History under the hammer

The annual Bonhams Spring Auction held at the Stafford Showgrounds in UK saw some interesting results, with the 1962 650cc Triumph Trophy TR6S ridden by American Bud Ekins to a Gold Medal in that year’s International Six days Trial fetching AU$183,228 (£97,750). Apart from its significance with Ekins in the saddle, the model is one of the rarest modern Triumphs, being only produced for the 1962 year. Ekins was famous as an all-round rider, competing in motocross and enduros, and gaining particular fame for his stand-in role for Steve McQueen in the movie The Great Escape, when he jumped a Triumph over a wire fence. As the movie was being shot in Germany, Ekins thought it would be a good idea to combine his work with a ride in the ISDT, which was held in Garmisch Partenkirchen. Triumph presented the TR6C to Ekins after the event and it was thereafter sent back to USA and registered in California. Ekins later became a noted restorer of historic bikes at his shop in Hollywood and regularly exported motorcycles to Eric Cheney in UK, one being this Triumph, which was purchased in 1989 by ISDT buff Bob Gardiner. At the top of the sales at the auction was the 1925 Coventry-Eagle Flying-8, a 981cc overhead valve Vtwin JAP-engined model that had been on display at the London Motorcycle Museum. The Coventry-Eagle, fitted with an incorrect gearbox and silencers but otherwise substantially correct, reached AU$409,569 (£218,500). Nearly 400 motorcycles were offered at the auction, with a further Stafford sale scheduled for the British autumn.