JOLLY GOOD VELOS
With their individual style and mechanical idiosyncrasy, Velocettes exert an uncommon attraction. We sample the attributes of the venerable Venom and Venom Thruxton on modern roads
Get set for a Thruxton and Venom singles twin test, as it were...
Booming along the A26 in Kent, the pair of Velocette singles sound, and look, sensational. There can’t be many better ways to beat the pandemic blues than taking a blast on two of the finest sporting singles ever to emerge from Hall Green. I’m chasing classic dealer Anthony Godin’s lovely Venom aboard another machine from his showroom – a 1967 Thruxton. The sun is shining and both bikes are in their element. So am I. And I’m looking forward to comparing the two bikes head-to-head on a morning ride through the Garden of England.
The Thruxton is the ultimate Velocette single – literally and figuratively. It’s the last in a long and distinguished line of sporting singles that goes all the way back to the ohc K series machines of the ’20s. But the Venom and Thruxton owe more to the ohv MSS. Introduced in 1935, the 500cc MSS was a good seller for Velocette and, postwar, the re-introduced and redesigned MSS appeared for 1954. The new bike adopted square, 86 x 86mm bore and stroke dimensions and was a significant update on the ‘old’ MSS. Tuned versions of the revived model proved successful in American desert racing and flat track, and provided the inspiration for new sports roadster models – the 350cc Viper and the 500cc Venom, which were launched late in 1955.
The new Velocettes shared a bottom end, with a smaller bore of 72mm being used on the Viper. But the 499cc Venom was much more than just a tarted up MSS. Based on Velocette’s experience with developing the fiery MSS Scrambler, the new model featured 8:1 compression (not as high as the MSS Scrambler) and churned out a more than respectable 36bhp at 6200rpm. That was good enough for a top speed over the ton and the Venom was duly annointed as Velocette’s range-topping model.
There’s always somebody who wants more though, isn’t there? And, by 1960, the clamour for more power led to Velocette introducing a Clubman version of the Venom. An Amal TT carburettor, a close-ratio gearbox, BTH racing magneto and compression upped to 9.3:1 lifted performance significantly, while optional extras included a megaphone exhaust, rev counter and alloy rims. Proof of just how good the Venom was came in 1961. A factory-prepared Venom Clubman with a race fairing set a new world 12-hour speed record for a motorcycle at just over 104mph at the Montlhéry circuit, just south of Paris, before pressing on for another 12 hours to set a new 24-hour speed record at an average speed of 100.05mph. Back at home, racing successes underlined the potential of the Venom. In the 1964 Thruxton 500 endurance race, Venoms took the first three places in the 500cc class, and the best of the trio – ridden by Howard German and Alan Harris – was third overall.
That performance provided at least some of the inspiration for the final development of the Venom – the Venom Thruxton. The results of tuning the Venom led Reg Orpin, accomplished tuner and workshop manager at top Velo dealer L Stevens in London, to experiment further. Using a modified cylinder head, produced by Dick Brown of Modern Cycle Works and supplied through American Velocette importer Lou Branch, plus a bigger carb, Orpin got the power up again.
The head featured a two-inch inlet valve and the power gain was enough to convince Velocette to produce production versions of their own as optional extras for the Venom. And, using the new head, a rear-swept exhaust, a Tickle tls front brake, clip-ons and rearsets, Reg Orpin produced what would effectively be the prototype of the Venom Thruxton. The bike was shown at the Earls Court Show in November 1964 and the Thruxton was born.
In fact, production versions of the new model differed in some respects from the Orpin prototype. The standard Venom cam was used – though with 1¼in radius followers instead of the Venom’s one-inch, to give faster opening and closing. There was a 13/8in Amal GP carburettor, too, double-damped forks adopted from the MSS Scrambler and Velocette’s own tls front brake in place of the Tickle unit. Along with the downdraught carburettor inlet, necessitating the Thruxton’s trademark cutaway at the rear of the fuel tank to clear it – and more if a megaphone exhaust was used – it was enough to bump power up to a claimed 41bhp.
It worked. David Dixon and Joe Dunphy won the 500cc class at the 1965 Thruxton 500 (actually run at Castle Combe that year) on the new model, While, at the TT in 1967, Neil Kelly and Keith Heckles scored a onetwo finish in the Production race – albeit on bikes more than a little breathed on. Following the dropping of the Gold Star by BSA in 1963, the Venom Thruxton had become the top of the British sporting single heap.
‘IN 1961, A FACTORY-PREPARED VENOM CLUBMAN SET A NEW WORLD 12-HOUR SPEED RECORD AT OVER 104mph’
Sadly, it wasn’t to last. Development of the Thruxton was limited. Coil ignition replaced magneto in 1968 and that was about that. Only around 1108 Venom Thruxtons were built, alongside about 5720 standard Venoms. And, as the end of the ’60s drew near, so, too, did the end for the Velocette company. Demand for the traditional sporting single had ebbed dramatically. There was a new wave of sophisticated – and fast – machines from Japan flooding the market and the almost handbuilt Velocette singles struggled to compete for sales. The company went into liquidation in February 1971.
