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The Velocette name is the name associated with the Goodman family with Percy Goodman likely most well known for his OHC design's and the Velocette success in racing.
But as "Titch" Allen mentions in his book..."The Velocette Saga", published over a 16 month period around 1969 in the UK Motorcycle magazine "MotorCycle Sport" then as a hard cover book in 1994...Percy's younger brother Eugene was almost a shadowy figure in the background at Veloce Ltd who was concerned at the amount of business the company was doing....sales had fallen in the early 1930's to a half, even a third of the business done in the late 1920's. He set about and designed a pushrod 250 OHV machine which could be built more economically than the OHC models the company had pinned their hopes on and perhaps was the idea of the "everyman" machine that he later came to be more well known for, the LE Velocette.
According to Ivan Rhodes in his book "Technical Excellence Exemplified"-Velocette, the first MOV was invoiced in October 1933 to W.Tiffin the Carlisle Velocette dealers, engine and frame number 1.
This is interesting as in "The MotorCycle" 15th June 1933 there is a full double page advertising spread heralding the new MOV with dealers adverts, presumably where you could obtain one...
"The MotorCycle" also road tested it further in the magazine.
By December 1933 some over 400 MOV's were dispatched to dealers and presumably impatient customers who may well have pestered the local dealer from June.
The MOV became the start of the pushrod OHV series of Velocettes made up to their cessation of business in February 1971.
In fact the timing chest cover, called "The map of Africa" cover was used on all of these OHV Velocettes.
Following are extracts from Titch and Ivan's books as well as Dave Masters "Illustrated Profile of Velocette Models", which give some insight into the development of this Velocette that was, as mentioned, the fore runner of the OHV Velocette.
The MOV proved a very successful engine to race in the 250 class world wide.
The Holmes family in the UK raced MOV's with great success, which I have little information on but their success is related in Titch's book, pages 82-85.
Earlier in Australia, pre-war, the foreman of the NSW Velocette distributor Tommy Jemison was sent a bronze head from Veloce and he won many events on with this on his MOV racer, including the Australian and NSW GP & TT 250 races at Bathurst,NSW in 1934,35,36,38, culminating with the 250cc Australian Land Speed record of 101.123mph ( approx.100mph one way, approx.102.5mph the other) set at dawn on the Hume Highway ( closed to the public for the attempt) at Leppington, south of Sydney, NSW on 20th December 1939.
Jemison had held the previous record from 17th August 1935 at 92.52mph.
Ewald Kluge on the factory supercharged DKW in Australia in 1938, made an unsuccessful attempt to better the 92.52mph on the Northcott Road, Canberra ACT.
To better the record you had to beat it by 2mph. Kluge achieved 94.24mph.
Immediately following this attempt, Jemison made his new higher speed.
Jemison's record stood until January 1973 when it was broken by Bryan Hindle on a streamlined Yamaha at 125.252mph on a salt lake in Western Australia.
Jemison is pictured on the bike below.
Jemsion during the 1935 record attempt.
Jemison on the MOV in road racing trim.
In the late 1940's Sid Willis had a 250 OHC Velocette racer and obtained a prewar DOHC factory Velocette head and cambox. He became really hard to beat with this setup. On his one European campaign in 1953 he finished 5th in the Lightweight 250 IOM TT...the first privateer home, on the DOHC 250 Velo.
To attempt to beat Willis, South Australian rider Les Diener converted his 250 OHV MOV racer to a DOHC set-up.
At the same time Sydney racer Ted Carey also converted his 250 MOV to a DOHC setup.
Great racing battles occurred with victories to both these riders in the time into the mid 1950's.
Pictured is Les #31 on his DOHC 250 MOV leading #15 Alan Burt on a Waggott engined 250 DOHC Velocette at the Mildura races in Victoria.
Pictured is Les Diener on his 250 DOHC MOV..."Eldee".
Following Les's retirement from racing he moved to other things and his Eldee was sold on...then later restored. Unable to buy it back in the 1990's, Les set about remaking the bike...Eldee 2 was created.
They are pictured together below....
Eldee 2
Ted Carey in action in early 1950's
Ted's engine in early 2000's
Ted's engine, owned my Malcolm Sullivan since 1960's and restored into a modern classic racer.
In an earlier Blog I discussed Smiths tachometer drive gearboxes.
This blog discusses the small 90 degree instrument drive gearboxes that were fitted to the Smiths chronometric speedometer and tachometer. As well the later BG2410 series drives that were a thumb screw attachment to Smiths speedometers to get a more suitable cable run in Rover 2000 and 3500 P6 cars and Jaguar XJ6 cars in the period mid 1960-end 1970.
