1937 MSS 500cc with wooden trade box

This particular machine was found sitting upright in a mallee thatch cattle shelter in the district of Goroke a few miles south of Horsham, Victoria. It was located after a casual advertisement for 'Any old motorcycles' placed by myself at Horsham, when I passed through the town en-route from Adelaide to Melbourne one day. I had two replies, one resulted in me later buying a completely dismantled Mk2 KSS in the township of Horsham itself, from a teenage lad who had paddock ridden it, until curiosity prompted him and his mates to pull it apart!

An old farmer had owned the MSS from new, when it had a sidecar attached, and it had survived the rigours of years of country dirt roads and the privations of WW2, but sometime after the end of hostilities, the sidecar had been sold, and the dirt poor farmer had wheeled the bike to it's resting place in a remote corner of his property, and simply forgotten about it! Until my advert reminded him that some money was to be made – even so, I bought it for a paltry sum over the phone, but to him it was cash from Heaven!

Upon inspection a couple of weeks later, it appeared to be in excellent condition, apart from the fact that children had smashed the carburettor it seems, and the bottom of the rear stand had rusted almost completely away, where it had sunk slowly into the damp cattle urine soaked soil.
Despite the farmer's sorrow at the damage, I was happy with my find, and the deal was closed, and I left him still trying to check the bundle of odd notes that I had paid him with – even though I had counted them out for him on the tailgate of my vehicle!

Arriving home, it was only a matter of fitting another carburettor, and filling up with fresh oil, and finding that the petrol tank was as he had claimed been part full of oil to prevent rust. Some petrol and a push down the road, and it was running sweetly after a bit of minor fettling.
As I was working in Hong Kong at this time, and only at home for short periods, the MSS was stored until an opportunity came to completely dismantle it, when it was found to be in quite good condition mechanically. Work was carried out at odd times, the rear stand had the rusted out section replaced, and the frame and other parts were prepared and stove enamelled, the plating was carried out – until it once more stood in pristine condition.

I had an unusual Hawk sidecar, on a Dusting chassis, but a friend suggested that as sidecars were common, and I already had a Norton outfit in the lineup, why not a commercial side box, something that was completely lacking in our V&V Club scene. Added to this he mentioned that he had such a box sitting under his house where it had been gathering dust for years, and I was welcome to it!
So it was that the well preserved timber box was hauled out, complete with it's solidly hinged top, and after some time spent sanding down, it received a coat of new black enamel and the hinges were plated. But something was missing, until another sign writing friend suggested that if I cared to lay out a large Velocette logo on the side, he would contribute his expertise and gold leaf to finish the job!

At this point it was registered and I used it as a Club rally machine and work hack, and later, as a finishing touch, Frank Mussett's motorcycle shop address and name was added to the front of the box. This is the only Velocette that I have that still retains the original push-pull, 'sudden death' throttle arrangement!