VENOM HEAVEN
When I returned to two wheels in 1995 it was on a Velocette Viper. It was a bitsa based on a 1965 Special but was the same price as the AJS 350 I had been considering. I’d wanted a Velocette single since my youth and I finally achieved it at the age of 45. Many bikes have come and gone since then, and the Viper stayed until I acquired a 1956 MSS and a 1960 Venom.
To answer Phil Holloway’s comments in RC204: yes, they have become expensive but they are worth it. For me, the Venom is slightly over-rated. The MSS and Venom are like night and day in terms of how they behave. Handling is impeccable on both, it’s just that I prefer the comfort and laid-back attitude of the MSS for an everyday ride. It’s a lot less temperamental than the Venom. The MSS is a joy to ride, relaxing and comfortable. The Venom (when it starts!) is always in a hurry. Two outwardly similar machines but appearances can be deceptive...
I have three other bikes apart from the Velos, but if I could only keep one you can guess which one would stay. My advice would be join the Owners’ Club (that’s where my Venom came from) and look for a nice MSS.
Adrian Webber, member 5242 350, a BMW R100, an MZ Skorpion, a Triumph T110 and four Velocettes (an MAC and three Venoms).
In addition, I accidentally developed a sideline in importing 1970s and 80s Italian classics into the UK. They did and do make some great machines. The Moto Guzzi V50 Monza is the best all-rounder of them all, I reckon. There’s one in my shed as we speak.
Turning to the Venoms; I was initially unaware of these, even as I insisted to my friend Jan that he needed a 500 single. He took me to see a dodgy-looking Venom at Faulkner’s in Oxford. I was unimpressed, until Mr Faulkner started it. This was clearly a very different animal from the 500 and 600 singles I had owned! A while later, Jan offered me a ride on it. The Venom was punchy, comfortable, compact, great handling and almost vibration-free. It was smooth! It was smooth and powerful! I can still feel myself swooping gracefully around the Cotswold curves, the scent of newly-mown hay in my nostrils, the warm sun, the suspension doing its job accurately and unobtrusively, the healthy bark of that fishtail exhaust and, above all, the heavy flywheels and lovely, lively, torqueladen punch taking me up hill and down dale, as if the throttle was directly geared to the horizon. Did I mention the smoothness?
We rode together, Jan on the 500 Venom and me on my 650 Tiger 110. On a nice straight road, I got it into my head to give the Triumph a bit of welly. It was at the point that I was having to crouch over the handlebars that Jan overtook me, going about 20mph faster. It’s been Venoms for me ever since. I’m now on my third.
Paul Thomas, member