Velocette LE.

[Snowbird]

Even when am outside the UK I cannot resist a bargain. Just bought a 1962 Velocette LE off evilbay unseen to collect when I get home in October. I thought the low centre of gravity would suit me in my advancing years and it would be a handy thing to put on the motorbike rack on the back of the van.
Has anyone ever had one of these Noddy bikes, or because they were so quiet running were often known as silent death. In my youth I did have a few run ins with the local bobby who had one .

 

[Allanm]

A friend of mine had one, I was impressed with how quiet it was but it was incredibly slow. Top speed about 45 to 50 on a good day.
Sounds like your going to have a lot of fun come October, albeit, slow!

 

[Snowbird]

A friend of mine had one, I was impressed with how quiet it was but it was incredibly slow. Top speed about 45 to 50 on a good day.
Sounds like your going to have a lot of fun come October, albeit, slow!

This one is the later 4 speed floor change, which I think is a little faster, but 50 will do me nicely nowadays. I still have my original Triton still in pieces in my mates garage where its been languishing for over 20 years if I wanted to really blow the cobwebs off, I should make a start on rebuilding that beast.

 

[mike mcglynn]

Our life insurance man had one he was known locally as the clubman and came every week for his two shillings .

 

[Enword]

My Dad had 3 at one time, all different capacity's, if I remember right there was a fibre gear wheel that would wear. After thinking about it, it might have been 150 & 200cc but thought he had a 175, but I was just a little tacker at the time

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[TheTwoOfUs]

Rob @Anthea M 's other half used to have an LE. I thought they were all 200cc.

 

[MikeD]

Rob @Anthea M 's other half used to have an LE. I thought they were all 200cc.

The Mk2 was, earlier MK1 was 150cc.

 

[Snowbird]

Rob @Anthea M 's other half used to have an LE. I thought they were all 200cc.

Apparently the MK1 was 149cc and the later MK2 and MK3 models were classed at 200cc. This is 192cc, so I presume its the 200cc.

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

Yes, you are both right and was wrong. The earlier ones were hand gear change which was dropped in favour of a conventional foot change. Engines were water cooled which led to their quietness.

 

[pappajohn]

50mph 50 years ago Dave.
I bet it won't see 40mph today.

Still laugh at em coming into Scarborough on the A64 for the annual scooter/mod rally...... Sat on the pillion seat, laid flat behind the headstock and legshields out the wind, struggling to get to 40mph in a headwind.

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[Snowbird]

50mph 50 years ago Dave.
I bet it won't see 40mph today.

Still laugh at em coming into Scarborough on the A64 for the annual scooter/mod rally...... Sat on the pillion seat, laid flat behind the headstock and legshields out the wind, struggling to get to 40mph in a headwind.

Bloody hell John, I wont be going as far as Scarborough or for that matter anywhere when its windy or wet. It will only be used for pottering around Spanish villages in the winter and German villages in summer where no one at home knows me. I wouldn't be seen dead on the thing in the UK .

 

[f6c]

Had a LE Voge

 

[DaveandJen]

Velocette LE, do you have any photos to share?

 

[pappajohn]

If you like the old uns Dave you would love my one and only scooter (before I was old enough to ride) and I wish I had it now.
A 1960 something BSA SUNBEAM 250cc twin

 

[DaveandJen]

Its photos like that that bring back good memories from my younger days but never seen one of these before.

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[Snowbird]

If you like the old uns Dave you would love my one and only scooter (before I was old enough to ride) and I wish I had it now.
A 1960 something BSA SUNBEAM 250cc twinView attachment 250189

I remember them. About as quick as a scooter could be in the day.

 

[Snowbird]

Velocette LE, do you have any photos to share?

Have not even seen the thing yet. I bought it unseen tonight.
Here is the evilbay listing.

 

[Snowbird]

Had a LE Voge

That was the gentleman's LE .

 

[pappajohn]

I remember them. About as quick as a scooter could be in the day.

That was an all new parallel twin (what other kind of twin from BSA ) 4stroke, good for 70mph.
The other option was a modified 175cc bantam engine good for 55 to 60mph.

Knew bugger all about engines in those days, around 1971, and never did get it to run but I had it given so it didn't owe me anything.

One recently went to auction with an expected price of £3000 to £5000

 

[MikeD]

If you like the old uns Dave you would love my one and only scooter (before I was old enough to ride) and I wish I had it now.
A 1960 something BSA SUNBEAM 250cc twinView attachment 250189

I had one of these but mine was a single. BSA Sunbeam 175cc if I remember correctly.

It caught fire while I was riding it and got very burnt. It was scrapped by the insurers.

A couple thousand pounds and another could be yours on ebay.

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[DaveandJen]

Water cooled and shaft drive, a good investment for the future.

 

[BobtheBass]

And a built in salad cream dispenser as well......

 

[Snowbird]

Water cooled and shaft drive, a good investment for the future.

Thats what am hoping. If I leave the price if it in the bank for 5 years, I may have the price of a couple pints of beer in interest. At least I can have a bit of fun out of the bike and whoever wants my possessions when am gone should have a bob or two out of them.

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

The Triumph equivalent to the BSA Sunbeam was the Tigress.

And thus is the Velocette Vogue

 

[Millcourt]

When I was 17 (1961 !!!), my Gran gave the deposit to buy a scooter on HP. All my mates had Vespas or Lambrettas (125 or 150 cc), but I thought I could do better and went for a 250cc Velocette Viceroy Scooter.

What a disaster! Not only an ugly looking beast, but a 2-stroke horizontally-opposed twin cylinder engine which relied on so-called "scavenge-fed" lubrication of the cylinders (the engine seized on two occasions and I had to strip it down, replace piston rings and cylinder liners), and the two spark plugs on either side were constantly awash when raining and consequently failing to do what they were supposed to do. As a consequence it was more out of use than drivable and I had to take my Test on a Lambretta 150 borrowed from a friend. Frankly it was not "fit for purpose" as we might say today, but at least I learned how to take an engine to bits, which proved useful later in life.

I suspect many Funsters will never have seen this ugly beast - picture below (not mine). Note the position of the spark plugs - even worse than the early mini.

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[Snowbird]

Am patiently awaiting Brian's @hilldweller views on this piece of Great English engineering brilliance .

 

[robnchris]

As already mention it came in the guise of a Triumph Tigress or the BSA Sunbeam, either a 250cc four stroke 10hp engine or 175cc two stroke 7.5hp engine, four speed the even put an electric start on one model.

 

[hilldweller]

Has anyone ever had one of these Noddy bikes,.

No but I remember them well as used a lot by Manchester Police in their grey/blue livery.

 

[hilldweller]

Am patiently awaiting Brian's @hilldweller views on this piece of Great English engineering brilliance .

And you already have them. Though there is a nasty story to one of them. There was a bent cop in south Manchester who knew my aunt had a few bob and knew her movements so whenever he needed a bit of cash he'd nip up behind her in his LX and stop her for speeding ( probably genuine ) in her Triumph Herald and end up a fiver better off. He wasn't greedy though, it did not get out of hand.

He got a tenner one day when I ran out of road and hit a lamp post.

Your link above hit a Venom, a month ago I saw 6 of them at the Derwent Reservoir. All ages, all immaculate.

PS Just noticed the little "finished" icon -- what a beauty that is, you'll be signing autographs in Germany.

 

[Enword]

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