Velocette is a range of motorcycles made by Veloce Ltd, in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. One of several motorcycle manufacturers in Birmingham, Velocette was a small, family-owned firm, selling almost as many hand-built motorcycles during its lifetime as the mass-produced machines of the giant BSA and Norton concerns.[1] Renowned for the quality of its products, the company was "always in the picture" in international motorcycle racing from the mid-1920s until the 1950s, culminating in two World Championship titles (1949–1950 350cc) and its legendary and still-unbeaten (for single-cylinder, 500 cc machines) 24hours at over 100mph (161km/h) record. Veloce, while small, was a great technical innovator and many of its patented designs are commonplace on motorcycles today, including the positive-stop foot shift and swinging arm rear suspension with hydraulic dampers.[2] The business suffered a gradual commercial decline during the late 1960s, eventually closing in February 1971.[3]
The company had its origins as "Taylor, Gue Co Ltd" founded in 1896 by John Goodman[4] (born Johannes Gütgemann and later known as John Taylor before formally changing his name to Johann Goodman) and William Gue, which initially made cycle frames and parts, but later made the frames for the Ormonde Motorcycle. In January 1904 they were working on a tri-car powered by a 3.5HP water-cooled four-stroke engine, with 2-speed gearbox and novel clutch system.[5] In 1904 Ormonde merged with the engine maker Kelecombe, and when this company failed Taylor Gue bought the assets, and in 1905 built their first motorcycle, the Veloce.[6]
Later that year, John Taylor set up Veloce Limited, to produce cycles and related products and services, and business continued for several years producing Veloce Cycles, but with his sons Percy and Eugene he investigated the use of engines as the Veloce Motor Company and produced the V.M.C motorcycle in 1910, this had a 500cc side-valve engine with direct belt-drive and the option of a hub gear.[6] In 1912 New Veloce Motors Ltd was formed, with J. Taylor and P.J. Taylor as shareholders, registered at Veloce Works, Spring Hill, Birmingham.[7] This company may have been to separate the risks of venturing into motorcycle manufacture from the rest of the business, but New Veloce Motors was wound up during WW1.[8]
Veloce Motorcycles
The original Veloce was produced for a very short time in 1905 by Taylor Gue Ltd after acquiring the assets of Ormonde and Kelecombe (possibly because Taylor Gue had not been paid for their work on cycleparts for Ormonde[6]).
It was in 1910 that Veloce Motor Company launched the V.M.C. motorcycle, with a 3.5HP (500cc) side-valve engine (85mm bore and 88mm stroke). Transmission was by belt-drive with the option of an Armstrong 3-speed hub gear.
In 1912 they added a smaller motorcycle, which was exhibited at the Olympia show alongside their larger model on a joint stand with Wilton Cycle Co (sidecar manufacturers).[9] The new lightweight model had an inlet over exhaust valve arrangement, which was unusually at the front of the engine with the inlet valve being mechanically operated. The show report listed the bore and stroke as 70mm by 76mm, with pump fed oil lubrication and an outside flywheel. The two speed transmission on the smaller model was integral with the engine, an early example of unit construction patented by Percy Taylor under UK Patent 24499 in 1910. A version of this machine (enlarged to 76mm bore) was entered in the 1913 T.T. with Cyril Pullin as rider, but an oil leak caused a poor performance due to the oil getting on the belt drive.[6]
In 1913 Veloce again exhibited their motorcycles on the Wilton Cycle and Motor Co stand, the Veloce models continued alongside the new Velocette 2-stroke. A larger version of the lightweight Veloce 4-stroke rated 2.75HP used 76mm bore (like the previous year's T.T. model) was shown as ladies and gents models, the ladies model having a dropped frame and extra engine covers.[10] The larger 500cc Veloce continued unchanged.
The success of the Velocette model that followed was such that when in 1925 the overhead camshaft 350 was launched under the name Veloce - the dealers protested, and the name Velocette was henceforth used for all the motorcycles.
Velocette two-strokes
1913 Velocette Model A
The first two-stroke, built in 1913, was called a Velocette. When The 'K' series reverted to Veloce, the buying public overlooked them, having become used to the Velocette name and associating it with quality products. The Velocette name was reprised, and used for all subsequent models.[11] Between 1913 and 1925, Veloce produced expensive, high-quality two-stroke motorcycles of (nominally) 250cc, which gained an excellent reputation and were entered in competitions such as the Isle of Man TT, with some success. The single-cylinder machines had many advanced features, such as a throttle-controlled oil pump, which set them apart from other manufacturers' products. (The introduction of this device was claimed erroneously, much later, by Suzuki). The factory gradually developed this machine from the "A" series and variants (A, AC2 - coil ignition, two-speed gearbox, AC3 – three-speed gearbox, etc.), then the "H" series, the model U and variants, culminating in the model GTP in 1930, which was produced until 1946. The GTP was a reliable lightweight motorcycle with good steering and power delivery.
