1961 Velocette Venom 500cc

All Rights Reserved Keith Fryer / Phoenix Photo

Chance rides can carry all kinds of risks. Take Chris Brown for example; a short spin on a Velocette Venom and he just had to go and buy one. It wouldn't suit you, Chris, you're too tall." A good job he ignored the friendly advice, otherwise he would have missed owing a truly fine motorcycle. Hes a tall lad, is Chris, standing six foot two in his best cotton socks, but that hasn't stopped him from clocking up mile after mile on this handsome '61 Venom. No stranger to the perks and pitfalls of running British motorcycles, Chris Brown has a wealth of experience to draw on when making his choices, so does he feel justified in buying the Venom? "Definitely. It's a super bike to ride, very good handling and an engine that performs well." Performance wasn't always on his list of priorities, as evidenced by a 197cc James, his first motorcycle at sixteen years old. He remembers "That one was purely for transport; to get me to work, but since then, I've never been without a bike. Even when I got marriedyou know what it's like, it's normal for everything to go - it was still there in the garage." Today that garage plays host to, amongst others, three Royal Enf ields, a Fastback Commando, and a CCM. As a single man he developed an interest in off road riding, piloting a Greeves around many trials courses and eventually added a 350cc Royal Enfield.

His plan was "That by buying bikes that would be v irtually worthless to sell, there would be no point in selling them, so I would always have a motorcycle..." A great idea, until in a moment of weakness, he did sell the Enfield, just before the pre '65 boom took off. A number of other bikes passed through, including a Norman B3 sports twin, a 600cc Scott and a succession of Greeves trials bikes. He ended up w ith a 250cc Greeves International, which was an ex works machine used by the 1963 ISDT Team and was ridden by Peter Stirland. Now the Greeves has a tale to tell, not Velo related, but a good 'un all the same. It's current whereabouts and condition isn't known, since its last resting place was the National Motorcycle Museum before the fire. If anyone does know of the fate of 458 JOO Chris would like hear from you. Contact through the magazine, thanks. So what of the Greeves? Well, Chris, then just twenty-two years old, decided to have a stab at an overland trip to Australia along with his friend Phil Harvey. Chris took the Greeves, Phil rode a 350 Ariel NH. Their route eastwards took them through some of the troubled regions, including Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan. Theres a photo of both Chris and Phil opposite, similar to the 'John O'Groats' style images, except these say 'London 5878 miles' and point down a desolate track. Riders and machines are travel stained and the hard, grainy black and white image captures the mood perfectly. Just a glance and you know that many long, hard miles lay under those wheels. "There weren't that many problems with the bike, though, " recalls Chris. " We had a fuel blockage, a broken clutch cable, snapped chain and a puncture."

Phil Harvey

Chris Brown

Working for Post Office Telephones at the time, he was able to "Pay the local men w ith PO pens to repair the tyre." The trip wasn't finished as planned, for having got to Karachi the onward journey should have been by boat but the shipping arrangements proved to be a cock up so they ending up staying for a month trying to find a way to make ends meet. "We could have worked there, but it would have been barely enough live on. We had to choose between going on or to retreat. We both had girlf riends back home and after weighing it all up, we decide to go back." So Phil came up with a high-risk plan to raise the cash, that involved putting the local money changer on the wrong end of a cheque book sting. Desperate times needed desperate measures, so having done the deed, they raced out of Karachi on the bikes, coming to rest at a town on the Pakistan - Iran border. In hot pursuit were the money men, swearing vengeance on the pair for daring to trick them at their own game. You don't survive these situations without a large slice of luck, served up here in the form of a wealthy local businessman, who, it turned out, was a British motorcycle enthusiast. God Bless the Brotherhood! A safe haven was provided, and the heavies sent off in the other direction. Just don't ever ride an Ariel or Greeves in Karachi.....no such luck in Germany, though, where they were arrested for riding on the autobahn without lights. They ended up in Holland at the home of the parents of Phil's fiance, with about an egg - cupful of petrol between them. Chris keeps in regular touch with Phil who now resides in the Lincolnshire Wolds, but the Ariel has long gone.

