The Velocette MAC is Back

[Thruxton71]

For the first time in months (since March 13, 2022) I saddled up my 1952 MAC and headed out for a check out ride. I was checking to see if my still hurting kick starter foot would hold up, I was checking to see if my primary progressive MS would enable me to get my left foot (opposite of the kick starter foot) up and down off the pegs while starting and stopping, I was checking to see if my new rear tire would work well enough to give me confidence to ride further, and I was checking to see if the hot weather would prevent my enjoyment of a simple ride up and down 33.

I am happy to report that on all counts, things checked out. I have been prepping the MAC for several weeks, taking the rear wheel off and getting a new K70 spooned on, checking and oiling all the drive chains (primary and rear), checking oil levels (primary, transmission, engine), and hoping it would kick to life as needed, when needed.

I am planning an adventure so it all had to work out. I am going to ride the the last day of the annual Velocette Rally, ending in Morro Bay. I will have my girlfriend/partner/resident skeptic follow me there in my Nissan truck with a ramp, gas, oil, and tools. We will stay for annual general meeting, where the club elects officers and deals with club business. (I hear, on the down low, that next year they want the ride to be on Victoria Island.. a 1,000 miles in one of the prettiest places in Canada, eh)

My route, to avoid traffic and because I really like the remote isolated areas I would be going through, is over 33, east on 166, then across Soda Lake road to 58, then to Atascadero and subsequently Morro Bay. Soda Lake road goes through the Carizzo Plain National Monument (https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-c ... l-monument), and has 20 miles of well groomed dirt road. I have ridden it on all sorts of bikes, including my Guzzi LeManns, so riding a rigid MAC should not pose a problem. I will just take it easy.

Which brings me to tires. When you ride a rigid, the tires serve a huge role in providing some suspension. When I realized I needed a new rear tire, my first choice was a TT100 Dunlop, AKA a K81. It turns out that K81 3.25 19 tires are nowhere to be found. There are other 19 inch tires, but ultimately, the tire that the shop found for me was the old favorite for Brit Bikes, a K70. Given I am planning on 20 miles of dirt, this may have been the best choice. And, despite my recollection that K70's are square, on my ride this morning it stuck well and didn't tip into the side walls. And here is the important part. On a rigid it pays to run rears a little under inflated. A dear old friend who recently passed used to ride a rigid Triumph with what looked like a flat rear tire, but with no apparent impact on his forward momentum in and out of corners. Today I ran 28 in the rear, 32 in the front. The last couple of times I rode my MAC I was worried something was loose as it didn't feel secure. Today it felt like it was on rails. The front tire was low when I checked, so that may have been part of the problem. Who would have thought that this old clunker would be so sensitive to tire pressure? I should know better.

So, onward to the great adventure. On a 1952 Velocette MAC with a new rear tire. Yahoooo.