Velocette MAC
This 1938 Veloette MAC used a rigid frame and girder front end.
Velocette MAC Background & History
The Velocette MAC was a 350cc OHV single-cylinder motorcycle manufactured from 1933 through 1959. While Velocette built some very fast single-cylinder motorcycle, the MAC wasn’t one of them, nor was it intended to be. Instead, the MAC was designed as an easy going commuter or touring bike. Besides, the MAC would have to cope with low-grade petrol available to the British motoring public after the war. In the 27-year lifespan of this bike, Velocette experienced great success and abject failure. In the 1930s, big British singles ruled the motorcycle world, and in that environment Velocette shined. They made excellent singles that were fast, robust and lively. They even looked great with their baked on enamel paint jobs. But, the world was changing. Triumph had introduced the world to the vertical twin with its 1938 5T Speed Twin and the rest of the industry followed, all except Velocette, who couldn’t afford to develop a new twin-cylinder engine. As the vertical twin wars really heated up in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Velocette was simply left behind, in the backwater that big twins had become. They never recovered. But that doesn’t take away from our story of the fine Velocette MAC.
1938 Velocette MAC.
Birth of the Velocette MAC
Early versions of the Velocette MAC, launched in 1933 were an evolution of the 250cc OHV Velocette MOV. The MOV had been suffering from reliability issues, but when Velocette’s engineers set about expanding the engine to 349cc the worked the bugs out of it so that it was a robust engine. These early MACs ran on rigid frames and girder front forks, weighed just 280 lbs and could top out at 75 mph.
1938 Velocette MAC engine, timing side.
Velocette MAC goes to War
As Britain geared up for World War 2 the Velocette MAC was tested by the British War Office Army Mechanization Experimental Establishment (MEE) for suitability as a military bike. Representatives of the French Army were also present. Both potential buyers had a list of modifications that would need to be made to the bike which Velocette was only too glad to do. The French were the first and they order 1,200 bikes, however a few weeks later, the Germans overran France and the order could not be fulfilled. Only a few bikes were built. However, with a few more modifications, the British Army took over the French order in June 1940. This was a big order for tiny Velocette. The bike would be called the Velocette MAC WD, for War Department, however it is also called MDD.
This 1953 Velocette MAC shows what the later machines looked like with the swing arm frame and telescopic forks.
Final Years of the Velocette MAC
When civilian production resumed after the war Velocette MAC production restarted as well. In 1948 the ancient girder forks were ditched in favor of the radical new Dowty Oleomatic front forks. These I turn were replaced in 1951 by Velocette’s own TeleForks which Velocette had developed for the LE. That same year a new all-aluminum barrel and head with wider fins for better cooling became standard. In 1953 the Velocette MAC got a new swing arm frame with fully adjustable suspension. The clutch and gearbox were also improved and the buffer was changed from the ‘fishtail’ style to ‘Burgess’ style unit. Starting in 1954 Velocette started pushing the MAC as a sidecar rig, to hopefully harness some more sales. But Velocette was putting its faith in a whole new type of bike, typified by the Velocette LE and the Viceroy. Interest in the market for big singles was waining and so producing ended in 1959.
The Velocette MAC and all of Velocette's big singles were in their heyday in the 1930s when singles ruled the earth. But with the arrival of the vertical twin in the form of the 500cc 1938 Triumph 5T Speed Twin, big singles were becoming increasingly irrelevant. Everyone else in the British motorcycle industry had to have their own vertical twin if they hoped to compete with the likes of Triumph. But World War 2 put a halt on things until civilian production resumed in 1946, and over the next 4 model years, BSA, Ariel, Norton, Matchless/AJS and Royal Enfield would all come out with their own 500cc vertical twins, just as Triumph upped the ante again by fielding their first 650 in 1950. Velocette was just about the only major British motorcycle manufacturer (except Vincent which was already vested in V-twins) because they simply didn't have the resources (ie: the money) to get it done. There were probably voices within Velocette's leadership who believed that their singles were so good that people would buy them anyway. Of course they were wrong, but were they? Out of all the players in the vertical twin game, the only ones who sold enough twins to make a profit were Triumph, BSA and Norton. All the rest, Ariel, Royal Enfield, and Matchless/AJS never sold enough twins to reach their breakeven point. One way or another, all of these companies were going to fail before long anyway, despite their glorious past. And it was a glorious past.
Velocette MAC Motorcycle Books
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By Rod Burris, 176 pagesThe whole Velocette story with gorgeous photos. Get the whole story, there's more to it than you think. |
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