Fortunately for anyone who has a soft spot for the traditional virtues of the sporting Brit single, there are plenty of survivors from the golden age. And Anthony’s two machines can open my eyes to the differences between the lively Venom and the racer-on-the-roads Thruxton. That’s why I’m straddling the Venom Thruxton, blipping the throttle and grinning like a cat that’s got the cream as we prepare to head out from Anthony’s Mereworth forecourt.
The Thruxton looks so incredibly lean and low, I’m expecting an uncompromising riding position. But, as we ease out into the Wednesday traffic, I’m pleasantly surprised. The rear-sets aren’t too radical and the clip-ons – mounted an inch or so below the top yoke – don’t feel too extreme, either. Easing on to a roundabout, I’m
‘AS I REACH 4000rpm, THE SPEEDO NEEDLE SEEMS TO BE SWINGING ROUND ALMOST AS FAST AS THE REV COUNTER’
equally relieved by the feel and power of the tls front brake. In my experience, sometimes tls brakes can flatter to deceive, but not here. That’s a big plus in the regular traffic encountered in south-east England.
Mixing it on busy roads, the Thruxton impresses with its bottom-end torque, too. For a bike that should crack 110mph in stock trim, there’s a surprisingly soft and flexible power delivery at low revs. Perhaps the Venom cam helps, but the Thruxton doesn’t feel like the all-or-nothing racer it is. But, as the traffic thins out, I can use a few more revs and appreciate what the bike is all about.
There’s not a stomping rush of power – at least it doesn’t feel like there is – but as I get up over 4000rpm, the speedometer needle seems to be swinging round almost as fast as the one on the rev counter. ‘Deceptively fast’ is how I’d categorize the Thruxton engine. I wouldn’t doubt the claims of 110mph from a standard bike and the high cam engine is so delightfully smooth – especially for a big single – that I’m not surprised at the reputation for extraordinary mechanical integrity the Velocette mill enjoys. It really does feel like it would hold illegally high speeds all day without any problems.
And, while the frame may be an old-fashioned brazed and lugged construction not a million miles removed from Velocette’s pre-war offerings, the Thruxton handles extremely well. Fast, sweeping bends are its natural habitat but, as we head off the main road on to some twisty back lanes, the Thruxton is great fun to chuck about, diving into corners and firing out with a fistful
‘BOTH ARE FINE EXAMPLES OF THE GOOD OLD-FASHIONED CLASSIC BRITISH SPORTING SINGLE: SLIM, PUNCHY AND FAST’
of revs. The gearbox is positive, though with a slightly long throw to the lever action and Velocette’s unusual, ‘tilt’ clutch release (the pressure plate tilts, rather than lifts, allowing the plates to peel away as the clutch is disengaged), it works as Hall Green intended. Perhaps I wouldn’t be so enthusiastic about the Thruxton if I had to spend an hour commuting through the city on it, but on a day like today it’s hard to criticise.
We pull over and swap bikes. I’m slightly concerned that the Venom will feel a little tame after one of the finest, ready-made café racers I’ve experienced. But, as I acclimatise myself to the more relaxed riding position of the Venom, I realise I needn’t have worried. The Venom is a very fine bike in its own right. For my taste, the footrests are a touch too far forward, but the flat bars and thickly padded seat are a delightfully comfortable combination. As I expect, the handling is on a par with the Thruxton’s – they use the same frame after all – and the brakes are just as good, because a past owner has opted to retro-fit a tls Thruxton unit.
The engine is a peach. It’s appreciably torquier than the Thruxton’s and pulls from low revs almost like a trials bike. But get it rolling in top gear and it’s certainly no steady plodder. The legal dual carriageway maximum comes up with ease and the motor feels like it’s barely turning. I’d say 90-95mph would be easily attainable. The gearbox ratios may be spaced a little further apart than in the close-ratio Thruxton box, but the extra spread of torque amply compensates.
Which is better? The Thruxton is, as you’d expect, faster at the top end, so revving it and using the closeratio gears, it accelerates quicker. But its uncompromising riding position won’t be for everyone. The lovely, flexible spread of power of the Venom makes it easy to ride pretty quickly – or, indeed, slowly. Maybe the Venom with the racy headlight and rear-sets from the Thruxton, yet retaining the Venom’s flat handlebars...?
Having ridden both bikes, what I would say is it’s a shame that Velocette couldn’t weather the commercial storm back in 1971. Both the Venom and Thruxton are fine examples of the good old-fashioned classic British sporting single – slim, punchy and fast. But, back in 1970, young riders didn’t want traditional, old-fashioned or classic. They wanted power, colour and more cylinders. They wanted bikes that looked up to the minute, and which were modern and flashy. Maybe the Velocette single’s time had passed. But, 50 years on, the world has changed again, and the Venom and Thruxton look simply stunning. They’re both great to ride, smooth – and fast. Classic is back in style.