS Scrambler (currently used 28.02.1934 Correct Web Forks, Leather for hill climbs) £8,000 ono. 1955 Tool Box and Pre Fishtail Exhaust. Ariel Mk I HS Scrambler Refurbished Manual Magneto and (currently used for occasional sprints) Carburettor. Replacement 7 Plate £8,000 ono. All bikes are in mint Clutch. Used regularly, starts, runs condition. and handles well. Mainly oil leak free Tod O’Donoghue 01534 873 749 in tidy condition. £5800 [email protected] Peter 01277 622 760 (Essex) Venom/Viper pair of 19” road LADIES TOURING SUIT, BMW wheels c/w brake plates and very Balice, size 18/20, as new, £200 (cost good tyres (no speedo drive) £650 £560). EVEROAK RACEMASTER the pair (circumstances permitting). helmet, size 6 7/8th, new 1971, not Buyer collects Castle Douglas (DG7) worn since 1972, £100. BAGLUX or Lockerbie (DG11). 01556 502 703 tank cover for Kawasaki ER5, before 8.30pm. £20. Mike 01332 517 985 (Derby) 58 Velocette Owners Club

Concentric Carb 1 3/16 inch Venom, good useable condition, bore includes Choke & Throttle MOT to June 2016: £7,000. For details Cables. Good condition £40. Front 01487 711 333 (Peterborough area) & Rear Wheel Spindles & Nuts Fair condition £10. ‘The Great Velocette Show Thruxton Silencer Chrome – Album’ by Piet Tuyn (a member of poor but serviceable £15 VOC and Velocette Club Nederland) – Alternator Stator RM21 16a Oldtimer document collection. Single phase two lead 12v genuine A collection of advertisements Lucas. As new £50. Postage included showing the history of Velocette Pete Craven (Hants) motorcycles. In the ‘70s, Piet Tuyn [email protected] used to ride a Venom special in the Netherlands national motorcycle racing scene, and started to collect 1957 Venom rebored, new big Velocette, documentation, which end 5,000 miles ago. New bearings built up into a very extensive archive throughout engine, gearbox and of brochures, books, manuals and wheels. Engine and frame numbers motorcycle magazines. matching. Twin leading shoe front His comprehensive collection brake, powder coated frame, good covers the period from 1905 till 1971 tyres, 12 volt electrical system with - the entire Veloce era. The Album alternator. A few spares. Clutch consists of two hardback A4 volumes needs attention. £6,750 – no offers. (1905-1946 and 1947-1971) in black with Barry 01375 383 510 (Essex) the Velocette logo in gold, of course. It holds over 500 advertisements, plus 5 Honda VFR 750 FJ, 1989, 61k miles, posters A3 size. stainless exhaust pipes, tidy red/grey It is printed on art quality finish, heated grips,. Owned by me paper- in full colour as far as available. for 12 years and taken me to Scotland, The first 50 albums will be numbered Ireland and Belgium but now it’s and signed by Piet Tuyn. It costs time to reduce the collection since it’s 150 Euros excluding p&p. Messrs. just not getting used. Reliable, good Boekdrukker 0031 756 153 560 or performing bike , recently qualified as 0031 624 409 709. a Classic. Pictures available on e-mail. [email protected] Currently on SORN but will MOT for buyer. £800. John Fortune 01484 864 588 (W Yorks) The Velocette Owners’ Club [email protected] does not vet advertisers, who may not even be Club members. Petrol tank for MOV/MAC It is the responsibility of buyers for 1948 telefork models. Original, to satisfy themselves as to lined, in good condition: £200. Bob the good faith of sellers before Chadwick 01252 624 917 (Fleet, Hants) making any payments to them. Velocette Owners Club 59

Exchange... Villiers early ‘50s kickstart and gear lever 10D 6E 8E etc Dave AIR-FILTER complete with filter Jesson 01455 283 066 gauze & rubber connector to carb. original & good condition. Off 1955 Headlamp for rigid MOV/ MAC. Will swap for Venom/MSS air MAC. Can swap 7” Miller lamp with filter or sell. 07712 859 953 (Derbys) deep shell suitable for springer with headlamp cowling (no holes for switch Wanted... or ammeter) Richard, 01886 880 270, [email protected] FB2/4 Front hub, rigid, cast iron type (and shoes, if poss). S1/6 Rear Gearchange rocker shaft brake plate, rigid, (shoes if poss). assembly part no. MAS46, Geoff 01959 534 469 earchange foot lever shaft part no. GC55, or complete LE678 rubber buffer for rear assembly to fit in prefix 12 or 14 A276/3 petrol tank fixing strap. Also Gearbox end cover. Centralizing FK151/5 petrol tank rubber lever pivot sleEve part no. buffer for location stud on petrol BK102, Layshaft washer part tank front fixing strap, both to fit early no. BK 95, Striking pawl part no. 4 1/4 tank. Peter 01865 376 084 or GC 23/2, +40 MAC Piston Rings [email protected] Colin 01299 832 127 or 07871 564 975

