The word from Bonhams after the auction held at the Classic Motorcycle Show in Stafford last weekend;

1924 MONTGOMERY SELLS FOR A MARQUE WORLD RECORD £109,350 AT BONHAMS’ SALE
The Classic MotorCycle Show, Stafford, 23 April 2006

Headed by Malcolm Barber in the USA and Ben Walker in London, Bonhams’ world-class Motorcycle Department is renowned for the superior quality of its service to clients, setting a standard that lesser rivals cannot match. Totally eclipsing the opposition, the company celebrated its first major collectors’ motorcycle sale of 2006 in typically exuberant fashion, emphatically asserting its position as undisputed market leader with yet another ‘80-Plus’ sale, this year’s outstanding figures being 85% of lots sold for a premium-inclusive total of £795,322.

Centrepiece of the sale, the magnificent 1924 Montgomery-Anzani v-twin, subject of a concours-standard total restoration by world famous Vincent specialists Conway Motors, sold to The National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham for a premium-inclusive £109,350, a world record price for the marque, against a pre-sale estimate of £55,000 - 65,000.

The ever strengthening demand for the classic Vincent V-twin was confirmed by the performances of the three in the sale: the one-owner-from-new 1955 Black Shadow Series D selling for £47,700; the low-mileage 1955 Black Knight fully-enclosed model for £20,700; and the highly original 1949 Rapide Series B for £20,400.

One of the Vincent’s modern equivalents - the 1995 Honda RVF750 RC45 - sold for £18,400, an excellent result for this collectible future classic that reflected its one-owner status, low-mileage (199 from new) and total originality.

All three American machines in the sale achieved excellent results: the 1918 Indian Powerplus fetching £16,100 (against a top estimate of £14,000) and the 1937 Indian Chief £18,400, while the customised 1954 Harley-Davidson Hydra Glide (forerunner of the iconic Electra Glide) sold for £17,250.

Original ‘barn finds’ offering excellent restoration potential always generate intense interest, and the 1925 Rex-Acme 2¾hp did just that. In the same family ownership since 1978 and in storage for the past 28 years, this very rusty but substantially original example sold for a premium-inclusive £4,715.

At the other end of the age/condition scale, the superb 1964 Triumph Trophy 650, a US-export model that had covered a mere 2,400 miles since restoration in the UK, sold for £6,120, confirming the trend that has seen prices of early (pre-oil-in-frame) unit-construction Triumphs increasing steadily in recent years.

Motorcycle and sidecar combinations are a minority interest these days, yet there continues to be a strong demand for good examples. The star achievers at this sale were the restored 1931 Ariel Square Four with stylish Cabin Cruiser sidecar, which sold to a US buyer for an above-estimate £19,550, and the veteran 1913 Triumph 3½hp with wicker ‘chair’, a Pioneer Run regular that had been in single family ownership from new, which fetched £7,360, getting on for double its upper estimate.

Single-cylinder English thoroughbreds are always highly sought after by collectors, and of the many that found new homes via this sale, the unused 1993 Beale Matchless G50 racer (£16,100) and 1967 Velocette Venom Thruxton (£12,075) represented particularly noteworthy results.

An unusual consignment, the UK and EU rights to the famous Matchless trade mark attracted international interest, eventually selling to a Continental European buyer for £45,500.

Highlights of the sale’s memorabilia section included the front number-plate of Ernie Lyon’s 1946 Manx Grand Prix-winning works Triumph, which attracted fiercely competitive bidding and finally sold for a staggering £3,680 against an estimate of £300 - 500! Mike Hailwood memorabilia always attracts intense interest and Mike’s race-worn 1966 Cromwell crash helmet proved to be no exception, selling for £2,070, in line with its upper estimate. One of the added lots in the memorabilia section, an illuminated Triumph dealer’s sign dating from the 1940s/1950s, was keenly fought over, eventually selling for £897 against a sale room estimate of £500 - 700.

Other highlights of the sale included:

1952 Norton 500cc International - sold for £9,840. Used by its first owner up to 1990 and restored by the second, a retired engineer, this Inter was revealed to have Clubman’s TT history and retained its in-period racing modifications.

