Film, Media & TV2 mins ago
shaft drive motorbikes?
Answers
No best answer has yet been selected by nicebutdim. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Think Velocette produced a 200cc shaft drive up until 1970.
An attempt to develop a 149cc (later 200cc ) shaft-driven, liquid-cooled scooter (the LE) in the late post-war 1940s proved unsuccessful and costly. While advanced, it was sedate and economical - and unpopular. Despite its flaccid sales, the LE remained in production from 1949 until 1970. The company went out of business in 1971.
Seem to recall local police using them in rural areas.
Yes, alan30 is quite right. Velocette, a Birmingham motor cycle manufacturer, made the Velocette LE between 1948 and 1971. It was a lightweight twin cylinder machine with a 200cc side valve horizontally opposed water cooled engine and shaft drive.
Known as the "Noddy Bike" it was extensively used by police forces and the Metropolitan Police employed officers on these bikes for traffic duties. These officers did not wear proper crash helmets but instead were protected by ordinary police helmets, reinforced and with additional straps.
The bikes were notoriously slow and any decent bike or scooter of 150cc+ could easily give them the slip. (Not that I'd know, you understand!)
Related Questions
Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.