1961 Velocette MSS 499cc. Registration number 380 PKE. Frame...

Hammer

£3,300

1961 Velocette MSS 499cc. Registration number 380 PKE. Frame number RS 116805. Engine number MSS 12961.
Sold with the V5C, MOT's from 1978 until 2002 and a copies of service manuals.
The purposeful Velocette MSS 500 was the quintessential British big single and a cut above the rest at the same time. Upper class and expensive when new, a black and gold Velocette was the machine of choice for the well-heeled enthusiast; at least, one who was not well-heeled enough for a Vincent. Put one next to a more proletarian BSA B33 or AJS Model 18 and the difference is marked, as is the ownership and riding experience.
The MSS initially arrived in the mid-1930s as the third in Velocette’s range of OHV high-cam, short pushrod singles. These started with the 250cc MOV, which was followed by the 350 MAC and the first 495cc MSS.
A new version of the 500 MSS caused a stir when it appeared at the Earls Court Show in 1954. The new MSS arrived in the MAC frame, with a new light-alloy engine that used square dimensions of 86mm bore and stroke and featured hairpin valve springs and a bonded-in iron cylinder liner. The output of just 25bhp sounds modest today but was typical for the time.
The MSS was quickly joined by the Venom in 1955, which came with bigger valves and ports.
The MSS stayed in the catalogue until Velocette closed in February 1971, although production may have finished as early as 1968, with plummeting demand for such an old-style bike, meaning that it was the Venom Clubman and Thruxton models that a dwindling number of buyers wanted.
PKE was originally sold by A.T. Bates of Canterbury and stayed in the area for many years. in 1979 Bernard Delger of Maidstone was the owner, he sold it to James Harkins of Scotland in 2011 and then William McLay in 2016, Our deceased vendor bought it from him in the same year.
It has been stored for several years due to ill health and will require some recommissioning.