1968 Velocette Thruxton
1968 VELOCETTE THRUXTON BACKGROUND
Velocette had a proven design in their 500cc Velocette Venom. Big singles had sort passed from grace in the 1960s with the advent of all the twins pouring out of Britain, and now the high-revving, and totally-reliable twins coming out of Japan. Velocette didn’t have the funds to design a totally new bike with a modern engine. Finances forced them to do with what they had. Fortunately, the Venom had proven to be fast, reliable, and robust. Velocette designer Bertie Goodman put together a “racing kit” that included an extensively-modified cylinder head with bigger valves and a downdraft intake port, an Amal GP carburetor and special cam followers, in 1965. The new carb was so big that they had to hollow out the underside of the fuel tank to make room for it. The following year they named the new bike the Thruxton, also known as the Venom Thruxton. The new Thruxton was a bona fide race bike capable of 120 mph with handling to match. This 1968 Velocette Thruxton is a fine example, and was on display at the 2017 Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel CA.
1968 Velocette Thruxton SPECIFICATIONS
| Model designation Engine type Displacement Bore & Stroke Compression ratio Fuel system Ignition system Battery Power output Primary drive Clutch Gearbox Ratios Final drive Suspension, front Suspension, rear Brake, front Brake, rear Tire, front Tire, rear Steering head angle Wheelbase Seat height Fuel capacity Dry weight Top speed |
1968 Velocette Thruxton Air-cooled OHV single 499cc / 30.5 ci 86mm X 86mm 9.0:1 1- Amal 5GP2 carburetor Miller D6 magneto 6 volt, 60 W 41 hp @ 6,200 rpm Chain 3-plate, dry 4-speed, right-foot shift 1st 8.4; 2nd 6.3; 3rd 4.83; 4th 4.4:1 Chain Telescopic fork, hydraulic damping Swing arm w/2 shocks 7.5″ X 1.5″ TLS drum 7″ X 1″ SLS drum 3.00″ X 19″ ribbed, Dunlop 3.50″ X 19″ studded, Dunlop 27-degrees 53.75″ / 1365mm 30.5″ / 775mm 5.1 US gal / 19.3 L 375 lbs / 170 kg 120 mph / 193 km/h |