SIBLING RIVALRY

The heart of early motorcycle racing in New Zealand was fuelled by the privateer. Sure, there was the Motorcycle Union and the officials that ensured things ran smoothly and the right level of talent was represented at a international level, but it was the group of men who dedicated their time and energies to local competition that ensured the race scene continued to grow into what it is today.

The two machines offered here, to me, represent the very essence of New Zealand's early race scene. Both set ups are based on pre-war KSS (Camshaft Super Sport) Velocette 350 engines with a strong bottom end, racing clutch and relatively free revving engine they were ideal for the relatively complex road tracks of New Zealand. Tuned well they were capable of 90mph. Each machine offers a different kind of frame, one being the highly forgiving late model MAC frame, the other sporting a pre war modified Velo frame with Armstrong prototype leading fork setup. Both machines were raced well and consistently by one of New Zealand's long standing quiet achievers in the early motorcycle racing scene. Simply put these are historic racers in the true sense of the word and they deserve to be raced again.

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Velocette Models