1964 Rickman Velocette 500
Owner: Brad Kennard
As featured in Vintage Views, May 2001
Brad Kennard’s unusual Rickman is a 1964 Mark III powered by a 1963 Velocette Venom 500cc engine. Although he doesn’t know the full history of the bike, he is told that four Metisses were constructed in 1964 for Velocette engines. Two of the machines were said to be re-powered by Matchless, and the other has not been seen for quite some time. Note that this is a dry MkIII frame—perhaps because of the height of the engine.
The machine weights 263 pounds dry and has a square bore and stroke of 86mm, with an 8:1 compression ratio, 30mm Amal carb and pre-unit four-speed gearbox. It is fitted with CZ wheels, hubs and forks. “Thanks to massive diameter crank throws there is tons of torque throughout the whole power curve and it is very smooth,” Kennard says.
Kennard acquired the Rickman in July 1999 from James Holland Services in the U.K. Although he didn’t know it, was set up to run on alcohol when delivered, “which made for some impatient times on arrival,” he recalls.
The primary drive and transmission also have some unique engineering, Kennard points out. The countershaft is outside the clutch, as opposed to other British designs. The primary drive at the clutch for the input shaft is in the center of the plate stack instead of the basket. Clutch release is essentially a plate that cams in, and on this three pins spin with the clutch and are pushed into the pressure plate. Working on the transmission for the first time can be a test of patience.
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On the track, however, it is a blast to ride and is usually forgiving. By the end of the 1999 season Kennard was getting comfortable with the machine, earning second in the national points in Premier 500 Expert and first in the Midwest Region. “2000 was going good, until she snapped back in a sweeper and put the hurt on me,” he says. This year he is running the Rickman in Classic 500 Expert, noting that “although in need of a freshening up, it always lights right off and drags me around the track.”
Kennard, of Johnston, Iowa, is AHRMA’s Midwest motocross co-coordinator and has been active in motorcycling most of his life, starting off on a Cushman Eagle when he was 6. Over the years he has mostly ridden MX and hare scrambles, but thanks to AHRMA he’s also expanded his horizons to trials and a little dirt track, and roadrace school is on his to-do list. He works as an outside industrial sales rep for Peerless Supply Inc. (“who periodically shake their heads at new battle scars but understand the madness”). Kennard’s motorcycle habit includes about 60 bikes, most of which are Pentons and early KTMs, as well as a Rickman Triumph, Zundapps, BSA, CZ, Ossa, Can-Am, Ducati and the infamous H-D Hummer trials bike.
“I’m always interested in something unique or new,” he says.
