Technical items from "The MotorCycle" and "MotorCycling".........

I always like the small technical items that have been featured in "The MotorCycle" and "MotorCycling" since the 1930's through to their demise in the 1970's....

So lets feature some, not in any particular order or theme.....

Left click on the images to enlarge...

The LE Velocette...another generalised look on how this attempt at "The Everyman Machine" came about......

I've looked at the LE Velocette before in my blog, but am going this time to take a generalised view, making no comment of judgement of it using extracts form Phil Irving's design notebooks and scans from some big names in Velocette history...
"Always in the Picture", "The Velocette Saga", Phil Irving's Autobiography and other material from my archive.....
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2008/08/model-le-velocette-twin-article.html


http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2010/05/further-on-velocette-le-149cc-side.html
Because of the volume of items to include this will be the first of either two or three postings on the subject....
Bear with me.....
Left click on the images to enlarge....
Eugene Goodman, brother of Percy Goodman both directors of Veloce Ltd and the driving force behind the company, seems to have developed the idea of an "Everyman" machine in the 1930's....
He could well have been swayed by the article in "MotorCycling" April 29th 1936....

Discussion with Phil Irving undoubtedly took place and when Phil was bed-ridden due to shrapnel in an air raid on Birmingham in 1941, Eugene arranged for a drawing board to be taken to Phil's house and he commenced work on laying it out....

Phil used his small design notes book, one of four that still exist today, to make calculations and I'll feature these over all the blogs....
They are important as an historical record to be disseminated to all for histories sake....

C.E, "Titch" Allen had a few words to say on it's gestation...

The motorcycling artist George Beresford wrote a small book on the LE, titled "The Story of the Velocette", published by G.S.Davison's "The TT Special" in late 1940's....it also has some unseen photographs from the production line when the LE went into production....

As a later addition to this blog, Pete Young from San Francisco has just alerted us to a film clip by British Pathe films that features the newly introduced LE leaving Hall Green for a test ride and shows the early two stroke pictured above, although the announcer calls the LE  a two stoke rather than the side valve it is and refers to the early two stroke as 40 years older, which, as the film must be in 1948 makes the two stroke a 1908 which I doubt.
It views on Internet Explorer and Google Chrome browsers.
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=27530

Classic Motorcycle racing from Pukekohe, NZ in February 2006...a pictorial view from DQ's camera.....

I guess I mentioned in previous blogs that I and two others Aussies...Elmer McCabe ( AJS 7R) and Eric Debenham ( 1000 Vincent special) were invited to participate in the first of the Classic Motorcycle events held at the Pukekohe circuit south of Auckland in February 1980 and the meeting has continued yearly since then, gaining strength and due to the diligence of the various committees that have run the event over the years, become THE event to ride or spectate at worldwide....
I've been a pretty regular visitor and did a post of this years event...
http://velobanjogent.blogspot.com/2010/02/brief-peek-though-dqs-camera-at-classic.html

But for this blog, lets pop back to 2006......
Left click on the images to enlarge them....

One of the special guest motorcycles at the meeting was the ex Mike Hailwood Honda 500/4 racer. Owned now by Californian Virgil Ewings, it was sent to NZ earlier to have a major gearbox repair effected by Norton supremo Ken McIntosh. Cost no doubt a squillion to fix, but the job was done right and the bike performed.....much to the delight of  the large crowd in attendance over the weekend meeting.
Virgil has a super motorcycle museum, the Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Solvang, California, filled with many of his personal motorcycle collection...
See...
http://www.motosolvang.com/

I mentioned Ken McIntosh...here he is on one of the Norton's he prepares, could be his , else for one of his many customers, worldwide, who utilise the meeting to ride them.

Californian Velo and Norton man Paul Adams, a frequent visitor to Pukekohe with wife Sandy, readies to take his 350 Manx Norton for a practice session.

The Triumph Owners had a tent with a brace of racing Triumphs...from memory and the colour of the racing number they were all 350's...likely 3TA or some derivative...looks like a serious attempt to dominate the 350 class....h'mm..

The late Harry Lowe ( on right with hat), NZer who raced BSA in Europe in the 1950's....

Rider from Japan... regretably I didn't get his name. He rode a Norton but brought a BMW Rennsport out for the 2010 Pukekohe event.

Of course there was Velocette activity there so lets look at some of it...
John Bryant with the NZ Velocette Register display...

Now sadly missed...the late Chas.Belk- Velocette afficionardo and fountain of knowledge Velocette...

Support bracket for the Velocette gearbox mainshaft....

Fork brace on racing Venom....

Twin plug Velo cylinder head.

Racing MOV...with alloy MAC cylinder head.

Mk.8 KTT prepared by Nick Thomson and ridden by Bill Biber.

NZ Velocette Register display...looks like Aussie journalist and "Old Bike Australasia" publisher, Jim Scaysbrook with the fluoro vest on....