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Velocette Venom Clubman
The Velocette Venom is a single cylinder four
stroke British motorcycle of 499cc made by Velocette at Hall Green in
Birmingham.
A total of 5721 Velocette Venoms were produced
between 1955 and 1970. In 1961 a production Velocette Venom set the 24-hour
world record at a speed of 100.05 mph. It was the first motorcycle of any size
to achieve an average speed of over 100 mph for 24 hours and to this date no
other motorcycle of the same capacity has been able to equal this world record.
In 1965 the Velocette Venom was further developed
by Velocette designer Bertie Goodman to create the Velocette Thruxton with a
race specification cylinder head that was gas flowed by hand to accommodate
extra-large valves and a downdraught inlet port. It was a very popular and
successful clubman racer. However, although it had more power than the Venom,
the Thruxton could not save Velocette.
Poor sales forced the company into voluntarily
liquidation in 1971, with all the remaining stock and tools sold off to pay
creditors. |
