John Goodman (Velocette)

His father was a successful merchant but died when Johannes was young, so when he was nineteen he moved to England to start a new life.

Taylor went straight on to found a new company, Veloce Limited in late 1905 to market motorcycles and related products.

The motorcycle market was very much in its infancy however, and sales were poor, so he decided to produce a 499cc belt drive model to bring in some much needed cash.

In 1925 Goodman had a breakthrough when his 348cc overhead cam prototype was entered in the Isle of Man TT which was one of the most famous road races of the time and a great 'proving ground' for motorcycle manufacturers.

In 1971 rising development costs and the owners' racing expenses took their toll on the company's bottom line and Velocette went into voluntary liquidation.