Velocette MSS 500

It seems so strange now, but before the 1960s, dirt bikes usually had the same chassis as their road-going counterparts. And if you wanted a bike to race, you could order a basic engine and frame from the factory, and then finish the machine to your own specification. In France, you were known as a “compé-client,” or competition client. And that’s how this lovely 1955 Velocette Scrambler started its life. Owned by a friend of Vincent Prat (of the Southsiders MC), it was ridden by a local pilot for several seasons until the frame broke under the stresses of off-road...