Expires: 31/12/15 60 Velocette Owners Club

CHRONOMETRIC INSTRUMENT SERVICES Russell P Smalley Wanted! Smiths trained Chronometric instrument Engineer, 35 years experience in the repair and restoration of Smiths Chronometric Motorcycle instruments. I can supply the correct Speedometer and/or Tachometer for any Velocette Classic/Vintage British Bikes motorcycle manufactured, including wanted for cash purchase Cables and Drives. Over 200 concours Chronometrics Any condition from concours to instruments in Stock. basket cases! Will collect! Visitors most welcome.. Contact: RICHARD GAUNT [email protected] 01283 536379 / 07889 292536 0115 920 6156 Mobile: 07939 165 290 email: [email protected] Velocette Owners Club 61

SILENT STAINLESS Quality Build with Silent Stainless Specialist lists for Velocette Singles & Twins RIGID FRAME MODELS, R.S FRAME-MAC,MSS,VR,VM&VMT. LE, VALIANT & VOGUE. Please contact - stating model. Graham Hall, Silent Stainless Ltd. Unit K1 Troon Way Business Centre, Humberstone Lane, Leicester LE4 9HA Tel: 0116 2741447 Mob: 07973722728 Email: [email protected] www.silentstainless.co.uk

www.KTT Services.co.uk Velocette Owners’ Billet alloy top and bottom yoke set £285 Club Regalia Store HE30 alloy 5/16” gearbox plates £150 Replica standard Thruxton cylinder heads See main ad inside front or KRT squish design £1450 (tbc) cover Replica ‘Thurston’ VMT/VM LM25 heat treated crankcases £1450 (tbc). 675 Road belt drive / clutch kits sold. Fits inside standard Velo chaincases Yamaha R1 friction + slotted steel plates Venom, VMT 9-plate kits £420 + p&p Flywheel 500 & 600cc assemblies £950, conrods, billet nikasil barrels Billet Cotton Reel alloy hubs Cylinder heads refurbished. [email protected] +44(0)1908 641575 Clive Repik Velocette Specialist Full workshop facilities for repairs and servicing - especially engine, gearbox and clutch assemblies. Over 35 years experience Clive Repik Restorations Whitehill Lodge, Exeter Road Newton Abbot TQ12 6PP Devon Tel: 01626 353533 Velocette Owners’ Mobile: 0781-755-5150 Club Regalia Store See main ad inside front www.repik.co.uk cover VELOCE SPARES LTD Owned by and operated on behalf of the VELOCETTE OWNERS CLUB for the exclusive benefit of its members

The volunteers who run the Spares Scheme are all Velo riders. Collectively this team has a wide experience of the various models and their engineering requirements. VSL aims to make available a range of good quality spare parts at reasonable prices and to provide special parts to improve the Velocette riding experience.

MONTHLY OPEN DAYS PLUS FULL POSTAL SERVICE See ‘Fishtail’ or the VOC website for our Open Day Dates. Mail orders may be sent by post, FAX or e-mail and are processed on a weekly basis (for e-mail, first register via VOC website).

SALES LISTS THE LATEST SALES LIST IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE ON THE VOC WEBSITE www.velocetteowners.com A paper copy is available for £2.00 when despatched with an order for parts. Copies sent separately will cost £3.00 for UK (please pay with stamps), £5.00 for Europe and £6.00 for Rest of World (postage included in all cases).

ORDER FORMS can be printed directly from the VOC website. Membership Details are required with Orders or to buy parts on Open Days

MASTERCARD OR VISA CARDS WELCOMED Cheques are accepted, but Mastercard and Visa are preferred.

VELOCE SPARES LTD THE OLD CHAPEL CHENEY END HUNCOTE LEICESTER LE9 3AD ENGLAND or FAX to +44(0)116 275 2703 (The Old Chapel does not have incoming voice telephone)