Beschreibung
The Veloce company, makers of Velocette motorcycles had considerable success with sales of their LE or “Little Engine” motorcycle, which had been developed as an economical means of transport in the post-war period. Popularly known as the “Noddy Bike”, it was used by thousands of Policemen and Postmen. Total sales topped 26, 000, however by the early 1950s, sales had slumped and the company looked to develop another, more sporty model based on the LE.
The LE's innovative but rather utilitarian pressed steel frame was replaced by a conventional Duplex tubular frame with single top tube. Front suspension was provided by telescopic forks and the rear suspension swing arm was supported on Woodhead-Monroe springs with hydraulic damping.
The 200cc boxer twin engine and shaft drive transmission were retained, however more power was needed. Compression was raised from 7:1 to 8. 5:1, overhead valves were used in place of side valves and twin Amal Monobloc carburettors replaced the single unit of the LE. These upgrades increased the power from the LE's modest 8hp to a massive 12! The crankshaft and bearings with strengthened to cope with the extra power.
The LE had been water cooled, which made it incredibly quiet and enabled many a Constable to sneak up on unsuspecting villains. It was also very expensive to produce. Veloce's engineers decided that this quality was not required in their new Sports bike and so went for the more economical conventional air cooling. Together with an additional fourth gear operated by a conventional right foot pedal, a 3 ½ gallon petrol tank and a rather stylish engine cowl, the new Valiant looked the part and performed well. A top speed of 70 mph was claimed.
The "Veeline" model had the additional "Dolphin" full fairing weather protection. The Valiant was a high-quality motorcycle but consequently carried a high price in its day. Unfortunately, its size and price kept sales volumes low. 250cc was a much more popular engine size, and the model competed with a number of British four-stroke singles and cheaply manufactured Villiers two-stroke twins. Only 1600 Valiants were built between 1957 and 1964. Today, these pretty, innovative British boxer twins are a very rare sight. The Veeline is even rarer.
298 XUH was manufactured in 1958. During the 1980s, it was completely restored by a motorcycle engineer and stood in the window of his shop for many years, representing the standard of his work. Originally supplied with a 6 volt coil ignition electrical system, during the restoration it was converted to 12 volts.
Today, it is still in immaculate condition, almost as new. It starts and runs sweetly and would grace any collection of classic British motorcycles.
