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Seems time for some Velocette Viper stuff.....
The Velocette Viper, a 350cc 72mm bore x 86mm stroke single, introduced with its stable mate the 500cc Venom in 1956 was really a sleeved down Venom. But despite this fact which leads to the thought that it would be an underpowered 350 encumbered with the weight of a 500, the Viper was a nice, quick little machine, although it likely was considered inferior to the 350cc BSA Gold Star, probably because of the Gold Stars success in the Clubman races in the IOM TT in the mid 1950's.
For most of the following items used, courtesy of "The MotorCycle", "MotorCycling" who I acknowledge copyright to Mortons Motorcycle Media in the UK, "Moto Revue"..unsure who owns it's copyright and to the BMS Service Series book on Velocette Viper/Venom/Thruxton, although BMS himself utilised the photos concerned from "MotorCycling" where he was a staff motorcycling journalist for many years.
Left click on the images to enlarge...

Perusing early 1950's copies of "MotorCycling" I keep with Velocette literature, I felt these could be useful to those without a collection of these magazines.....
Acknowledgement to Morton's Motorcycle Media, copyright holders of "MotorCycling"...
Left click on images to enlarge.....






























































































































































Well I can't help myself....
I've been mulling over doing an item on Bertie Goodman ( it won't be far off....), last managing director of Veloce Ltd, he a Goodman of course of the family that made Velocette and with the NSW section of the Australian Velocette Owners's Club Show day last Saturday at Fagan Park on the northern outskirts of Sydney and the Club's patron, Anne Frampton in attendence, I've weakened and published below a photo I will use of Bertie that seems to me the epitomy of a motorcycling enthusiast who was also a director of his motorcycle company and loved to test his product.....
Anne Frampton is Bertie's daughter, lives in Sydney and is also pictured below being interviewed by Jim Scaysbrook, editor and publisher of Old Bike Australasia for an item on the display in a future edition.....

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO'VE BEEN EARLIER TO THIS PARTICULAR BLOG, I'VE ADDED SOME MORE INFORMATION....
DETAILS IN RED BELOW......

They called them "The Black and Gold Bolide from Birmingham" and if you considered that was the only livery or colour scheme they were seen in, you would be wrong.
Certainly most people remember the introduction of the Velocette Venom Thruxton to give the model it's correct title at the November 1964 Earles Court show in London featuring Silver and Blue as the colour scheme for this new model and not a Black and Gold one to be seen.
I bought one new, delivered into the Sydney agent Burling and Symmonds at Auburn, there were two machines in the crate, on the 23rd February 1967 after a promised delivery early in January....I know as I insisted on getting mine before anyone had tried to re-assemble the items removed for ease of packing ( wheels were bolted to the insides of the crate etc) and just got to the dealership in time before assembly started. There were two Silver and Blue Thruxtons , engine numbers VMT457 and VMT458. I took VMT 458 as the other machine had a dented petrol tank.
Both machines were fitted with crash bars at the front!! Obviously ordered by the dealer....
You wouldn't see that on the machine specification.
Burling and Symmonds were "affectionately" called "Burglar" and Symmonds in reference to their tough trading habits...in fact Norm Burling came up to me that day and told me the bike would be an additional $50 as they had had a tachometer fitted....fortunately I had catalogues etc and he retired to his office to fight another battle another day....
How much did my Thruxton cost?
Being the inveterate hoarder, I've the original receipt...AUD$990
Later in 1968 Veloce relented and produced the Thruxton in Black and Gold.
Export markets seemed to not be as fussy colour wise and the grumbling over the Blue/Silver combination came from the UK.
But what of earlier than this?
I've got quantities of Lou Branch Motorcycle Sales, invoices from around 1950 to 1960 and they make facinating reading.Lou Branch was the then US West Coast Velocette distributor
I'm going to share some with you in this blog and the colour schemes ordered will shatter a few old myths....
Veloce it seems would build you a motorcycle to your specification and colour as long as you stumped up the money....
With the introduction of the new Venom Sports machines at the November 1955 Earles Court show for the 1965 season, the show models were Dove Grey in colour and most people, myself included, considered these were the only ones in this colour.... but no, Branch motorcycles ordered several quantities of Venom models in Dove grey and as well they had orders of the Endurance model received in 1955 also in Dove Grey....
Left click on images to enlarge...















































Not to stop there, Red and Black and White and Black Venoms were also ordered, as well as white MSS's.....

































































Bought new by Tom Ross's later father and called "Chuck's bike" in his memory, it features an origanal from Veloce white tank.



































