I'm back....Happy New Year to you all... the L.E Velocette, Thruxton MOV, Speedway Velos and miscellania....

After 3 weeks in Eastern , Atlantic Canada, DQ and Mrs DQ returned to Sydney to the heat of summer, following a pretty cold wintery Christmas with family....... that aspect was fantastic, but the increased airport security and three long flights to Oz made it trying.
A pic of Mrs DQ, thrilled at a sleigh ride........

































2010.... the new decade and this blog is a mixed bag of items while I sort out some of the technical blogs I've promised......
Left click on images to enlarge......

An old UK shot, but the news in Europe/UK of big snow dumps makes this pretty relevant.....




















Hope Santa brought you a Mk.8 KTT.....friend Gert Boll tried
with this pic on a Christmas card years ago......

















When I took delivery of my new Velocette Venom Thruxton in February 1967 ( VMT458), friend Jim Day had been mulling over a project and so his "Thruxton MOV Velocette" was the result.... these are the only photos I have of the bike, it having been altered to a KSS Special amongst other things, but is currently risen from the ashes into the MOV again......I'll pop around to see him with my camera....
































Sidecar speedway has always been on the program at Australian speedway meetings and was big in the 1950's and 60's with Vincent 1000 engines....often opened out to 1300cc and on methanol, with CR's over 12:1....
Novice riders used other engines and the iron MSS Velocette proved a useful tool....it took compression ratios in the order of 14:1.....

















The pic below was taken at the Sydney Sports Ground Speedway, 03.03.1950 and features Ray Cuddikly and Ern Adlam.













A pic taken during 1966 when Jim Day and I rode our Velos to Broken Hill in far western NSW, during January and the heat of summer, dirt roads....my 1961 Venom in the foreground shows evidence of a fall in the soft sand....Jim surveys the rear wheel puncture in his 1956 MSS. Temperature that day was 115 degrees F.....

















I had a "bad habit" of taking photos on the move on my motorcycles....luckily never suffered loss of control.... this taken during July 1998 during the US Annual Rally Ride across the Sierras....the Dardenelle ride.... looks like Gil Loe on his BMW intially ahead....














Searching the Australian Government trade mark records years ago I came across the entry for Velocette patenting the use of the name "Velocette".... the illegible stamp, which didn't copy was for 1974 when it was removed from the register after Veloce's demise....
The other pic is for a machine identity plate..... unsure if USA , European or Australian, although I've not seen one on any Velos here in Australia.





































The Adelaide, South Australia Velocette agent, Lou Borgelt visited the UK and Europe on trips to seek motorcycle agencies and discuss machine problems with companies. He made trips in 1922, 1936 and 1948 and kept hand written diaries. These survive; Lou Borgelt is long dead and Pud Freeman of Elizabeth, South Australia is now their custodian.
In 2006 he agreed to loan them to the Australian Velocette OC to be copied....John Jennings, the current Club Secretary has the project in hand and as they are re-typed out I've serialised them in the Club magazine FTDU.
Following is text from Lou's 1948 trip and his first ride on the new LE 150....
Several pics follow....
One of the introduction of the new LE at the November 1948 Earles Court Motorcycle Show, the other a pic I took during the 2002 Aust. Nat. Velo Rally, held at Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains area of Southern NSW with three LE's struggling under the climb to the 5000' pass in the National Park.... they've just paid the toll.....
Who are they?.....
L to R....Keith and Colleen Canning, Pete and Bev Wolfenden, Peter Boros....










































Extract from Lou Borgelt's diary......

Borgelt Diary Extract – Wed 17^th November 1948, Birmingham UK

I return to the Grand Hotel where Mrs. Borgelt hands me a letter from the J.A.P. works, also one from Australia House with lengthy leaflet about the Aboriginal picture exhibition in London. I break my glasses so take them to optician for new frame.

Have lunch at the Midland Hotel and do we go short? Oh no! Thick soup, bread, guinea fowl, potatoes and cauliflower, apple-date pie. It cost 5/- but it was a dinner. Nobody eating at restaurants or Hotels go short, they have plenty of food; it is the housewife who suffers. This morning at breakfast had sort of Weetbix and pears, large plate of fish with a tomato and few mushrooms. Toast, enough butter. Sugar in shakers for cereal and plenty of sugar loaf for tea (A big fellah breakfast). Room, bed and breakfast cost two of us 42/- per day (wow!).

Mr. Percy Williams stayed here recently (of P & R Williams, Sydney) anyhow may as well swank it even if we can’t afford it. The room faces a small park and the Birmingham Cathedral in the centre, a large window, room 25’ x 13’, two single beds, hot and cold water, easy chair and two chairs, writing table, dressing and make up table for Mrs. Borgelt, telephone, eiderdowns and a large wardrobe and wall to wall carpet. ‘Nuff said and we are comfortable and that is what matters.

Take bus to Veloce works. Meet Mr. Percy and a Swede in his office. I wander around the works and look up Tommy Mutton who gets an L.E. ready for me to ride on the road. He loans me his zipper flying suit and gloves and away I go. Pick up 1 gallon petrol. Here they have a double ticket, with 1/2 gallon on each. I say one gallon and tank would not take it; I hand out ticket and chaps look at me in horror to say ‘what are you putting over’, because it was only a 1/2 gallon ticket. I apologise and they siphon 1/2 gallon from tank and I pay 1/1d. Several chaps come along to look at the L.E. Velo while one, a policeman in plain clothes, asks how can he get to Australia. I give him my card and tell him to write to the Commissioner of Police, Adelaide, and I continue my trial run on the L.E. and find it is very excellent to ride. It has a feeling of stability, really silent and smooth -to ride. I return to works, crawl out of suit and am back for tea at the works. Meet Mr. Eugene Goodman, a brother of Mr. Percy, and the designer of the L.E. Velo. We have a general discussion re a 200 L.E. and the desirability to continue with the M.A.C. Eugene took it in I am sure, but he says why should they continue with an old 1933 model, an out of date bike. I differed to say it is still the most excellent of its type!