Velocette 'K' series
In the early 1920s Veloce realised that, in order to grow as a company, it needed a new machine of advanced specification. It therefore developed an overhead camshaft (OHC) 350cc engine, which became known as the 'K' series and was introduced in 1925. After a year of teething troubles with this new design, Veloce entered slightly modified 'K' models into racing events such as the Isle of Man TT and Brooklands races. The reliability and sweet running qualities of their new engine led to a long string of racing successes and the introduction of a production racing model, the KTT, built between 1928 and 1949.[2] The 1929 KTT was the first production motorcycle to feature a positive-stop, foot-actuated gearchange.[4] The roadster models developed from this initial model K were the Velocette KSS (super sports), KTS (touring sports), KTP (twin exhaust ports), KN (normal), and a few variations. A notable change in engine design was introduced in 1935, the 'KSS Mk2' with a fully enclosed aluminium cylinder head. The OHC engine series continued for roadsters until 1948, when the final KSS Mk.2 versions were produced, with rigid frames and Dowty air-sprung telescopic forks. Accurate valve timing was accomplished through the pioneering use of stroboscopic lamps. The 'K' series showed an excellent turn of speed and reliability and soon the factory developed racing models to compete in the Isle of Man TT.[2]
Velocette KSS Mk II
Velocette KTT Mk VIII 350 cc OHC Racer 1948
Velocette 'M' series
1936 Velocette MAC Sport
The K series was expensive to produce, requiring selective hand assembly of the shaft-and-bevel camshaft drive; it was determined that a simpler OHV design would be quicker to build and require less skilled labour to assemble and so the company decided to introduce a new line of overhead valve (OHV) machines, in order to cut production costs and make a more affordable motorcycle. The first of these new machines, in 1933, was the MOV, using a 250cc engine of 'square' dimensions (68mm bore and 68mm stroke). It was an immediate sales success, having lively performance for the time (78mph or 126km/h), and proved a reliable machine with excellent road manners. From this machine, by lengthening the stroke of the crankshaft, the Velocette MAC 350cc was introduced in 1934. It proved even more popular than the MOV, and became a real money spinner for the company, bringing much needed capital into the firm. In 1935 an entirely new machine was introduced, based on the two previous OHV models, the Velocette MSS of 500cc. A new, heavier frame was fitted, with the intention that the machine could serve as a sidecar hauler. This new frame was developed from the MkV KTT racing machine, and was shared with the KSS MkII of 1936–1948. The MSS also proved very popular and profitable for Veloce.[2] A 350 cc version of the MOV was the basis for the company's World War II military motorcycles.[4]
Post war
1953 Velocette LE
After the Second World War, the company sought to capture what it saw as a developing need for personal transport and created the LE model[4] (for "Little Engine"). This was a 149cc water-cooled flat-twin with side valves, a pressed steel frame, telescopic forks and a swingarm. Velocette's Director, Eugene Goodman, planned an innovative and radical design that would appeal to a new market that needed cheap, clean and reliable transport. Designer Charles Udall developed the Velocette LE as a "conceived-as-a-whole" design, with engine, gearbox, drive shaft and bevel box in a single unit to do a specific job. It was sophisticated and expensive.[citation needed] It proved less successful than the firm had hoped and, although it became Veloce's best selling model ever, the high tooling costs for this all-new machine were barely recouped.
It did see widespread adoption by British police forces for urban patrol.[4] At the time Metropolitan Police Officers on foot patrol were required to salute inspectors. With the introduction of the motorcycle patrols this became dangerous, requiring the officer to take his hand off the handle bars, and so the rider was to allowed to show his respect with a smart nod. It has been suggested that this is how Velocette LEs became known as "Noddy Bikes".[2] However, Noddy (the popular cartoon character created by British children's author Enid Blyton) who famously had frequent run-ins with the Policeman Mr. Plod, is also credited with being the origin.
