Velocette Venom
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| Manufacturer | Velocette |
|---|---|
| Production | 1955–70 |
| Engine | 499 cc, OHV air-cooled single |
| Bore / stroke | 86.0 mm × 86.0 mm (3.39 in × 3.39 in) |
| Top speed | 100 mph |
| Power | 34 bhp @ 6,200 rpm |
| Brakes | drum brakes |
| Wheelbase | 54.75 inches (139.1 cm) |
| Weight | 390lb (177 kg) (dry) |
The Velocette Venom was a 499 cc single-cylinder four-stroke British motorcycle made by Velocette at Hall Green in Birmingham. A total of 5,721 machines were produced between 1955 and 1970.
In 1961 a factory-prepared faired Velocette Venom and a team of riders set the 24-hour world record at a speed of 100.05 mph (161.01 km/h) at Montlhéry, a racetrack in France. It was the first motorcycle of any size to achieve an average speed of over 100 mph for 24 hours and, as at 2008, no motorcycle of the same capacity has been able to equal this record.
In 1965, the Velocette Venom was further developed by Velocette designer Bertie Goodman to create the range-topping 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, but although it had more power than the Venom, the Thruxton could not save Velocette. Poor trading conditions over a number of preceding years forced the company into voluntarily liquidation in 1971, with all the remaining stock and tools sold off to pay creditors.
A further development was the Indian Velo 500, an updated, limited-production run of 250 machines devised by American entrepreneur Floyd Clymer, using a Velocette engine with Italian cycle parts.
Introduced in November 1955 and launched at the same time as the 349 cc Velocette Viper, the single-cylinder Venom was developed from the Velocette MSS and needed to compete against a new range of British twin-cylinder motorcycles. Conceived by Velocette’s Eugene Goodman and designed by Charles Udall, the Venom's 499 cc engine had a bi-metal cylinder with a cast-iron liner, high compression piston and a light alloy cylinder head. The design of the engine's high cam with short push-rods was simpler to produce than an overhead camshaft engine.
The Venom had high quality chrome plating and was finished in black paintwork with gold pinstriping. The Sport models of the Venom and the Viper were among the first production motorcycles to have glass fibre enclosure panels from 1960. These quickly-detachable enclosures were produced for Velocette by Avon and extended from the front of the engine, level with the top of the crankcases, to the rear pillion footrests. Although a practical addition in preventing oil-stained clothing, the panels were unpopular with the traditional buyers of Velocette singles.
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