Velocette is a line 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. Renowned for the quality of its products, the company was "always in the picture" in international motorcycle racing, from the mid-1920s through the 1950s, culminating in two World Championship titles and its legendary and still-unbeaten 24 hours at over 100 mph (161 km/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. The business suffered a gradual commercial decline during the late 1960s, eventually closing in February 1971.
Sherco is a French motorcycle manufacturer, specialising in off-road motorbikes. Sherco are best known for their extremely popular trials bikes, although they also make enduro and supermoto bikes.
The next new Ducati engine to appear after the Ducati Apollo was the 90° V-twin, initial Grand Prix racing versions being 500 cc, and the production bikes were 750 cc. There was also the Ducati 750 Imola Desmo that won at Imola in 1972. These engines had bevel gear shaft drive to the overhead camshaft, and were produced in round, square, and Mille crankcases. In the 1980s, these gave way to the belt drive camshaft engines that have continued to this day, in air-cooled and liquid-cooled form. The Mille used a plain bearing crank, like the belt models.
The BSA Gold Star is a motorcycle made by BSA from 1938 to 1963. They were 350 cc and 500 cc single-cylinder four-stroke production motorcycles known for being among the fastest bikes of the 1950s. Being hand built and with many optional performance modifications available, each motorcycle came from the factory with documented dynamometer test results, allowing the new owner to see the horsepower (bhp) produced.
The Matchless G80 is a single cylinder 500 cc British motorcycle built by Associated Motorcycles (AMC) between 1946 and 1966. During the 1950s and 1960s, the main export product for AMC was the AJS/Matchless range – the road bikes were very similar, often with only the badges distinguishing one marque from the other; the equivalent AJS being the Model 18.
Motorcycle components and systems for a motorcycle are engineered, manufactured, and assembled in order to produce motorcycle models with the desired performance, aesthetics, and cost. The key components of modern motorcycles are presented below.
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 MSS is a motorcycle made by Velocette. It was fast, reliable and economical but could not compete against a new range of British twin-cylinder motorcycles. Production ended in 1968.
The Britten V1000 is a handbuilt race motorcycle designed and built by John Britten and a group of friends in Christchurch, New Zealand during the early 1990s. The bike went on to win the Battle of the Twins in Daytona International Speedway's Daytona Bike Week festivities in the United States and set several world speed records.
The BSA C15 was a 250 cc single-cylinder ohv motorcycle manufactured by the British company BSA from September 1958 until 1967, and was BSA's first four-stroke unit-construction bike. For most of that period, after the introduction of 'Learner Laws' in 1961, a 250 cc was the largest capacity solo machine that a learner could ride unaccompanied when displaying L-plates in the United Kingdom. A road-going Sports derivative was added in 1961, and off-road versions, for Trials and Scrambles, were also available in the range.
The Velocette Valiant was a British motorcycle produced by Velocette from 1957 to 1963. Launched at the 1956 Earl's Court Motorcycle Show, the Valiant had a 192 cc (11.7cu in) flat-twin engine but was expensive and criticized for its underpowered engine.
The Royal Enfield Fury is a British motorcycle made by Royal Enfield at their factory in Redditch. The Fury name has also been used by Royal Enfield Motors in India for a 175 cc motorcycle and for a new 499 cc single in their range for 2011.
The BSA unit twins were a range of unit construction twin-cylinder motorcycles made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) and aimed at the US market. A range of 500 cc (31 cu in), 650 cc (40 cu in) and 750 cc (46 cu in) twins were produced between 1962 and 1972, but they were really developments of the older pre-unit A7/A10 model range with less weight. The engines had a reputation for vibration, but acceleration was good for the time, to a top speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).
The BSA A10 series was a range of 646 cc (39.4 cu in) air-cooled parallel twin motorcycles designed by Bert Hopwood and produced by Birmingham Small Arms Company at Small Heath, Birmingham from 1950 to 1963. The series was succeeded by the A65 unit construction models.
The MV Agusta 125 Motore Lungo, more commonly known as the "carter lungo", was a 125 cc, lightweight two-stroke motorcycle manufactured between 1950 and 1953 by Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta. The machine was often used in racing.
The BSA B40 was a series of 350 cc (21 cu in) unit construction single-cylinder OHV four-stroke motorcycles made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company. Developed from the BSA C15, the machines were produced between 1961 and 1967 for civilian use. Military versions were manufactured from 1967 to 1970. Around 14,000 machines were built in total.
The Ducati 250 Scrambler, known in Europe as the Ducati 250 SCR is an on/off road 249 cc (15.2 cu in) single cylinder bevel drive SOHC motorcycle produced by the Italian manufacturer Ducati from 1962 to 1974. Originally produced for the American Market at the request of the US importers, Berliner Motor Corporation, the model was offered in Europe from 1968. Total production was around 12,000 machines.
The Ducati 450 Scrambler, also known in the US as the Ducati Jupiter and in Europe as the Ducati 450 SCR is an on/off road 436 cc (26.6 cu in) single cylinder bevel drive SOHC motorcycle produced by the Italian manufacturer Ducati from 1969 to 1974. Total production was around 11,000 machines.
The Ducati 100 Scrambler is an on/off road 98 cc (6.0 cu in) single cylinder two stroke motorcycle produced by the Italian manufacturer Ducati in 1970 and 1971. The model was produced to take advantage of the dirt bike craze in Italy at the time. The model used many parts from existing models, keeping R&D costs down. A smaller engined version, the 50 Scrambler, was also produced. The model did not sell well and was soon dropped.