The market for sporting machines was still strong, and Velocette continued to produce the 348cc KTT for racing.[4] At the 1947 Isle of Man TT the company won the first four places in the Junior race. In 1949 they were the first FIM 350cc World Champions, a feat which they repeated in 1950. In 1967 Neil Kelly won the first Isle of Man Production TT in the 500cc class on a Velocette Thruxton, with another Thruxton in second place.[12]
Later models
The 1954 499 cc Velocette MSS proved a successful export to the American desert racing scene, prompting the development of scrambler and enduro versions of the bike, the 349 cc Viper and 499 cc Venom, both introduced in 1956. A 1958 review in The Motor Cycle, an English weekly paper, called the Viper "a remarkably fine motorcycle, all round performance well above the average" and declared it capable of speeds over 90mph (144.84km/h).[4] In 1961 a Velocette Venom became the first motorcycle to cover over 2,400 miles (3,900km) in a 24-hour period, at the banked, oval, Montlhery circuit in France with a team of eight riders including Veloce director Bertie Goodman and 'MotorCycling' staff writer Bruce Main-Smith, averaging 100.05mph (161.01km/h).
The Velocette Venom 1961
This record for up to 500cc capacity machines still stands to the present day. The machine still exists; although badly damaged in the disastrous fire at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, it was restored by Velocette Owners Club president Ivan Rhodes with assistance from club members.
In 1960, Velocette introduced the Viceroy, a very unusual 250cc opposed twin two-stroke scooter. Unique to the Viceroy was the front-mounted twin-cylinder engine, and the fuel tank mounted under the front legshield. The engine itself was extremely compact, and connected to the rear-mounted clutch and transmission by a drive shaft from the engine-mounted flywheel. With electric start, 12-volt electrics, a very low centre of gravity, power over 15hp (11kW) and a reported comfortable cruising speed of 65mph (105km/h), performance, handling and features of the Viceroy were first class. The scooter came as market forces and rider preferences were changing, and the Viceroy was not a sales success. The late 1960s were the last years of production for Velocette motorcycles, production for the Velocette Viper and Vogue ending in 1968, "Special", Scrambler and Endurance in 1969, and MSS Venom and Velocette Thruxton in 1970. Veloce Ltd. closed in February 1971.[2]
Commercial failure
The business had struggled since 1956, with government changes to hire purchase legislation and fuel rationing during the Suez Crisis. Major losses incurred on the Viceroy scooter development from 1956 to marketing in 1960, followed by costs incurred by overstocking of redundant parts and the loss of capital due to development costs invested in another new model doomed to failure – the Velocette Vogue, an updated LE with a full fibreglass touring body. Sales were quoted as "a few hundred over five years", and development costs were never recovered either by Veloce or Avon, the bodywork manufacturer.[13] All were key components in the financial decline.
The business commercially failed in the late 1960s, although profits from spare-part sales after the acquisition of the Royal Enfield spares operation in 1967 defrayed operational costs to such an extent that the company as a whole survived for another three years.
The workforce was sacked in February 1971, with C C Cooper, a local metals-recovery dealer, buying most of the machinery and continuing to produce limited spare parts by a small team of engineers. The rights to use the Velocette name and manufacture parts were then sold on to the Holder family,[14] and the buildings at Hall Green were demolished.[3]
A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd was a British automobile and motorcycle manufacturer in operation from 1909 to 1931. The company was founded by Joe Stevens in Wolverhampton, England. After the firm was sold, the name continued to be used by Matchless, Associated Motorcycles and Norton-Villiers on four-stroke motorcycles until 1969, and since the name's resale in 1974, on lightweight, two-stroke scramblers and today on small-capacity roadsters and cruisers. The company held 117 motorcycle world records.
Royal Enfield was a brand name under which The Enfield Cycle Company Limited of Redditch, Worcestershire, England, sold motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and stationary engines which it manufactured. Enfield Cycle Company also used the brand name "Enfield" without the "Royal".
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Excelsior, based in Coventry, was a British bicycle, motorcycle and car maker. They were Britain’s first motorcycle manufacturer, starting production of their own ‘motor-bicycle’ in 1896. Initially they had premises at Lower Ford Street, Coventry, and 287-295 Stoney Stanton Road, Hillfields, Coventry, Warwickshire before moving to Kings Road, Tyseley, Birmingham in 1921.
Johannes Gütgemann, also known as John Taylor and John Goodman, was the founder of the Velocette motorcycle company.
Phillip William Read, was an English professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1961 to 1976. Read is notable for being the first competitor to win world championships in the 125 cc, 250 cc and 500 cc classes. Although he was often overshadowed by his contemporary, Mike Hailwood, he won seven FIM Grand Prix road racing world championships.
Frederick Lee Frith OBE was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. A former stonemason and later a motor cycle retailer in Grimsby, he was a stylish rider and five times winner of the Isle of Man TT. Frith was one of the few to win TT races before and after the Second World War. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1950 Birthday Honours.