Left click on any image to enlarge it....
The first pic is one that perplexes me....
You'll note it is a 250MPH speedometer in 80mm dia. format...wow!
I obtained this with the stock of the ex Smiths Competition Shop, Oxgate Lane, London, that I bought in the 1980's from the last manager, the late Jack Owens.
I never questioned him over it's use regrettably....so now I figure it could be off a Le Mans endurance racer, note the black bezel rim to cut reflection rather than the usual chrome version. To this day we can't identify it....
H'mm....
Well new information to light from Rodger Howard of Howard Instruments in Melbourne, Victoria to whom I sold the speedo to.
He chased up it's history and it is from a 1966 Jaguar XJ13 Le Mans racer
You'll notice that it has the small angle drive, attached by a keyplate to the case.
The method of attachment is shown...you'll notice that the internal die-cast frame that holds the movement mechanism has no threaded section with mainshaft, rather this is all in the small drive.
So the other drive, mentioned above is a clamp on type Smiths drive..illustrated below.
Illustrated is an assembly of both keyplate and clamp-on drives in parts...
I mentioned above the three types...illustrated below, beside each other.
The BG2410 series has several attachment methods , illustrated as well as in parts. We tooled up to make these years ago and still make and supply them.
KTT made Smiths 150mph Vincent Black Shadow speedo with BG2410 angle drive attached.
I've run pen and ink drawings from "MotorCycle", "MotorCycling" and other sources over several previous blogs....see Motorcycle pen and ink images in the subject listings off to the RHS of the blog.
I admire the skill of the artists.....
I keep a folder titled "Fillin Drawings" in my Aust. VOC magazine, FTDU, file......
Lets have a look at some for this blog....
No particular theme or order.....
Again, credit to Morton's MotorCycle Media in the UK for their use....
Left click on the images to enlarge....
Lubrication of the Veloce two stroke , poss. 1917
Lucas 1930 battery hydrometer reading.
Motorcycle show bystander....
Miller lighting innovations, 1954.
Moseley pneumatic saddle cover...
Mosely tyre advert, March 1935.
248cc Velocette MOV engine drawing...note the straight cut timing gears, so it is one of the first couple of hundred engines made....
Primary chain adjustment....
Rake and trail.....
Rim security bolt location.....
Sodium filled exhaust valve, schematic, diagram...favoured in racing engines in the 1950's
solderless nipple replacement idea for a broken clutch cable...
In earlier Blogs I've featured photos from the late Allen Burt's collection, which is in my custody.....
Left click on the images to enlarge...
This presentation is in no special order, but going though the large folder I have of the prints and miscellanea these come out as evocative of the young aspiring privateer to the "Continental Circus" of motorcycle racing.
Coming from Australia meant a 4-5 week ship voyage...in 1955 on the P & O Arcadia....
Below, to the left, Bob Brown relaxes in a deck chair with Allen Burt behind.
In London, they made for Associated Motorcycles in Plumstead where use was made of the office to assist with entry requests to various race meetings...
Race transport outside London "digs"....
Douglas promenade, IOM TT 1955. Bob Brown and Allen Burt to the RHS.
AB collects from the photography shop, photos taken during voyage to TT and there, 1955, processed by S.R.Keig in Douglas.
Letter from NW200 detailing AB's winnings for that meeting in June 1958 on his second foray into European racing...
Found in ABs folder, believed on the 1955 trip, but unsure where, as is the 250 Sportsmax photo below. The number #92 was not used in any 250 TT races, but could still display racing numbers from a previous meeting...H'mmmm...
As you'll see by the comment below kindly left by H.Schubert, the NSU is Eric Hinton's bike at the North West 200 in 1956.
Eric is a friend of mine and I need to have a chat again with him, chase up some photos and feature him on this blog.
The Hinton family were a dynasty in motorcycle racing...younger brother Robert still rides here in Australia in Classic racing events on early Yamahas.
Eric and Robert's father Harry, affectionately known a "chisel" was racing from before WW2.
Eric's son Peter is a successful motorcycle racer.
In fact I need to do a blog on the Hinton family.....
And finally, this photo, given to him and it pictures riders during TT week 1953, they are Aussies, as the central rider is Keith Bryen, and next to him on the left in the pic is Tony McAlpine and it's outside "Rose Villa" the accomodation haunt for the Commonwealth riders....
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