1909 Humber 3½hp - sold for £7,475. This Pioneer Humber had been restored in 2001 and was a many-times concours winner.

1958 Ariel Square Four MkII - sold for £7,130. Acquired by the vendor in 2003 and restored by him, sparing no expense, this late ‘Squariel’ confirmed the strengthening demand for good examples of what was the ultimate touring machine of its day.

1988 Norton Classic - sold for £9,660. Number ‘001′ of the 100 built, this Classic had been purchased new by the Sunday Times as a competition prize and sold unregistered to the present owner on behalf of the competition winner. The pristine machine had covered only 1,090 miles from new.

1939 Royal Enfield 1,140cc Model KX - sold for £9,775. Demand for quality pre-war v-twins shows no signs of weakening, as exemplified by the excellent result achieved by this fully restored Royal Enfield.

1916 Sunbeam 3½hp - sold for £9,000. A marque with a loyal following second to none, Sunbeam has always been a strong performer in the saleroom and this concours-winning example proved no exception.

1970 Kawasaki 500cc Mach III - sold for £3,720. Representing a rare opportunity to acquire a fully restored example of this highly collectible, first-of-the-line model, this Mach III had been restored to an exceptional standard three years ago and covered but a single mile on private land before being placed in indoor storage.

1993 Norton 500cc Manx by Bernie Allen - sold for £14,375. Purchased by the vendor at Brooks’ Olympia Sale in December 1997, this Bernie Allen-built Manx had been kept in a centrally heated room of his house and never used.

Bonhams Group Managing Director, Malcolm Barber commented:

” Having been the auctioneer at this event since its inception by Alan Whitehead in the early 1980s, I always feel that the Spring Stafford Show acts as a barometer for the motorcycle market. This international gathering can determine how the market responds for the rest of the year, and this occasion proved no exception. The level of pre-sale interest from both consignors and potential buyers strongly indicated that motorcycle sales in 2006 would start with a bang, and our assumption was proved correct.

I once again witnessed truly international participation and was thrilled with the sale’s results. It was a privilege to see our National Motorcycle Museum compete with two major overseas bidders to secure the Montgomery for their collection, and gratifying to see it remain in the UK. I see strength in the market for this year, with new collectors entering the scene”.

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)

The news from Royal Enfield UK, who have a bargain deal on the 350 Bullet model;

Buy a new Bullet 350cc Classic motorcycle for £1,995 on the road.

Royal Enfield has turned back the clock by reducing the prices of its Classic models by up to 10%. That means you can buy a brand new Bullet 350cc motorcycle for under £2,000 and the 500cc version for just over £2,500 including on the road charges.

The Royal Enfield Bullet, which has been in continuous production for over 50 years, has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity since UK distribution was taken over by Watsonian Squire in 1999.

Last year the historic brand bucked the trend of static bike sales (the overall market was up by just 2%) with a stunning 24% increase in registrations. In the UK Royal Enfield is now comfortably out-performing other niche European brands, like Moto Guzzi and the Bullet is selling in comparable numbers to the new Triumph Bonneville.

The Bullet remains unique in being a machine of the 1950’s but made today with the benefit of modern technology and a full national dealer network. With its 4-speed gearbox, operated by the right foot, and single cylinder overhead valve motor, the Bullet Classic delivers an authentic retro experience. Owners also benefit from amazingly low insurance premiums and equally amazing fuel economy.

Enthusiasm for the new generation Bullet Electra, with its lean burn alloy engine, 5-speed gearbox, disc brake and electric starter, has polarised sales of Royal Enfields in the UK. The Classic 4-speed models currently account for 40% of new registrations, but when the Euro 3 regulations come into effect in 2007 this will severely restrict sales of these machines.

Watsonian Squire report that the Classic models are predominantly purchased by British bike enthusiasts looking for an everyday classic, while the Electra appeals to a wider variety of riders, including those unfamiliar with the idiosyncrasies of British bike ownership.

The Royal Enfield Bullet 350cc Classic sells for £1,995 OTR and the 500cc Classic for £2,551 OTR (both in black with kick start). The Royal Enfield Bullet 350-T Trials is £2,650 OTR (in silver with kick start).

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)

The latest from the Team Suzuki Press Office.

Reigning World Endurance Champions Suzuki Castrol won the Assen 500km opening round of the FIM World Endurance Championship in Holland today after leading from the start.

