50 years!

[Sir Limpsalot]

Fifty years, half a century, say it how you will it's a long time for a speed record to stand. This machine, now happily retired in the National Motorcycle Museum in the midlands still holds the record it set in 1961.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee298/thruxton120/MuseumNov09160.jpg

The full story of the event can be found here,

http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/search/label/Velocette

Take the time to read it, and ponder the fact that although numerous attempts have been made to take the record from it the, almost standard, pushrod single remains unbeaten!

Cheers,
Si.

[DarthRider]

Thanks Si, that's just great!
107 avg for 24 hrs. is phenomenal on that bike, on any bike really. And the 24 hr. avg was higher than the 12 hr. No telling how fast they would have gone if they'd stayed at it another couple of days...it sounds like the Velo would have made it OK.
That page is a treasure trove of cool Velo stories, what a gem!

I have a funny Velo story I'll tell later...I have to dash out and finish installing the new zoomie exhaust on the little Kawasaki...

[Sir Limpsalot]

Dave, after the record run the Venom passed into private hands and was displayed in the small museum at Stamford Hall (a stately home in the British midlands). It was exactly as it finished the record, spattered with flies, badly worn tyres and a little oil stained, mostly flung from the chain. It was quite a surprise to see it all tarted up at the NMM (I think I prefered it the way it was - sigh). Lessons learned from the Venom went into the making of the "Thruxton" model, which had a good following and won at least one TT race.

American racer/journalist/tech-maven Gordon Jennings once entered a Thruxton in an AMA event (knowing, I'm sure, he would have no chance against the factory 750's). The Harley boys were there and Cal Rayborn was "on fire". He passed Jennings so often that at a fuel stop he remarked "I didn't know Velocette had a team here.."

Si.

[1MPH]

He passed Jennings so often that at a fuel stop he remarked "I didn't know Velocette had a team here.."Si.


That is a great line.
Nice article Simon. Thanks.

[vintagemxr]

American racer/journalist/tech-maven Gordon Jennings once entered a Thruxton in an AMA event (knowing, I'm sure, he would have no chance against the factory 750's). The Harley boys were there and Cal Rayborn was "on fire". He passed Jennings so often that at a fuel stop he remarked "I didn't know Velocette had a team here.."
Si.

That would help explain why Jennings told me once about 1972 when I told him I always wanted a Thruxton "You'd be a fool to buy one of those" and then launched into a 5 minute technical diatribe on the failings of the Thruxton. I don't care, I still want one.

the other Doug

[panthercity]

"I didn't know Velocette had a team here.."
Si. http://www.gigabikes.com/forums/html/emoticons/laf.gif.gif

Priceless!