Velocette Thruxton

I'll admit it: I play the lottery. 

I know my chances of winning are slim but I can think of worse things to do with five dollars.  What spurs my desire to win, other than financial security, is the chance to do lots of traveling and other cool stuff.  More likely, though, I'd spend the money on bikes.  And one of the first bikes I would buy is a Velocette Thruxton. 

The Thruxton was Velocette's swan song, their one last encore before the show ended.  Between 1965 and 1971, 1,108 Thruxtons left the factory in Birmingham.  Production stopped due to the closure of the company in 1971.

The Thruxton was a hot version of the already hot Velocette Venom.  What distinguished the Thruxton was a unique cylinder head for the 500cc single, which was designed to accommodate large valves and a downdraught intake.  Bolted to the unique head was an Amal carb large enough to inhale small children.  The carb was so big, a notch had to be cut out of the tank to give it room.  Of course the carb had a large velocity stack and no air filter.  The combination of the big carb and unique head yielded a five horsepower jump over the Venom, taking claimed output to 41 hp.

Accompanying the changes to the engine were changes to the chassis.  Clip-ons and rear sets now appeared, as did a close-ratio four-speed gearbox.  The rims were also changed to alloy and a duplex front brake was added.

Don't think Velocette was just farting around.  The bike was developed with Thruxton 500 eligibility in mind (thus the bike's name), which required the use of production models.  So while you could walk into your local Velocette dealer and ride away on a Thruxton, the bike was born for the track.

And race it did.  A Thruxton won the 1965 Thruxton 500, which was strangely held at Castle Combe that year, not Thruxton.  Two years later, Velocette Thruxtons finished first and second in the Production TT at the Isle of Man.  In the same TT, Neil Kelly blitzed the course and the other riders on his Thruxton, averaging 91 mph.

The Velocette Thruxton holds a special place in my heart due to its racing pedigree and its rarity.  It's also a very nice-looking motorcycle.  I like the purposefulness of its stance and the big carb poking out from under the tank.  I also like the big, pumped up single and the glorious noise it makes climbing up through the rev range.

What I enjoy most about the bike, though, is inspiration it gives me.  When I look at some bikes, I admire them for their looks or for their engineering.  With the Thruxton, I see myself on it.  I see myself blasting down a country lane, whizzing past hedgerows, fields, and slower traffic.  I see myself whipping around corners and winding the big single out on the straights.  Few bikes conjure those feelings for me the way a Velocette Thruxton does.  It's not so much a bike I'd like to own, it's a bike I want to ride.