From the 1961 Velocette catalogue ( F82/60m/01/56), at the bottom of the page for the Venom the colours of red and black as well as white and black are offered.




















1956 Spring Frame MACs in Green....












































Scramblers in Green......























Speaking of scramblers....the generally accepted specification were a 300x21 front tyre and a 400x19 rear tyre....
Branch ordered these and as well ordered scramblers with 350x19 front and 400x19 rear, presumably to cater for flat track racing.....















































The Viceroy scooter, a model that contributed to Veloce's demise and which they only made some 180+ of, was advertised in a red/maroon, but Branch Motorcycles had one in Powder Blue.
They ordered and took delivery of at least 12 of the Viceroy scooters.











































And finally...the Velocette Venom Clubman.... introduced as a model in the UK in 1958, but a glance at a few Branch invoices reveal they had ordered special Venoms in mid 1957 with specifications that are almost identical to the newly introduced Clubman model.
Branch's vision for a special sports model was taken up by Veloce Ltd.
Looking at Velocette catalogues and price lists, the Venom was initially offered in 1956 with racing items to special order...







































Then the Clubman versions of the Venom and Viper were certainly in the November 1959 catalogues, likely for that years Earles Court Motorcycle Show also in November, and on offer for 1960.































































Lou Branch's invoices are littered with coloured LE's,and special specification orders of different models.....
Left click on images to enlarge....

The main Velocette distributor for the West Coast of the USA from around just post WW2 up into the perhaps 1970's was Lou Branch Motorcycles of 2019 West Pico Boulevard, in Los Angeles, California.........
Below is one of the invoices Branch Motorcycles received for the receipt of three 350cc Velo Scramblers in August 1957.....I'll do a future blog on these invoices, as I have a large quantity from the early 1950's to 1960. It will "set a cat amongst the pidgeons" as they say over Velocette paint colours and specifications........
























On his closure of the business, Ellie Taylor purchased the stock inventory, which included Moto Guzzi stuff ( this was sold off) and he ran a mail order parts business for a time.
Then Bob Stroud purchased the stock of Ellie amd finally Ed Gilkison from Lakebay in Washington State on the far NW of the USA took the lot.
Ed has expanded this with further used stock purchases over the years, purchases of some of the Canadian distributor...Bateman's final new old stock from Win Muehling and injections of used stock via Geoff Blanthorn from the UK.
Ed purchases new stock from the UK from the main suppliers, plus has stuff made or sources other car parts that could be used...for example the copper cylinder head gasket for the 86mm bore engines comes from a US car.
When I visit Ed, he always says to me.....
Come lets visit the "toy shop"....
I was there again in mid may this year, which is just a week or so ago and I want to take you on a visual photographic tour of Ed's business, which is mail order and you can contact him via post at Ed Gilkison, P.O. Box 226, Lakebay, WA 98349, USA, or email edwin@ncplus.net.
Use Velocette parts numbers where possible and of course a good description.
Be patient....Ed has lots of customers and a reply may take time.....
Left click on images to enlarge......
The usual method Ed uses to satisfy customers....US Postal Service, Lakebay Post Office....

















Ed with some of his parts inventory...still in the original Lou Branch parts drawers and racks....
































































































Upstairs in some of the used parts inventory....































































A Velocette Viceroy scooter engine on a display plinth....















Some of Ed's machine tools.....















Downstairs workbench areas....
















































Ed with a proprietry magneto re-magnetiser....
























Ed had special long shafted adjustable reamers with pilots made in various sizes to enable accurate reaming of renewed Webb girder fork bushes....
















Not everyones "cup of tea"...a customer requested a special paint job on what looks like an American bobber bike....
































Ed's place is a bit hard to find if you travel down to Lakebay....pass the Post Office on the right, quickly onto a bridge over an inlet of Puget Sound, but hang on...turn right just before the bridge onto Herron Road then the first dirt road on the left some 100 yards/metres later- unsignposted- and follow this to the end, arriving at the "toy factory"... you won't find it on Google maps....
Actually this is wrong according to Ed's cousin Bert Giebels, who lives in Holland and has visited this blog and left comment.
Bert tells me the co-ordinates for Google Maps is....
47.262729,-122.770025 (+47 15' 45.82",- 122 46' 12 09")
I've checked and remember thats exactly where I went....
Thanks Bert!!
Incidently Ed no longer takes in complete restoration, but apart from selling parts, he does engine and gearbox, front fork etc overhauls......