This 1950s Velorex Three Wheeler Micro-Car Has The Heart Of A Modern Sport Bike – Sleeper or Creeper?


This 1950s Velorex Three Wheeler Micro-Car Has The Heart Of A Modern Sport Bike – Sleeper or Creeper?

This is likely the first vehicle we have ever highlighted on BangShift that has a body which actually snaps onto the car. Oh, probably the first we have ever showed that has a body apparently made of cloth or vinyl or some other thing that clearly is not rigid. The frame of the tiny machine is surely rigid and for keeping weight, cost, and comfort to minimum levels the body was made out of whatever could be cheaply sourced, cut, and sewn to the proper shape and size. Based n Czechoslovakia, Velorex was in the business of making tiny cars and motorcycle side cars for a pretty significant amount of time. The three wheeler model you see here was in production from 1950-1971 amazingly and went through several iterations before it was out of production in the early 1970s. Yes, the frame is made from welded steel tubing although we’re not sure how much  of a difference that would make if you ever crashed one.

This Velorex is kind of a sleeper in the sense that instead of the factory equipped two stroke, 340cc, 16hp engine it is equipped with a modern Kawasaki four stroke 500cc motorcycle engine. The transmission was also upgraded to the modern six speed manual found in the Kawasaki motorcycle. This would effectively raise the maximum speed from the factory’s 31mph to something about five times that number, give or take. We’re not sure we have the guts to even watch someone run one of these things at high speeds because the front tires would be providing absolutely zero in the form of grip, if they even stayed attached to the wheels. Yikes.

The maximum weight of the Velorex with people in it is 1,000lbs, or at least it was from the factory. That means it would be far slower than a comparable motorcycle but we think it would still whoop up on most normal cars pretty hard, though. There’s no doubt that this would be an entertaining little weirdo to cruise the streets and patrol stoplights in, right? The looks are really tough to get around though. Maybe if you drove it with a helmet on so no one could identify you it would be better?

The big question here is whether or not the speedy factory outweighs the freaky weirdo factor here.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS AND INFO IN THE EBAY AD AND THEN TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! CREEPER OR SLEEPER?

velorex1 velorex2 velorex3 velorex4 velorex5 velorex6

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS HOT RODDED VELOREX THREE WHEELER IN FULL DETAIL – WILD LITTLE THING

 


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5 thoughts on “This 1950s Velorex Three Wheeler Micro-Car Has The Heart Of A Modern Sport Bike – Sleeper or Creeper?

  1. Lon

    I’ll admit it, I would take it for a ride. It’s like a big go cart. It’s probably a 500cc Ninja engine, so it only makes 50HP, no big deal.

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