The Velocette MAC is a British
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
made by
Velocette
Velocette is a line of motorcycles made by Veloce Ltd, in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. One of several motorcycle manufacturers in Birmingham, Velocette was a small, family-owned firm, selling almost as many hand-built motorcycles during i ...
. A reliable single-cylinder, the MAC coped well with the low-grade post war petrol and was a popular commuter and touring motorcycle. Although they started as innovators, Velocette failed to keep pace with developing technology and production ended in 1959.
Before World War II
![Velocette Mac Sport 350 cc 1936](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Velocette_Mac_Sport_350_cc_1936.jpg)
The first version of the Velocette MAC was launched in 1933 and was developed from the overhead valve
Velocette MOV 250cc, which suffered from reliability problems. The single-cylinder engine was enlarged to 349 cc and could comfortably reach . The early MAC weighed and had
girder
A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ' ...
front forks.
Wartime models
MAC (WD)
![Velocette 1936 MAC sport blok](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Velocette_1936_MAC_sport_blok.jpg)
In October 1939 a Velocette MAC was purchased by the British
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
Army Mechanisation Experimental Establishment (MEE) at
Cove
A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are o ...
in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
for testing its suitability for military use. As well as British observers there were also representatives of the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
present. The tests were successful but a number of modifications were suggested and in 1940 the Velocette MAC was modified into a military specification. Velocette's first order for the military version was from the
French Government
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
but the contract for 1,200 motorcycles was cancelled
and only a few were delivered before the French were overrun by the advancing
German Army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
.
The British
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* Dep ...
asked for some further modifications and took over the French order in June 1940. The Velocette was designated the MAC (WD), the WD coming from "War Department", although it was often referred to as the MDD as this was the prefix for the serial numbers.
The MAC (WD) had an upgraded clutch and the pressed-steel front brake drum was replaced by cast iron fittings which became standard for the later MAC models,
due to the shortage of aluminium which was needed for aircraft manufacture.
Other modifications included a protective shield bolted to the frame over the crankcase. A strong carrying rack replaced the rear pillion seat
and the headlamp was masked to comply with blackout regulations.
The MDD could cope well with battlefield conditions, but Velocette's limited production facilities meant it was a difficult to keep up production and by September 1942 the MDD order was cancelled and the factory turned over to other War work.
As there were a fairly small number in service both the Velocette MAC (WD) and the improved MAF were largely used by British-based forces, including the Fire Service and
Civil Defence
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...
organisations, as well as the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
.
The 'missing' WDs
A myth persists that a large consignment of Velocette MAC (WD) intended for use in France was lost in the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
while being delivered.
An order for 200 MAC (WD)'s was placed in July 1940 for delivery to the Central Ordnance Department at
Chilwell
Chilwell is a village and residential suburb of Nottingham, in the borough of Broxtowe of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham city. Until 1974 it was part of Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having been in Stapleford Rural District until ...
but the order was never fulfilled, probably due to lack of capacity at the Velocette factory.
When MAC (WD)'s were returned to civilian use after the war they often had the MDD engine and serial numbers ground off and replaced with later numbers, reinforcing the idea that they had been mysteriously lost without trace.
MAF
The Velocette MAF had the foot gear change mechanism reversed to make it the same as the other military motorcycles in use at the time. An order for 2,000 was placed in June 1941 but problems with Velocette's supplies and the limited production facilities meant that it was a difficult order to fulfil. By September 1942 they had only delivered 947 motorcycles and the order was cancelled.
Post war
MAC production restarted after the war. In 1948 the MAC's girder forks were replaced with innovative air-sprung Dowty Oleomatic forks. In 1951 these were upgraded to Veloce 'tele forks' which were developed for the
Velocette LE
The Velocette LE is a motorcycle made by Veloce Ltd from 1948 to 1971. The designation LE stood for "little engine". Used by over fifty British Police forces, the police riders became known as "Noddies" because they were required to nod to s ...
. These had coil springs with damping. In the same year the engine was upgraded to an alloy barrel and head with wider fins to improve cooling.
For 1953 the MAC was updated with fully adjustable rear suspension, swinging arm and a tube frame. The clutch and gearbox were also greatly improved. From 1954 the MAC was sold as a sidecar machine to try to broaden the appeal but production was halted by 1960. The company had invested £50,000 developing the
Velocette Viceroy
The Viceroy was a scooter introduced by the British motorcycle manufacturer Veloce Ltd in 1960.
Only 700 were sold before the model was discontinued in 1964.
The Viceroy was considered an unusual design, as the transverse two-stroke horizontal ...
scooter and, despite continued sales of the singles, Velocette became insolvent.
See also
*
Matchless G3/L
The Matchless G3/L is a motorcycle developed for use by the British Army during the Second World War, when Matchless manufactured 80,000 G3 and G3/L models. The G3/L became one of the most popular motorcycles used during the war, as it was the ...
– similar engine size British military motorcycle by Matchless
*
Ariel W/NG 350 – similar engine size British military motorcycle by Ariel
References
External links
* {{YouTube, id=ylz596cGSh4, title=Velocette MAC 350cc
Velocette MAC engine detailPicture of Velocette MAC (WD)
MAC
Military motorcycles