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• Auction House:
  Donington Auctions
• Sale Name:
  Collectors' Motorcycles, Cars & Horse Drawn Carriages - Featuring the Private Museum of Racing Driver Bryan Thomson
• Sale Date:
  20 Jun 2021 ~ 2pm (AEST)
• Lot #:
  40
• Lot Description:
  1968 VELOCETTE THRUXTON
  One of the most desirable British motorcycles of the 1960s
• Notes:
  Unlike other British motorcycle manufacturers, Velocette resisted the move to parallel twins, remaining committed to the four-stroke single. In 1956 Velocette introduced the new 500cc Venom sports model and after successful 12 and 24-hour record breaking attempts they entered the 500-mile race for production bikes held at the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire. Victory eluded them until the Venom won the 500cc class in 1964, and a year later the celebratory Thruxton appeared. This was ostensibly a tuned Venom and included a racing cylinder head and cutaway oil and petrol tanks to accommodate the 1 3/8-inch Amal GP carburettor on its extended inlet manifold. Defying the trend towards smooth external engine design, the Thruxton retained a separate engine and transmission, the polished engine cases bristling with studs, nuts, and plugs along with external oil lines and control cables. With the solid skirt piston providing a 9:1 compression ratio, the 86mm x 86mm Thruxton produced 41 horsepower at 6,200 rpm. This was three horsepower up on the conventional Venom Clubman. The ultra-narrow crankcases and extremely slim flywheels enabled the chain primary drive to remain close to the bikes centreline, and the clutch to be placed inside the transmission output socket. The large carburettor and large valves resulted in an uncertain idle, and the engine required a particular starting technique. Starting was covered in detail in the owners manual. If the engine failed to start, you headed for the section titled "Obstinacy in starting". When the engine still wouldnt fire, a supplementary sheet told how to fiddle the compression-release, spark-retard, and throttle and float tickler. The cycle parts were also improved over the regular Venom. Along with alloy wheel rims the front fork included two-way damping. The front drum brake was a new John Tickle twin-leading shoe type and a unique Velocette feature was the adjustable shock absorber top mount to alter leverage. The beauty of the Thruxton was in the details. The handlebar was covered with chromed levers and switches, with clutch, compression release and spark advance/retard levers on the left and carburettor air slide correction, throttle twist grip, drag screw, and a front brake lever on the right. The narrow engine ensured a low centre of gravity with light and neutral steering and an all up weight of 170kg assured respectable performance. Contemporary road tests saw the Thruxton timed at nearly 185 km/h, and a privately entered Thruxton won the 500cc class of the 1967 Production TT at the Isle of Man, at an average speed of 89.89 mph (144 km/h). The first versions of 1965 and 1966 were painted silver over a dark blue frame, forks and oil tank, but after 1967 the Thruxton was black. By 1968 coil ignition replaced the magneto, and the Thruxton soldiered onto until Velocettes demise in 1970. By that stage only 1108 had been made. The Thruxtons appeal as a beautiful and desirable machine is timeless. Looking back nearly sixty years, there arent many motorcycles of that period that have stood the test of time so well. This 1968 Velocette Thruxton was in the Birdwood Mill Collection in South Australia until the 1974 when the South Australian History Trust acquired the collection. Various motorcycles were subsequently sold and the Thruxton has been stored in a museum for more than thirty years. It is fitted with an original rare two-piece sports Avon fairing and the Smiths speedometer reads 2,734 miles. Apart from a recovered seat it is in excellent original condition but has seen no use for several decades and will require careful recommissioning.
• Estimate:
  A$36,000 - 40,000
• Realised Price:
  $0.00
• Category:
  Automobiles & Accessories

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.