Velocette Venom Clubman

AS I PULLED INTO THE PUB CAR PARK, MY mate Sean was practically hopping up and down with excitement. “You have got to see this,” he said and dragged me to an old British motorcycle with a full racing fairing, which was causing quite a buzz.

This Velocette Venom Clubman is one of those motorcycles that grabs your attention. And a closer look makes you realise just how special this motorcycle is. There’s a lot to be said for patina, but this Velocette doesn’t have patina, it has something else entirely. You can see that everything on there has been carefully chosen and expertly looked after, with a single aim; to make this 500cc pushrod single blisteringly fast.

Jody, who rode it in had owned it for just a few days. We chatted briefly, before Jody decided that 60-year-old lights were best not relied on for a twilight ride home. We exchanged phone numbers and he straddled the Venom, adjusted the various levers and tickler and with a practiced swing, the Venom burst into life with exactly the deep bark you’d expect from a venerable creature of such remarkable provenance.

He straddled the Venom, adjusted the various levers and tickler and with a practiced swing, the Venom burst into life with exactly the deep bark you’d expect from a venerable creature of such remarkable provenance

You see, Jody is just the second owner. The Venom Clubman Veeline had been