So the giant auctions in Vegas have come and gone, but the circuit keeps going. In two weeks (February 5th), Bonhams is having an auction in Paris with some very cool motorcycles up for sale. As usual, here’s some of my favorites. This time I’m highlighting 7 – not necessarily what I think are the best buys, but rather bikes …
Japanese Harley – 1959 Rikuo VLE
Post Listing Update: After being relisted, this Rikuo VLE did not meet reserve at $9,200. During the Great Depression, Harley-Davidson was on the verge of bankruptcy – partially due to the 1921 Safeguarding of Industries act which imposed a 33.3% tariff on American products like Harleys that were threatening UK manufacturers. Because this pretty much shut Harley out of the …
1946 Indian Chief Roadmaster
The Indian Chief had three model lines – the Clubman, the Sportsman, and the top of the line Roadmaster. The Roadmaster (which Polaris has brought back) was the full touring option, which came with extra chrome, a Sport windshield, twin spotlights, saddlebags, and Indian’s “Chum-Me” seat which allowed you to bring “your best friend along, too.”
Highly Original – 1940 Harley-Davidson EL Knucklehead
Here’s an unrestored EL Knuckle that’s in impressive original condition. The paint on the front fender, tank, frame, and forks are original. The rear fender was repainted to match. There are some minor issues but nothing unexpected – the front crash bar and wheel hubs are from a different year, and the muffler is a repro. When the seller originally …
1 of 500 – 1999 Yamaha R7 OW-O2
I think this is beautiful road bike to ever come from Japan, the Yamaha R7, also known as the OWO2. Right from the factory floor, it was a ready to race World Super Bike (WSB) racer with the trimmings (lights/signals/plate) necessary to make it street legal. Prices were incredible – with an MSRP of approximately $32,000, it was twice as …
1958 Mondial Sprint 175
The (FB) Mondial Sprint 175 was one of the few street bikes developed by the niche Italian manufacturer. Specializing in high performance, small displacement bikes, FB Mondial hand built most of their motorcycles, resulting in production numbers between just 1-2 thousand a year.
1987 Yamaha SRX250
For decades, Kawasaki ruled the 250cc ‘sport’bike market – though Honda has recently taken a chunk of the market with their CBR250R. Honda also challenged the little Ninja in the 80s with the VTR250, though it did not have much commercial success. For one year in the States, even Yamaha threw their hat into the ring with the Yamaha SRX250.
1951 Vincent Rapide
The baby brother to the legendary Black Shadow, the Vincent Rapide was sold from 1936-55 in 3 distinct ‘Series’. The final run was the Series C, which commenced in 1949. It offered the Rapide as a base model and the Black Shadow as the higher state of tune. Here’s one of the former in the very rare Chinese Red tinwork.
1972 OSSA MAR
The OSSA MAR (Mick Andrews Replica) was built after OSSA hired the English rider to design and ride a new trials bike – he went on to win two consecutive European Trials Championships and three consecutive Scottish Six Days Trials with it. In 1973, Andrews moved to Yamaha, but OSSA kept producing this bike into the late 70s and it …
1979 Benelli Quattro
The Benelli Quattro – named for its four-cylinder engine, was built under Alejandro de Tomaso’s leadership in an attempt to revitalize Benelli and to directly take on the Japanese (particularly Honda’s CB500 Four). In fact, de Tomaso bought a CB500 for his engineers and told them to ‘get inspiration’ from the bike, though the styling was handled by Paul Martin …
3 Years New – 2012 EBR 1190RS Carbon Edition
Post Listing Update: This Carbon Edition EBR did not get any action at the BIN of $34,999. Motorcycle enthusiasts are all familiar with the story of Erik Buell, and the disappointing end of his partnership with Harley-Davidson. Good News – Buell is back! In 2011, Erik and his company, Erik Buell Racing (EBR), decided to get back in the sportbike …
The Raider – 1968 Suzuki T-305
Also known as the Raider, the Suzuki T-305 was a small two-stroke twin that produced 37 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and was capable of 94 miles per hour. Here’s a reasonably priced example that was recently restored – the only flaw is that the speedometer is broken. This bike has 28,342 miles and looks like a fun runabout with the …
1972 Casal Guri
Metalurgia Casal was once the biggest motorcycle company in Portugal. One of their bikes was the Guri, a little 50cc bike with a 3-speed transmission.
Special Body – 1974 Triumph Trident Cafe Racer
Post-Listing Update: This Tracy-bodied Triumph did not meet reserve as the 11 bids only got up to $5,105. In the Trident model line, the T150 was the odd man out. The ‘breadbox’ tank and other styling features did not resonate with buyers of the time, and nowadays the bikes are usually overshadowed by the T160 generation or any of the …
Picture Intermission – David Silver Motorcycle Museum
Reader Robert K. was just telling me about how he had a chance to meet David Silver while at the auctions in Vegas last week – which made it seem very apropos when I discovered that Silver had been featured in Dream Magazine’s January issue because he’s in the process of opening a museum which will feature the largest collection …