1958 Velocette 499cc Venom
Frame no. RS 4732 Engine no. VM 1160

The Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction|23 January 2020, 12:30 PST|Las Vegas, Caesar's Entertainment Studios

1958 Velocette 499cc Venom
Frame no. RS 4732
Engine no. VM 1160

Velocette's initial TT victory would not be until the junior race of 1926 with Alec Bennett aboard the firm's radical overhead-camshaft four-stroke model. Having been firmly committed to two-stroke engines up to this point, the Bennett victory sealed Velocette's change of tack, and thenceforth the company's future would forever be linked mainly to four-strokes.

Introduced in 1956, the Venom sports roadster was derived from the touring MSS. The latter disappeared from the range in 1948, reappearing in 1954 with a new swinging-arm frame and telescopic fork. The engine too was up-dated, changing to 'square' bore and stroke dimensions of 86x86mm and gaining an alloy cylinder barrel and 'head. Engine development pursued as part of the scrambles program bore fruit in 1956 in the shape of the high-performance Venom and its 350cc sibling, the Viper. The MSS frame and forks were retained for the newcomers, but full-width alloy hubs were adopted to boost braking power and smart chromed mudguards fitted to enhance the models' sporting image. Manufactured until the end of Velocette production in 1971, the Venom represents the final glorious flowering of the traditional British sports single, and today these supremely well-engineered thoroughbreds are highly sought after.

Footnotes

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