Saturday, May 31, 2008

How much does a Mk.8 KTT Velocette cost bought as parts?

On the subject of the Mk.8 KTT Velocette over the counter production racing motorcycle, I often wondered how much one costs if purchased as spare parts…..having the elusive spares numbers list, pre and post-war Veloce price lists and feeling like wasting some time, I set out to find out…..

Introduced at the November 1938 Earles Court ( UK) Motorcycle show, the newly introduced Velocette Mk.8 KTT production racing motorcycle was eagerly awaited by motorcycle racers and enthusiasts.

First available in May 1939 just prior to the IOM TT races, the price of a complete Mk.8 KTT racer was UK£120.
In Dec.1946 the listed price for 1947 was UK£240 (+UK£64.16.0 purchase tax in UK)
For 1950 UK£260 (+UK£70.3.0 PT in UK)
The price of various items was also of considerable interest…
A WM1x21” or WM2x19” Dunlop alloy rim were UK£5.5.0 each ( interestingly a bare steel rim was UK£0.18.0 and an enamelled rim UK£1.10.0 each), bad news if you crashed and buckled the rim.. several weeks wages at the time.
A complete frame with a pair of Dowty Oleomatic suspension units was UK£67
Left click on photos to enlarge.

Bathurst, NSW Australia for the 1950 Easter motorcycle races...Bruce Traynor, astride the P and R Williams Mk.8 with Ken and Merv Waggott and the P and R s ute ( pickup) with another Mk.8 in the background. P and Rs were the NSW Velocette distributors.
The pair of Oleomatics rear suspension
units were UK£19.
A cylinder head, not complete was UK£37
A pair of crankcase castings, machined UK£17.I.00, but I was unable to find a price out for a set of Webb TT girder forks ( or any of their girder forks for that matter), so the final price for the KTT is LESS a set of forks…UK£480…. That’s over four times the price of the new motorcycle.




A brace of Mk.8 KTTs, above, in the Veloce race shop awaiting despatch to their lucky owners around TT time in 1939 and the new 1947 (post war) version.

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