2 Million Miles with Velocettes

The Velocette Owners Club of North America is notorious among one-make motorcycle clubs for its cheek in actually riding their old motorcycles for long distances every year, just for the hell of it.  Their annual Summer Rally has been a calendar fixture for 40 years now, with the first ride in BC Canada dubbed the ‘submarine rally’ because it rained so hard every single day.  The 40th anniversary of that first ride was named the 2 Million Mile Rally, as an approximation of the total miles ridden for the participating Velocettes over that span.  As a risky possible repeat of the first rally, this year’s ride was organized on Vancouver Island, but was an example of how much the global climate has shifted, with the weather sunny and warm, the province in deep drought, and Canada’s central forestlands on fire since May.  Luckily the wind blows eastward from the Pacific coast, so while the Midwest and East Coast are reading Canada’s smoke signals, and the air on Vancouver Island was clear.

The demographics of the rally ridership skewed under-60 for the first time in years, and a fresh wave of relative youngsters responded to the clarion call of a fun week on old bikes in a beautiful place, with the route and venues sorted, and helpful elders around to pitch in.  A spirit of mutual aid prevailed, with clutch cables, spark plugs, tools, carburetor jets, and advice shared freely.  Among the 40-odd bikes present, only one was truly hors de combat by the end of the week, with a suspected broken crank, but the Thruxton in question was newish to the owner, who has a hard right hand, but suspected a hasty build by the previous owner.  Riding a Thruxton to the limit is generally no cause for concern (hey, a Venom was the first motorcycle to do 100mph for 24hours, in 1961), as this is exactly how I’ve treated my own bike – VMT260 ‘Courgette’ –  but it’s still disappointing, and crankshaft demons rearing their ugly heads on a Velo rally are very rare…hence the willingness of so many to risk high mileages.

I rode my 1960 Venom Clubman this year, which has sat in my warehouse since the last Wheels & Waves California rally I organized in 2018.  Inconceivable! It took many hours to bring that neglected beauty to full, smooth functionality, making sure nothing was going to fall off, and nothing did. In fact, mechanically my week was perfectly boring, with only a change of main jet on my TT carburetor required, as she was running too rich at 70mph, and getting hot.  My magneto’s condenser is slowly failing, just as it was failing five years ago, with hot kickstarts a burden…but blessedly Vancouver Island is hilly, and a quick rolling bump fired her up every time.  OK, the mag is coming off next week for a refurbish, finally.

The 2 Million Mile Rally was notable for two firsts: there were more rigid-frame Velocette ridden than swingarm-frame bikes, and there were more women riders (seven total) than at any previous rally.  These are both Very Good Things…and interestingly related, as four women rode rigid MSS, MAC, and KSS models.  The oldest bike on the rally was, once again, Kim Young’s 1930 350cc KSS, a rally veteran and a surprisingly fast tourer for a 93-year old machine.  Next oldest was Larry Luce’s 1933 250cc MOV, which he plans to ride on the Motorcycle Cannonball in September, this 1000-mile, 5-day rally being a shake-down cruise for that 3600-mile, 17-day rally.  The MOV did just fine, and I have no doubt Larry will conquer the USA with the little gem.

Most of the rigid bikes present would fall into the bob-job category, with 1940s MSS (500cc) and MAC (350cc) models sporting no front fender, an abbreviated rear fender, cowhorn handlebars, and no muffler at all, which is exactly as they were ridden in the 1940s and 50s.  In fact, at least one of the bikes was an original barn-find bob-job, the rest being of more recent construction and mild customization.  They all did just fine on the rally, although one MSS proved a bit oily on its first proper 1k mile test run…sumping issues, traceable back to one or the other known causes.  There are few tricks a Velo can play that haven’t been solved in the past 2 million miles, helpful tips having been collected in xerox binders and on email tech forums for decades.  Still, a couple of the first-time rallyists remarked on the daily maintenance required for their borrowed steeds…which was usually due to the bikes being recently built, and the bugs still making their way out into the open.  An old hack like my 25-year owned Venom gave no particular trouble, the mandatory look-over after the day’s ride taking 15 minutes or so, which is typical for Velocettes in regular use.

Vancouver Island is enormous – about 500 miles long, with a limited number of roads exploring the various mountains, bays, and fjords.  It’s a dramatic landscape, as lovely meadows or farms had mountains as a backdrop, a few of which still held snow.  Finding ‘technical’ roads was a matter of getting off the A roads and onto dead-end runs past lakes and into mountains, which meant a two-way ride through the twisties.  Our rigid riders had a time of it, with the number of frost heaves, cracks, and road slumps corresponding exactly to the level of interest a road offered to a sporting rider. But, at the end of those roads, one never knew what was in store: a few of our gang spotted a couple of sea planes docked at the turnaround point of our day, and inquired about a ride, which was offered and quickly accepted, for a modest fee.   They shortly discovered how little of the island is accessible by road, with abandoned indigenous villages and farms surrounded by old-growth forests, reachable only by boat, and currently unsustainable.  But, stunning.

The motorbikes are fun and we love them, but of course what matters is the people, and one does make friends over a week of riding, or many years of such weeks.  This was my 34th year of rallying, and I’ve organized 8 of them, a responsibility afforded the title of President of the club.  This year the organizer of that first rally 40 years ago, Cory Padula, reprised his role, and we had a superb time of it.  Our next President is The Vintagent’s own Kim Young, who is already scouting roads in Idaho for July 2024.  I remain as Chairman, with a mandate to increase our membership and bring younger riders in, which seems to be happening. It’s a funny thing to do, tour with an old machine on an extended rally, but the idea has definitely spread, with the Australian Velocette club taking up the gauntlet for 20 years now, and for 13 years now, the Cannonball and Chase cross-country vintage rallies.  Apparently we’re not the only ones who think this is exactly the sort of madness required today.  Long may it wave.