What’s the going rate at auction for a top-flight Triumph Hurricane? Head to the back of the mag to find out...
The long-awaited return of Bonhams’ flagship sale is almost upon us
Bonhams are determined to ensure their first sale of the year to revert to the traditional, live saleroom format is a memorable one. Their much-delayed Stafford Summer sale will be a three-day affair, with well over 300 bikes and a massive inventory of spares and memorabilia going past the block. With everything from project bikes (see preview on page 10) to superbly restored machines on offer, it’s going to be a long and lively weekend at the Stafford County Showground.
With so many bikes going under the hammer, it’s the more unusual lots that leap out from the pages of the catalogue. Ducati’s gorgeous Mike Hailwood Replica has been quietly appreciating in value over the last few years and Bonhams have a very early 1981 example consigned for Stafford. The bike has been restored while in the vendor’s ownership, with the engine having rebuilt by independent Ducati specialists Baines Racing and the rest of the job undertaken by Motori di Marino. The original Speedline wheels (which come with the bike) have been replaced with stronger Series II wheels, but the machine is otherwise original down to the correct one-piece fairing and glassfibre tank cover. Its estimate is £22,500-27,500.
If you’re of a certain age, the name, Keith Emerson might ring a few bells. The keyboard maestro from ’70s progrock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer owned two Norton Commandos back in the day and his second – a 1973 850 Roadster bought secondhand from Elite Motors to replace his 750, which had been stolen – is on sale at Stafford. It’s been fitted with an Alton electric starter and was last run in April this year, so may require some recommissioning. The estimate on the bike is £5500-7500.
No Stafford sale would be complete without the odd Brough Superior, but the 1925 MKII model from the National Motorcycle Museum’s reserve collection has to be one of the more unusual. The 750cc Jap-engined machine looks in superb order, though its mechanical condition is unknown. Registered in April 1925 and fitted with a replacement engine at some time (recorded in the original logbook), it is thought to be the youngest survivor of the model, which was last catalogued for 1924. It’s estimated at £80,000-120,000.
But for a really unusual buy, a lovely circa 1933 500cc Rudge speedway machine (estimate £15,000-20,000) has to be in the running. Believed to be one of 10 bikes supplied to the Southampton speedway team in the early ’30s, it features the new-for-1933 Rudge speedway engine – of which only around a dozen were built. Bought by the vendor from a Poole Pirates team mechanic back in the ’50s, it has been rebuilt with period-correct parts and is a wonderful reminder of an era in which Rudge dominated speedway.
There’s much more, too. The Summer Stafford sale looks sure to be one of the highlights of this auction year. bonhams.com