1937 KTS Velocette: British Innovation

“We went to a Velo rally,” remembers Jim Romain. “Including riding to and from the rally, we rode 2000 miles in ten days. I was only tired on one day when we did 350 miles – all back roads. At one point, my friend and I  were going up a grade with the wind in our faces. We were flat out on the tanks, throttling up. We looked up and there was a Highway Patrol officer on the side of the road. I eased off the throttle, but I looked down, and I was only going 55 mph. So I lay back down on the tank and cracked open the throttle again.”

For many years, the Velocette slogan was “Always in the picture.” The official name of the British factory that built Velocettes was Veloce, Ltd. Veloce, Ltd. was a small family-owned company, but it was responsible for many motorcycling innovations, some revolutionary. Velocette produced the first sequential foot-shift gearbox, the first automatic ignition advance on an English motorcycle, and the first dual seat. The post-War Velocette frame with swingarm rear suspension and dual hydraulic suspension units was one of the first swingarm frames in commercial production.  A constant threat at the Isle of Man TT races, a Velocette won its class in 1926, 1937, 1938, 1939 and 1947.

Veloce, Ltd. was started in 1896 by Johannes Gütgemann, a German immigrant to England who first changed his name to John Taylor and later to John Goodman. The first iteration of the company was “Taylor, Gue & Company Ltd,” which first manufactured bicycle parts and later built frames for motorcycles. Over the next few years, Taylor Gue started building engines to go with the frames and eventually became Veloce Ltd. The first complete motorcycles used the name Veloce, but starting in 1913, the company made a popular two-stroke, which also came in a ladies’ model, with a drop frame and skirt guard. The two-stroke was called a Velocette, and dealers insisted that all other Veloce models be branded Velocette, as few members of the buying public recognized the Veloce name.

Velocette earned international attention when its overhead camshaft engines, designated as “K,” appeared in 1925. The KTT production racer was introduced in 1928 and came out with an innovative foot shift the next year. The overhead camshaft, driven by bevel gears and tower shaft, had to be hand-fitted to each engine. This was an expensive and time-consuming procedure, but it did work reliably and, importantly, won races. Veloce started building a sporty overhead cam roadster, the KSS, and a touring model, the KTS. The KTS had the same basic frame and engine as the KSS but had larger fenders; “mudguards” to British riders. The KSS first exited the factory doors in 1931. Besides the fat fenders, the KTS had 19-inch wheels front and rear, while the KSS had a 21-inch front wheel and a 20-inch rear. A four-speed transmission came out in 1932.

Although England suffered from the Depression, the average person got around on a small motorcycle, and there was a continued demand for bikes and parts. As a result, motorcycle sales continued, and, while all manufacturers had to do some belt-tightening, few ceased operations.

The first KTS machines had a hand shift, but foot shift was available as an option starting in 1932. In 1934, the Velocette-designed foot shift became standard. The ongoing Depression convinced Velocette to start  building the overhead valve “M” series in 1933 for people without the wherewithal to buy one of the camshaft machines. The Mark II KSS and KTS appeared in 1936. The engine, the same on both, had an alloy head and fully enclosed valve gear. Along with the M series, it was housed in a new frame derived from the Mark V KTT racer.  In the 1930s many manufacturers were making do with hand shift, side-valve engines, and iron heads, so Velocette was clearly ahead of its time. Excellent Velocette quality and the state of the art engine enable a Velocette from the Thirties to be ridden for considerable distances on modern two-lane roads.

By this time, Velocette was using the Brooklands can to muffle its motorcycles. Brooklands was a racetrack in England which demanded that competitors use this fishtail-shaped muffler while racing in order to reduce complaints from nearby homeowners. This type of muffler, or “silencer” to the British, became quite popular on road-going two-wheelers. While it didn’t do much to quiet the exhaust, it did announce that the bike it was attached to was sporty and fast.

Jim’s bike is a 1937 KTS Mk II, with the 348cc engine that had been upgraded in 1936. It is good for over 75 mph and sports a full cradle frame with a rigid tail section and seven inch drum brakes front and rear. It weighs about 340 pounds. According to Ivan Rhodes, who has the factory records, the motorcycle was first sold at a London dealership on January 16, 1937 to a Mr. Jeffries. Very few Velocettes were imported to the US before World War II, and it is uncertain how it got here. After the war, the overhead valve Velocettes were popular with Southern California desert racers. Lou Branch in Los Angeles was the main U.S. importer, dealer, and tuner.

Velocette built well-regarded bikes for the British military during World War II and did well immediately after the war. The extra money from military contracts was used to design and build a modern shaft drive, water-cooled, four-stroke 150cc boxer twin, the LE, which became a staple of British urban police forces. Innovations included convenient hand lever starting and gear shifting. Unfortunately, even after a bump to 200cc’s, civilian sales were not as hoped for due to the popularity of Italian Vespas and Lambrettas. The company barely broke even on the project. There was no money to significantly improve Velocette’s motorcycles, which were looking increasingly archaic. Velocette continued to build single cylinder machines long after its rivals had gone to twins and triples. The company stopped building its overhead cam roadsters in the late 1940s and concentrated on the overhead valve machines.

