The LE Velocette and the Police
THE LAST TIME I SAW in 1970; now here I was 50 years later being invited by Keith Honor to take his later Mk3 out for a spin. Would one afternoon really be enough, and more to the point, would I like it enough to say nice things? The LE (Little Engine – but you probably already knew that) made its debut at the Earls Court show in 1948, and most of the public and even the press viewed the bike as an oddity – to some it was a complete turn-off. A few commentators have gone as far as saying that the LE helped to bring about the demise of a valued and well-known British marque. They may possibly have a small point, because so much money and effort went into the development of this unusual machine. Indeed, what were Percy and Eugene thinking? I can only conclude that they honestly believed that they had invented the ‘next best thing’. Many designers fantasise and daydream of producing an unconventional ‘winner’. The bicycle, the printing press and the PC have all changed the world we live in. Sadly, many more creations were huge flops – like the Sinclair C5, the hoverboard and spray on hair. And did you know that Harley-Davidson brought out a perfume in 1995? No, I didn’t think so... it was called Hot Road. And nobody wanted that either.