As you can see, Chris has a deep passion for motorcycles, with experience ranging from gentle trials in the lush English countryside to evading irate moneychangers in Middle East border towns. So how does the Venom fit into his life? Well, he prefers quality classic motorcycles and had once taken the chance to ride a Venom ow ned by Ian Pollard of the Velocette Owners Club. "I thought afterwards that I'd like to have one of those," said Chris. "It was a complete contrast to my Commando." One was found, a runner, but it had been only partly restored and then left. The big end turned out to have failed, so a strip down and rebuild was the only answer. "It was a steep learning curve, Velocette had their own way of doing things and that's how they have to be done." said Chris. "The oil pump, for example, is a tight fit in its casting; any attempt at remov ing it without the careful application of heat results in a ruined pump. This one had seen better days, plus the drive side main bearing was spinning in the case, so the easiest way to sort it out was to replace the crankcases. I ended up finding a pair of second hand ones and even they needed to be machined to obtain a true fit. They'd been welded at some stage and had distorted." As a novice with Velocettes, whom did Chris turn to for advice? "Nick Payton, he was very helpful. I stripped the engine and then rung him up -I asked if I could bring the box of bits along for him for him to check and tell me what needed doing." Nick's main advice to Chris was: "Take your time...not to hurry things and don't expect everything to work exactly right." 'First Time, Selective Assembly' is the phrase. With that in mind, Chris set to work, organising the various jobs. "I'm not an engineer. You see some Velos; they're absolutely spot on, no rattles or bangs, just beautiful.

But I do my best. I'll take advice and ask for help, but I will have a go at some things." Apart from the big end, which an engineer friend made up, it needed a rebore and new piston. At that time the only replacement pistons you could get were Omega, which were cast versions. Their expansion rate meant they needed a big tolerance, say seven thou, but the original Wellworthy or Hepolite were split skirt and they used to run at about two or three thou, the Omega tends to clatter a bit." To finish the barrel, Chris painted it with silver Smoothrite, so it looks like an alloy one, "At least from a distance," he laughed. He found a firm to install new valves, guides and unleaded seats, together with a one-piece alloy pushrod tube to replace the standard item. It's a conversion that needs the crankcase to be modified to accept it. One problem encountered with the head work was a small burr on the stem of one of the valves, which prevented it from being pushed through the guide. Just a small thing, but it showed the work hadn't been checked as well as it could have been, so he wasn't entirely happy with that. An old Monobloc carburettor was replaced with a 30mm Mk1 Concentric but it was difficult to set up and may have had a crack in the body, so Chris replaced that with a new Monbloc from Surrey Cycles. "That was spot on, it worked right away." The gearbox was rebuilt with a new mainshaft bearing and some good used cogs from Neil Pearson. The clutch - infamous for its adjust ment procedure - was improved no end by fitting replacement plates that are made with modern tooling and to better tolerances than the originals. "They transformed the clutch operation," said Chris. Inigition has been kept to standard spec with a Lucas magneto running points and an auto advance / retard unit.

A belt driven Miller dy namo was stripped, cleaned and rebuilt as was, no need for new parts at all. The frame was powder coated and most of the other components sprayed black, except the mudguards, which Chris painted with 'Tekaloid' stove enamel. It's given an excellent finish, too. "Brilliant stuff," said Chris, "I think it came from a firm called Vintage Rebuilds. I only used one coat and that's it - great stuff." Wheels were rebuilt, replacing just the rims with new alloy ones. Stainless spokes, Chris? "No, there's enough oil on a Velo, you don't need stainless....." The shock absorbers were the old Woodhead Monroe type and had been hand painted at some stage. They came off to be replaced by a pair of classic Hagons. At the front end, a good set of forks was made up from the various parts of two sets and he retained the single damping, opting out of the twoway conversion. "They worked well enough as they were." said Chris. " The double damped ones are too stiff." One personal modif ication he made was to fit a Venhill semi-quick action twist grip; it takes about half a turn to open right up. And what a difference that made to progress, instant snap right when you want it; that's just how it responded out on the open road. For the test ride, Chris had recommended a suitable route that looped around the narrow lanes before bringing me out onto a main road and back home. But first, the Velocette starting procedure: find compression, pull on valve lifter, push the kick-start right down, and release valve lifter. Let kick start return to top, then a long kick. Don't just stab at it, follow right through. Second time worked a treat and I felt a huge sense of relief, this was my first Venom and I'd heard they could be somewhat temperamental to start.

