Bike Details

The bike is a Velocette Model LE ("Little Engine"). It is a Mark III example of this model and was first registered in July 1959 as 560 UXE. This registration was transferred at some point and it is now registered as 922 XUV.

According to the V5C, I am the 4th owner and the mileage is 38,005.

The only documentation I received with the bike was the V5C, however on checking, I find the bike has a current tax disc - I have now obtained a duplicate - and was issued with an MOT on 23/7/2009. This is a bit of a mystery because I simply can't believe the bike was running, let alone roadworthy at that date - the missing lights and bald front tyre alone would have failed the MOT.

According to the records kept by the L.E. Velo club historian, this bike was one of a batch of 5 which were supplied to the Rochdale, Lancashire police force in June 1959. It was supplied via Velocette's local agent, Drinkwater.

Another snippet is that both the registration numbers I have are "age-related" and have been allocated fairly recently. The original number is currently unknown and will have been transferred at some point.

It seems that the colour is slightly intriguing in that "special" colours were generally noted in the company's records and in this case there is no record of maroon paint. However, maroon bikes were supplied to the Lancashire police.