After a period of prosperity in the 1950’s, fueled by sales of scramblers to West Coast Americans, sales slowly dropped. In 1964, a 500cc overhead valve Venom won an endurance race, which led to a sales bump. In 1970, Eugene Goodman, the surviving son of John Goodman, threw in the towel and closed the factory doors.

Velocette never really got into mass production. The total number of motorcycles built after 1921 (not including the LE and a short lived scooter) was 77,283. Only 10,722 of the costly, hand-built KSS and KTS were produced. However, the Velocette Club, based in England but with outposts all over, continues strong. A prominent club member, Ivan Rhodes, has the factory records. If you have a Velocette, you can write, not email, Mr. Rhodes and he will tell you when your bike was built and who the first owner was. The club provides comradeship and helpful advice. Club volunteers operate Veloce Spares Ltd, which sells parts for the more popular models. There are several books on Velocettes, including Velocette – Always in the Picture (Burgess and Clew) and Velocette – Technical Excellence Exemplified (Rhodes), both of which are out of print, but can be found used. Jim Romain likes the Rhodes authored book, a good source for owners and restorers.

Jim Romain had an auto repair business for many years, and rode, repaired and restored English motorcycles on the side. Eventually, he decided to retire and devote himself to English motorcycles. He has had a fondness for Velocettes for a very long time and was selling Velocette pistons as a side business for several years. In 2010, an elderly man came to Jim’s shop and bought a piston. Two years later, Jim was touring in the area where the old man lived and decided to go see him and his bikes.

The old man had this KTS Velocette and 2 other Velocettes. He said that he had bought the Velocette on this side of the pond 25 years earlier. It had never been registered in the United States. The KTS was a little shabby, but not rusty, and importantly, all the parts that should have been on the bike were there except for an incorrect front fender. Jim honed in on the KTS, but the owner said he had to talk to his kids, as the plan had been to leave them the motorcycles. After some back and forth, Jim was able to buy the Velo.

Jim being Jim, and a jack of all trades, he stripped the bike to the lower end, rebuilt the engine and repainted everything. He was pleased that he didn’t have to replace any of the bearings, but did bore the cylinder .020 inch over, since someone in the Velocette club had a suitable piston. He also sent the chrome out to be refurbished. “I chromed what should have been chromed.” The 1936 KTS is very similar to the 1937 KTS, but the ’36 has black wheel rims and spokes, while the ’37 has chrome rims and spokes, with the rim centers painted black – a custom touch that you often see on 1930’s American motorcycles. The speedometer drive is on the front wheel and the brake adjuster is on the forks.  “I took it back to stock without making it a museum piece.” After all, Jim intended to ride the bike. He found that it’s great fun to ride, and gets it out on back roads on a regular basis.

In 2017, Jim was coming back from a jaunt over the nearby back roads when he found that the way to his house had been torn up for repairs. Despite the road resembling a badly laid out motocross track, he tried to ride over it anyway. “It was the third whoop that got me.” Jim escaped with scrapes and bruises, but the Velo’s frame was bent, there was a dent in the tank and the taillight bracket was broken. He knew of a frame straightening shop so Jim dismantled his Velo, sent the frame out to be straightened, got the dent out of the tank and repainted what needed to be repainted. Once back together, the Velo was again on the road on a regular basis.

The Velocette company was known for quality work, and the ’37 does not leak more than a few drips here and there. The carburetor is an Amal 276, pre-monoblock. Amal still exists and sells parts for these carburetors. Jim says his stays in tune. “Set it and forget it.” The BTH magneto was rebuilt several years back and hasn’t needed adjustment since. Outside of changing the oil on a regular basis and making sure the tires are inflated (Avon Speedmaster rib in the front, a Heidenau in the back) the bike is basically maintenance-free. Jim says that he let the bike sit for six months once, put fuel in the tank and it started on the second kick.

Speaking of kicks, the Velocette rider’s manual provides detailed information on how to start the bike. If you don’t follow the starting procedure, you will find yourself on the Velocette forum, complaining about how hard the bike is to start. The standard Velo joke is that the number of kicks needed to start the bike is proportional to the number of spectators. Jim recommends, with the ignition off, tickling the carburetor, retarding the manual advance slightly, and bringing the kickstarter to the top. Pull the compression release and slowly push the kickstarter to the bottom. Release the compression release, bring the kickstarter back to the top, turn on the ignition and kick. It should start.

“It’s a comfortable, well-handling bike that will get you where you want to go.” The KTS top speed is over 75 mph, and although Romain says you could take it on a freeway, he prefers to stick to scenic two-lane roads. “Why ride a Velocette? It’s very smooth for a big single. It handles like a dream. I have never been a very fast rider, but the Velo taught me to be a good rider.” MC