Ok, I'd heard that on a bad day, they could test the patience of a saint, but today was obviously my lucky day, so lets get going while the beat's still there. To be fair, Chris reports "No real problems as long as you get the drill right." The first mile or so is always a 'searching out' session, checking brakes, the steering, just feeling everything through the seat of your pants to make sure there are no possible surprises in store. Like a gentle weave on modest bend. I'd note that as a warning for higher speed cornering and approach accordingly. This Venom, however, showed no such vices. In fact it was one of those machines that inspired instant confidence, which always has a little voice at the back on my head warning against over confidence, time to be careful out there! Not to say I didn't slacken the reins a touch - I just made sure it was the right moment. And then she really flew. A firm snap back of that quick action throttle had the revs jump and punch the power straight through to the rear Dunlop. Best moments were hitting the exit points on bends in second gear and then powering sharply up into third, hearing the revs just keep on building and then click into top to hear the exhaust note drill right up the scale again. Did I mention that Chris had said, "Don't be afraid to rev it?" Don't get that too often, understandably, but when we do, it gives an opportunity to test the engines and cycle parts in a more robust fashion than normal. The Venom's classed as a 'sporting single' and there's no doubt about that. With an engine that thrives on revs, wrapped in a frame that can hold a line come what may, it would be churlish to describe it in any other fashion.

What struck me was that it went, sounded and felt completely unlike it's looks. Ride the Venom blindfold (!) and you'd expect a sharply dressed sportster, rakish lines to house the handling and performance, chrome and polished alloy aplenty to flaunt the image. Then the blindfold comes off and a look of disbelief shows on the face - this modest looking machine went like that? A real street sleeper, this one. It was a pleasure to run her up and down the twisting B roads, mostly second and third gear curves, feeling those TT100's really bite into the road. It's been a while since I'd ridden on those; it was a pleasure to make their acquaintance again. What else? The brakes - adequate, certainly enough for the task, but just a little more bite to have in reserve would have been welcome, although Chris could probably squeeze that out with his larger hands. Vibration didn't really get noticed; there was some felt on a steady throttle at sixty-five or so, but otherwise a smooth engine for a big single. It certainly wouldn't hold you back from enjoying the ride. Top speed? Not on those roads, but Chris reports 85 mph on the clock elsewhere and still pulling hard. I've absolutely no doubts about that. I'd wager 90mph plus, flat out on a suitable track. A special mention for the forks; the single way damping didn't hinder my progress one jot, as Chris said, they work fine just as they are. Likew ise the rear Hagons, in the middle adjust ment, set and forget. So finally, Chris, any advice for potential Venom ow ners? "Buy one that's running, there's a steep learning curve with these and it certainly pays to take advice from the specialists and owner's club. It's the same with the Rudge I'm building." But that, as they say, is something for another day.

SPEC IF ICATIONS: ENGINE: four stroke, single cylinder, OHV, air-cooled. Bore & stroke: 86x86mm Compression: 8:1 Lubrication: Dry Sump CARBURETTOR: Amal Mononbloc 389/15 Size: 1 3/16" TRANSMISSION: Primary drive: Single row chain, 1/2" x 5/16" Clutch: Wet, multiplate. GEARBOX: Four speed. Final drive: Chain, 5/8" x 3/8" ELECTRICS: 6v Battery / Miller dynamo / Lucas magneto / points / Auto advance &retard. CYCLE PARTS: Frame: Cradle type, single front downtube. Front Suspension: Telescopic forks, single damped. Rear Suspension: Sw inging arm, Hagon units. Tyre size front: 3.60 x 19in Rear: 3.60 x 19in Brakes front & Rear: 7.5in sls DIMENSIONS: Dry weight 375lb Wheelbase: 53.75in Seat Height 30.5in Fuel capacity: 4.25gal Oil capacity 0.50gal PERFORMANCE: Top speed 90mph (est) Fuel consumption: 50mpg (est) CONTACTS:Velocette Owners Club, Mike Spink, 32 Westport Crescent, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, V11 3JP Surrey Cycles: Tel: 01483 272328, www.surreycycles.com Nick Payton: Tel: 0208 540 2118 Velo Club spares fax: 0116 275 2703 Grove Classics: 01582 873066 Vintage Rebuilds: 01992 551713

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