The bike at DRIVE – the Velocette LEVal

Velocette – standard bearer for the single-cylinder engine with legendary sporting successes

Hardly any other motorcycle company's fate is as typical of the rise and fall of the motorcycle industry in England as that of Velocette. Its sporting history boasts unique highlights and successes from 1921 to 1961. The company's contribution to motorcycle technology is also much greater than one might think. Not only did it invent the internal caliper brake and the foot-operated gear shift, which always returns to neutral (positive stop) and is now standard, but Velocette also designed the rear suspension with swing arm and spring struts, which is now common on motorcycles. Velocette's famous KTT king shaft engine is the epitome of the English single-cylinder high-performance engine developed down to the last detail, whose design was ultimately adopted by the well-known Norton company.

The history of Velocette actually begins in Germany

This is because the company's founder, John Goodman, was originally called Johannes Gütgemann and came from Germany. At the age of nineteen, he moved to England in 1876, got married there, and started producing bicycles with a Mr. Barrett in Birmingham at the Taylor Gue. Ltd. company.

• In 1905, Taylor launched a motorcycle under the name “Veloce.” However, the company went into liquidation in the same year. John Goodman immediately founded Veloce Ltd. with a new investor.
• In 1914, Veloce launched an inexpensive two-stroke model, which was built as a model series until 1940. This motorcycle from Veloce bore the type name “Velocette” in gold lettering on the tank. This was the birth of the brand name for all models. However, the company name “Veloce” was retained.

In 1921, Velocette took part in the TT Tourist Trophy for the first time

And Velocette achieved respectable results right from the start, finishing in 3rd, 5th and 7th place. In the meantime, John Goodman's sons Percy and Eugene had joined the company's management and in 1924 decided to develop a powerful four-stroke model, which was tested in the TT a year later before going into production.

• In 1926, Velocette achieved a sensational victory in the 350 cc class of the TT with this model, rounded off with 5th and 9th places. This was also the first victory for a bevel-shaft design, which thus set the trend for other companies. After finishing second in 1927, Velocette won the 1928 TT with first, second, and fifth places. In 1929, Velocette won the 350cc class again, followed by third place and Velocette private riders in fifth, sixth, seventh, tenth, and eleventh places, who were riding commercially available versions of the factory machines.
• The two-stroke models offered in normal business were supplemented by an additional series of four-stroke models from 1933. In the following years, racing successes were left to private riders, who, for example, took 11 places among the first 16 riders to finish in the 350cc class of the TT in 1933. In the meantime, Velocette had also developed a racing version for the 500cc class, which took second place in the TT from 1936 to 1938.
• In 1938 and 1939, Velocette won the 350cc class of the TT again and also became European champion in 1938. In the 350cc TT in 1939, there were five other Velocettes in the top 10 behind the winner and another 26 at the finish line.

Racing models developed to perfection

These figures demonstrate the significance and superiority of these racing models, which were developed step by step to perfection. Between 1926 and 1939, Velocette worked its way up from being an almost unknown brand to one of the most respected companies in motorcycle racing and technology, even though it was a dwarf by today's standards.

In 1939, production was just over 100 machines per week.

• In 1947, the first post-war TT took place, with Velocette taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 8th places among the top 10 riders in the 350cc class. Velocette also won the 350cc class of the TT in 1948 and 1949 and was well represented in the rankings with a large number of privately owned machines. A motorcycle world championship was then held from 1949, which Velocette won in the 350cc class in 1949 and 1950.
• In 1961, Velocette set a world record over 24 hours with an average speed of 100.05 miles/h, or 161.01 km/h, on a 500cc motorcycle, the production model “Venom,” which remains unbroken to this day.

The management of the family business realized that the future of two-wheelers lay in a different direction.

• In 1949, Velocette introduced an unusual vehicle, a hybrid between a scooter and a motorcycle, the LE (Little Engine) model, with a water-cooled, side-valve boxer engine initially with a displacement of 149 cc and cardan drive, telescopic front fork and swing arm at the rear. This quiet and comfortable vehicle for “everyone” with partial fairing was received with caution by the market due to its unusual appearance, but soon found good sales.
• In 1950, around 160 units were produced each month. This was the company's capacity limit and therefore the reason why production of the other models was initially almost discontinued. The displacement of the LE was increased to 192 cc in 1951. The power output was 8 hp.

This vehicle was used to equip the English police on a large scale, so that by the mid-1960s, almost the entire LE production was delivered to the police.

• In 1956, Velocette introduced a new model, the Valiant. Instead of the pressed steel frame of the LE, a conventional motorcycle frame was used, into which the engine block and drive unit of the LE were fitted. However, the engine was overhead valve and air-cooled and, with 12 hp, delivered more power than the LE. The Valiant was built until 1964, while production of the LE continued until 1970. 

Despite the sales success of the LE, Velocette, like almost all other English motorcycle manufacturers, eventually ran into financial difficulties, and the company management went into voluntary liquidation in 1970.

The LEVal is a so-called hybrid, a private DIY project created from two different types of motorcycles. In this case, the LE's engine, including the drive unit, was built into the chassis of the Valiant. This was relatively unproblematic, as the clutch, transmission, and drive train are almost identical in both models. The main problem was the availability of the chassis. Approximately 1,600 Valiants were built between 1956 and 1963, and approximately 8,000 LE Mk IIIs between 1958 and 1971. However, it was a little difficult to fit the LE's water cooler into the Valiant chassis. Only the LE Mk III engine was suitable for conversion, as it had a foot-operated gear shift and a 4-speed transmission, unlike the Mk II with manual transmission and 3-speed transmission.

The LEVal – the British police's “Noddy bike”

One more note: The LEs were called “Noddy bikes” in England. When on police duty, senior officers had to be greeted by raising their hands. To avoid letting go of the handlebars, it was ordered that a nod of the head was sufficient, hence the name “Noddy bike.”