Although one rider down after Mathieu Lagrive crashed and injured himself yesterday, the SERT GSX-R1000 had pulled a lap ahead by the half-way point of the four-hour event and team rider Vincent Philippe also set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:43.659.

Second place overall and a lap down went to Yamaha Austria, who was forced to pit early after wearing out their front tyre while pushing to catch the Suzuki. Third place was taken by Yamaha Phase One Endurance and fourth; Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se aboard their GSX-R1000.

The top Superstock class finisher was Suzuki Team Endurance Moto45 in ninth place overall and the leading Super Production class finisher was Yamaha Team Acropolis Zone Rouge 199 in 10th place.

The top seven finishing teams came from seven different nationalities; France, Austria, Great Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. The same seven teams represented four different manufacturers; Suzuki (1st and 4th), Yamaha (2nd, 3rd and 6th), Kawasaki (5th) and Honda (7th).

Said Philippe: “It’s a pleasure to ride at Assen and for us there were no problems. It was an easy race for the team. I made a good start and tried to stay constant. I saw Yamaha Austria had a problem so I kept a good lap time but not too fast. I was thinking about Le Mans.”

The next round of the championship is the Le Mans 24 Hour race which takes place next weekend, April 22nd/ 23rd.

1: Suzuki Castrol - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Philippe, Kagayama - 110 laps. 2: Yamaha Austria - AUT - Yamaha YZF-R1 - Jerman, Scarnato - 1 lap 3: Yamaha Phase One Endurance - GBR - Yamaha YZF-R1 - Nowland, Cudlin - 2 laps

4: Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se - SWE - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Hanson, Andersson, Carlberg - 3 laps 5: Kawasaki Bolliger - SUI - Kawasaki ZX10R - Muff, Saiger, Morillon - 4 laps 6: Team X-One Yamaha - ITA - Yamaha YZF-R1 - Sanna, Demaneis, Tessari - +35.371 seconds

7: RMT21 Racing Honda - GER - Honda CBR1000RR - Mizera, Seidel - +1:05.900 8: Kawasaki Diablo 666 - GBR - Kawasaki ZX10R - Rohtlaan, Hutchins, Cudlin - 5 laps 9: Suzuki Team Endurance Moto45 - FRA - Suzuki GSX-R1000 - Bernon, Briere - +48.871 seconds 10: Yamaha Team Acropolis Zone Rouge - FRA - Yamaha YZF-R1 - vd Boreck, Pirot, Botton - 6 laps

Information courtesy of www.worldendurance.com

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)

A Cheshire biker who suffered leg injuries after he was knocked off his motorbike in a hit and run incident is appealing to the driver who hit him to come forward.

Chris Ward, of Rudheath Close in Crewe, was travelling home from work in Nantwich along the A530 Middlewich Road when he stopped in traffic outside the Rising Sun pub at Wistaston.

The 37-year-old says his Suzuki 125cc motorbike was struck from behind by a red Rover 200 car which knocked him off his machine. The car reversed before speeding off.

Ward told local press how the Rover driver was noticed by another motorist, who gave a brief description to the Police. Ward added; ” My bike is a complete write-off. I am insured but I can’t claim anything because I need to know who the other driver was.”

Anyone with information can contact PC Nicholson at Crewe police station on 01270 500222.

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)

The latest from H & H Auctions, who are having a motorcycle sale at the Motorcycle Museum, near Birmingham.

H&H’s next dedicated motorcycle and bicycle sale will take place at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham on June 24/25.

Said George Beale, director of H&H’s motorcycle department, This is a potentially excellent venue and we are very much looking forward to our first sale there. Our ever-expanding department is working hard to secure suitable entries.

The most recent appointment is that of David Hawkins to manage the department day-to-day under George Beale and take responsibility for the company’s sales on a worldwide basis. David is the former head of Bonhams’ motorcycle department, prior to which he worked for its equivalent at Sotheby’s.

No less than five experts have been added to H&H’s list of motorcycle consultants since the turn of the year, they are:

Stewart Parker; Eric Downey; Richard Parkington; Jim Reynolds and Richard Rosenthal.

For further details of the upcoming sale and H&H’s motorcycle and bicycle activity in general, log on to www.classic-auctions.com or call +44 (0)1925 730630.

(this article was taken from insidebikes.com)