This weekend, Bonhams will be hosting what they call “Collector’s Motorcycles at the Barber Museum“, during which they will auction off 216 lots. There are some obvious stars like this Vincent Black Lightning with race history, this museum-quality Ducati 750SS, this Krauser MKM 1000, and the famous “Old Yellow” Ducati 750 Sport racer. But in this post, let’s take a look at 5 of my favorite bikes that aren’t necessarily getting top billing.
1. 1928 Windhoff 746cc Four – estimated to sell between $100,000 – $150,000.
I had never heard of Windhoff before seeing this example, but it is very impressive. Thankfully, Paul d’Orleans has ridden this specific bike and has a wonderful road test on his site that you should spend some time with if you have even the slightest bit of interest in this innovative machine. In 2008, this sold at a Bonhams auction in Stafford, England for $130,282 including the buyer’s premium.
2. 1960 Benelli 4V Sprint Racer – estimated to sell between $4,000-$5,000.
These are rare enough in the US as is, but at some point this 4V Sprint was converted into a road racer. There isn’t much history and it will need some work, but
3. 1977 BMW R100RS – estimated to sell between $25,000-$30,000.
It’s may not be as sexy as the other bikes listed here, but the RS is a sport-touring legend, the first year bikes are extra special as they have unique features, and this example has just 10 miles on it. According to Bonhams, the story is that the original owner purchased it from Butler & Smith and rode it home only to meet his wife who broke the news that she was pregnant. The owner never rode it again.
4. 1970 Monotrack Kawasaki 500 H1A Mach III – estimated to sell between $10,000-$14,000.
Dan Hanebrink has created some crazy stuff under the brand name of Monotrack. One project was a set of 19 frames built for Kawasaki H1/H2 motors. Think American Bimota – brawny Japanese power with a custom frame to better keep it all in check. The front fender is supposedly from Dunstall while the rest of the bodywork was done by Monotrack. One neat feature is an automatic chain oiler, the reservoir for which is stored in the rear fender – if you look closely you can see an oil cap just in front of the taillight. I featured this bike back in 2013, and it sold on eBay for $10,000 after 25 bids.
5. 1984 Buell RW750 – estimated to sell between $90,000-$120,000.
This is where it all started. Buell’s RW750 (Road Warrior) was the result of Erik Buell’s impressive effort to compete with a Barton two-stroke square four motor in the AMA Formula 1 class, though the AMA quickly changed the rules and made this bike irrelevant as a production racer. This is the second RW750, and therefore the second production bike ever built/sold by Erik Buell. For what it’s worth, #1 went up on the block during this year’s Mecum Las Vegas auction, and it did not reserve with bidding up to $110,000. Bonhams claims #1 is regarded as a prototype, which makes this the first “production” Buell as it was the first one bought by a consumer (#1 went to the American Machinists Union Racing Team). Either way, they’re both cool, and they’re both valuable, but only one is up for grabs this weekend.
For the full list, head on over to Bonhams.