All the auction news, including Bonhams’ Winter Sale, where this 1976 Honda CB750K6 sold for £11,270
Record-breaking sale shows there’s no sign of an auction slowdown
Bonhams’ Winter Sale at Bicester Heritage on the weekend of December 12/13 was worth the wait. Out of a total of 508 motorcycles originally offered, just 23 failed to sell and one was withdrawn before the sale, with total successful bids over the two days in excess of £3m – quite a result.
Comfortably topping the auction in terms of sale price was a 1936 Brough Superior SS100 from the National Motorcycle Museum’s reserve collection. In original condition, with the lowest recorded engine number of an Amc-engined production model and being the seventh example of this model to leave the factory, it realised £276,000. It was restored to show condition by the museum workshop and spent many years on display there. Two other machines from the NMM collection set new world auction records for their respective models. A 1990 Norton F1 made £40,250 and a lovely 1928 Sunbeam Model 90 TT model with Pendine racing heritage sold for £41,400, obliterating its top estimate of £24,000. Just 11 of the 50 bikes from the collection failed to sell, making for a good first day’s business at the sale.
There was plenty more desirable metal up for sale on day two, with a number of one-owner collections adding to the allure of the day’s offerings. A delightful 1914 BSA 4¼hp Model H combination from the Carole Nash collection made £18,400, while at the other end of the scale a 1961 BSA C15 project for restoration sold for £1380. Bikes from the other collections performed well, too. A works 1954 Ariel HT5, part of a significant offroad collection (and the sister bike to Sammy Miller’s GOV 132, with factory team registration GOV 130) changed hands for £17,250. A rare, circa 1975 Kawasaki KT250 from the same collection realised £5175 – impressive price for a ’70s trials iron.
Of the Japanese classics on offer, a 1976 Honda CB750 K6 proved to be one of the over-achievers. With just 3.6 ‘push’ kilometres on the odometer, the as-new four easily sailed over its pre-sale estimate of £4000 to make £11,270. Memorabilia (offered on Friday, alongside the NMM collection machines) did well, too. Packed with items from the late Percy Tait and Barry Sheene – two of UK motorcycling’s national treasures – the 123 lots attracted lively bidding. One of Sheene’s leather holdalls sold for £3187 – a lot of money for an old kit bag – but a set of Percy Tait’s Lewis race leathers topped that at £5737 and his old Cromwell pudding basin helmet sold for an equally impressive £4462.
Once again, another very successful sale, especially set against the difficulties thrown up by the Covid pandemic – and a great way to end the year for Bonhams’ motorcycle department. bonhams.com