Velocette 1959 Venom 499cc 1 cyl OHV 3503

Velocette 1959 “Venom” 499cc OHV frame # RS12636 engine # VM3139

The firm of Veloce Ltd. is formed in 1905 by Johann Goodman. It’s a family business that concentrates on sound motorcycle engineering principles. Their first machines are lightweight four strokes; after that a line of top-class 250 cc two strokes is brought out. In 1924/25 Percy Goodman designs the 350 cc overhead camshaft model K, a machine destined to win many TTs and other races, starting with the 1926 Junior TT that is won by Alec Bennett, who finishes ten minutes ahead of the second placeman. In May 1935 the first 500cc model, the MSS, is marketed. In the early fifties the competition puts faster sports machines on the market and Velocette reacts in November 1955 with the introduction of a fast and well-engineered single, the Venom.
Conceived by Velocette’s Eugene Goodman and designed by Charles Udall, the Venom’s 499 cc engine has a bi-metal cylinder with a cast-iron liner, high compression piston and a light alloy cylinder head. An unusual feature of the Venom design is that the clutch is positioned between the gearbox and gearbox sprocket. This makes the clutch less accessible but allows for easy gearing changes and a range of sprockets with different numbers of teeth can be fitted by removing the sprocket cover. The gearbox is also a novel Velocette design with a constant mesh close ratio unit that can be maintained relatively easily while still in place. The new Venom engine gets square bore x stroke dimensions of 86 x 86mm which permit higher revs and potentially greater power. A Road Test in The Motorcycle of March 22, 1956 praises the Venom’s many virtues: sweet and easy to operate clutch, excellent gearbox with no audible gear change, superb steering, excellent braking and convenient and safe prop stand. Of course there are some minor points of criticism such as the awkward sparking plug spanner and a slight leak from the oil tank filler cap during extended full-throttle riding…
The overall conclusion: “By any standard the Velocette Venom is a remarkable five-hundred and a credit to its makers. The quality of its engineering is unsurpassed in the British industry and its finish is serviceable”. Produced until the end of Velocette production in 1971, the Venom represents the high point of the traditional British sports single, and today these supremely well-engineered thoroughbreds are much in demand.
The Venom we offer here was produced late in 1959 and registered in January 1960. She moved to The Netherlands in September 1980, was subsequently restored over a period of a number of years and has been in the possession of the last owner since June 2009. Since that time the machine has covered a little less than 3000 km; she had to compete with various other interesting rides so was only used sparingly. With the machine comes an extensive file of photostat articles, technical Velo information, photos, old continuation logbook, and various invoices relating to parts and services. She has been converted to 12 volts and comes with Smiths rev counter, Koni shocks and current Dutch registration.