The Cotton Motor Company, was a British motorcycle manufacturer of 11a Bristol Road, Gloucester, and was founded by Frank Willoughby Cotton in 1918. F.W. presided over the company until his retirement in 1953. The company was reconstituted as E. Cotton (Motorcycles) Ltd, and traded until 1980. The marque was later resurrected in the late 1990s by a business which manufactured replicas of earlier machines.
Douglas was a British motorcycle manufacturer from 1907 to 1957 based in Kingswood, Bristol, owned by the Douglas family, and especially known for its horizontally opposed twin cylinder engined bikes and as manufacturers of speedway machines. The company also built a range of cars between 1913 and 1922.
Rex, Rex Motorcycles, Rex-Acme, was a car and motorcycle company which began in Birmingham, England in 1900. Rex soon merged with a Coventry maker of bicycles and cars named Allard and then later in 1922 the company merged with Coventry's 'Acme' motorcycle company forming 'Rex Acme'. The company existed until 1933, and, in its heyday, was considered one of the greatest names in the British motorcycle industry.
Thomas Edward Phillis was an Australian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He won the 1961 125cc motorcycle road racing World Championship and was the first person to lap the Isle of Man TT mountain circuit at over 100 mph on a pushrod engined motorcycle. He was also the first person to win a World Championship motorcycle race on a Japanese machine.
Philip Edward Irving MBE, CEng., FIMechE., MSAE. (1903–1992) was an Australian engineer and author, most famous for the Repco-Brabham Formula One and Vincent motorcycle engines. He also worked at Velocette motorcycles, twice and designed the engine of the 1960 EMC 125cc racer.
The Velocette Thruxton was a sporting motorcycle produced by Velocette between 1965 and 1971. Revealed at the 1964 Earls Court Show, it was the final development of Velocette's antiquated pushrod single, the Venom.
The Velocette Venom was a 499 cc single-cylinder four-stroke British motorcycle made by Velocette at Hall Green in Birmingham. A total of 5,721 machines were produced between 1955 and 1970.
The Velocette KTT is a racing British motorcycle made by Velocette. The most significant variant of the Model K series of overhead camshaft Velocette motorcycles, the TT designation indicated the machine was intended for racing, and was an early example of a 'production racer'. The Velocette KTT was notable for having the first positive-stop foot gear change on a motorcycle, and the first with a swingarm rear suspension using separate shock absorber units. The foot shift innovation significant improvement for racing, and quickly replaced the hand gear change lever, and became the standard for almost all motorcycles to this day. Veloce's swingarm suspension also had profound and lasting effects on the motorcycle industry, and remains the standard for motorcycle rear suspension to this day.
The Velocette KSS is a British motorcycle made by Velocette, a sports roadster in the “K” series of Velocette motorcycles with overhead camshaft engines. The “K “of the model's name was the next letter in the sequence of letters designating the model, after the Model H two stroke.. “SS” stood for Super Sports. It has been suggested that the “K” stood for “camshaft” because of the founder of the company’s German origin, but since the German for “camshaft is “Nockenwelle”, this is extremely unlikely. The KSS remained in production in various forms until 1948.
Eugene Goodman was the co-founder of the Velocette motorcycle company with his father John Goodman.
The Velocette LE is a motorcycle made by Veloce Ltd from 1948 to 1971. The designation LE stood for "little engine". Used by over fifty British Police forces, the police riders became known as "Noddies" because they were required to nod to senior officers, and the LE was nicknamed "the Noddy Bike". Production ended in 1970 when the company ran into financial problems and went into voluntary liquidation.
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The Norton Commando Production Racer was a hand built production racer produced by Norton-Villiers from 1970 - 1972. It was based on the road-going Norton Commando, and although fitted with lights it was never intended as a road bike. The model was commonly known as the Yellow Peril.
References
↑ Kelly, J.W.E. (1979). A History of Veloce Limited, Motorcycle Manufacturers, Hall Green, Birmingham.
1 2 3 4 5 6 De Cet, Mirco (2005). Quentin Daniel (ed.). The Complete Encyclopedia of Classic Motorcycles. Rebo International. ISBN978-90-366-1497-9.
1 2 Goodman on Velocette, Part 2. Interview with works director Peter Goodman, by Dennis Frost. The Classic Motor Cycle, June 1996 pp.47-51. Accessed 12 January 2020
↑ Shaping the Future, Part 2. Interview with fibreglazier, works director Doug Mitchenall, by Roy Poynting. The Classic Motor Cycle, June 1996 pp.25-29. Accessed 14 January 2020 "...the LE based 200cc twin was a sales flop. The Vogue was underpowered, overweight, too expensive and too late."
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