Classic Dirt Bike — Autumn 2017

Howeverupfrontthingsgetalittlemore

interesting.Onthefaceofit theforksare

standardtelescopicsbutoncloserinspection

there’sagas-filledGirlingdamperfixed

totheforkyokesandthedamperrodis

workedbyabraceonthemudguard.Whythe

complication?Rayexplainedinthecutand

thrustofascrambletheoilcanoverheatin

standardforksandalldampingislost.So,

theforksholdonlyenoughoiltolubethe

bushesandthedampingisbytheGirlingunit

whichoriginatedfromacar.Thegaskeeps

itscoolallthroughascrambleandworksas

well atthefinishasit didatthestart.

Anotherfeaturenotoftenseenona

scramblerisaroadracestylesteering

dampertyingtheforksintotheframe.The

reasoningherebeingfastdownhillsections

onunevengroundcouldcausethesteering

totwitchwhichslowsariderorworse

degenerateintoamassivetank-slapperand

theridercouldcomeoff,thesteeringdamper

justpreventsthatandmakesforalesstiring

ridetooasMikesaidinthearticle.

Clearly alotofthoughthadgoneintothis

motorcyclewiththefabricatedpartslooking

verywelldone.Theairfilteriscoveredbya

lightalloysheet,accessedfromunderthe

smallscramblesseatwhichalsocoversthe

oilfillercap.Atwogallonalloypetroltankis

bothsmall,neatandbigenoughforracing

whilea500TNortonfrontwheelislightish

andpowerfulenoughtohaulupthemachine

whichonlytippedthescalesat285lband

hadareasonablyshortwheelbaseof54in.

So,thebikenotonlylookedgoodbut

workedwelltoo?Well,almost,Rayisquoted

assayingthestandardBurman/AMCclutch

shockabsorberisn’tquitemanenough

forthejobandmaybeanextraabsorber

intherearhubmightbeneededtoavoid

gearboxproblems.

Thebigquestionis:aretheWinwoodsstill

around–anddoesthebikestillexist?We’d

lovetohearfromanyonewhoknows.

Despitebeingmorearoadraceorientated

company, Velocettedabbledinthedirt

bikeworldthanksmainlytopressurefrom

theirAmericandealers.TheHallGreen-

basedmanufacturerproducedtwodistinct

variantsofscrambler–a5 00 MSSinthe

mid-FiftiesandfortheSixtiesonebased

ontheVenomandViper.Sadlyforsucha

companyasVelocette,theresourcesto

developanyoftheoff-roadstersjustweren’t

thereandasRodBurrisrelatesinhisbook,

VelocetteMotorcyclesMSStoThruxton,a

lotofthedevelopmentworkwasdoneby

dedicatedCheltenhamdealerFredCheshire.

Bynecessitythescramblerswereheavily

basedontheirroadsterstablematesthough

thissimilaritytotherestoftherangewas

bynomeansrestrictedtoVelocette.It

washopedtoshowtheroadstersoff ina

‘therebutforthehigherbarsandsmaller

tankgoI’ wayandwasapopularthemein

theindustry. It isprobablelessthan 500

scramblersleftthefactoryinaten-year

periodandeventhatfigureaddstogether

theproductionrunsofthethreevariants

andtheEndurancemodeltoo.Ashame,

asVelocetteswererenownedforbeinga

toughmotor.

......The factoryway

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