The Velocette and its riders - gaining momentum with time
By KYLE McCLELLAN The Western News
A cultured motorcycle community comprised of the select worldly owners of the Velocette was recently seen at the Libby Cafe.
The riders came from as far away as Australia and New Zealand to traverse the open roads of Montana, roads they say offer warm days and cool nights.
Leather-clad yet harmless, the riders broke from their last day of the summer rally to sample pancakes and coffee and talk about why they ride.
"Have you ever seen the movie, 'The Wild One' with Marlon Brando?" asked John Sims, a San Francisco area rider who spoke with a thick British accent. "Well, it's nothing like that. We're not typically like the Hell's Angels. Okay, we are the Hell's Angels but we're the quiet ones."
Well, they're not even like the quiet ones. But one could say they do share a similar passion for the motorized British bike — a much different bike than a Harley but one that still becomes an extension of themselves.
How far is a Velocette from a Harley? As far as Birmingham, England is from Milwaukee, Wis.
The company, Veloce Ltd., began in 1907 as a small family-owned firm that built bikes by hand. Velocette soon became synonymous with elegance and quality. The bikes also held a major presence in international racing, achieving two world championships in 1949 and 1950. In 1961, a Velocette Venom traveled at more than 100 mph for 24 hours to set a still-unbroken world record.
But there's no guarantee that the once world-class bikes won't putter out, despite the fact that they once zoomed around the high podium of the world's premiere motorcycles.
Today, the rider's predominating purpose is to just keep the motorcycles running.
Some are 75 years old and all are at least 35 years old, said San Francisco rider Paul D'Orleans, who sat with Sims for breakfast.
That explains the "chase vehicle" D'Orleans drove on the last leg of the journey.
"We maybe have one or two that doesn't finish the rally on its own power," D'Orleans said.
Veloce Ltd. stopped making the Velocette in 1971. The Velocette Owners Club of North America works under the "somewhat fanciful proposition that Velocette motorcycles ought to be kept running and in proper use."
Not to mean that the old bikes always perform properly.
D'Orleans sported an ankle wrap from a wreck a few days earlier when his Velocette suffered a "freak mechanical failure." His front brakes locked as he maneuvered a corner at 40 mph.
Riders rally at several locations in the U.S., as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Although the bikes are no more, another family acquired the blueprints and tools and still produces everything that Velocette owners need to maintain their passion.
Bike sharing is common. Most people own more than one Velocette. During summer rallies, D'Orleans loans one of his bikes. That way, he is assured a bike when he journeys to a rally in Australia.
"It's kind of a great system," he said.
Ownership transcends socioeconomic backgrounds, from the rich to more financially modest. There's the guy in L.A. who "practically lives out of his garage and has one Velocette that he maintains immaculately," D'Orleans said.
"Then there are some who own 20 or 30 Velocettes and live in a palace in the Bay area."
The old bikes cost anywhere from $6,000 to more than $30,000 a piece.
They're all part of the burgeoning antique motorcycle movement that D'Orleans said is emerging in the U.S. and the U.K.
To drive that point home, a man at the table next to D'Orleans finished his meal, stood up and walked outside to the waiting group. D'Orleans said the man's name was Mark and he was a writer for Cycle World, the popular motorcycle magazine that once claimed Hunter Thompson as one its contributors.
"When we first started doing it nobody else was doing anything like this," D'Orleans said. "They thought we were nuts for going out on old motorcycles."