On December 7th, Bonhams will be auctioning off 41 motorcycles and a whole bunch of cars. Let’s take a look at the good stuff – here’s my 5 favorites:
For the full list of motorcycles, head on over to Bonhams.
1. 1971 Ariel 3 Project – estimated to sell between $250-$370. The Ariel 3 was a complete flop built by BSA, designed as a tricycle moped for commuters. The front end (featuring torsion bars) could lean into turns like a two-wheeled bike, though only one of the rear wheels was driven by the 50cc, 2-stroke Anker motor. This example was last registered in 1983 and will need some work, but I think it’s adorable and worth saving.
2. AA Replica – 1947 BSA B31/M33 Sidecar – estimated to sell between $4,300-$5,600. Though Britain’s AA (their version of AAA) never utilized a M33 engine, this B33-framed bike is adorned in the yellow livery that British motorists are familiar with. This bike is coming out of an estate so it will need a little bit of work, but the engine turns over and has compression.
3. Ex-Works – 1958 Ariel HS3 Scrambler – estimated to sell between $8,100-$11,000. The HS was the scrambler variant of the HT trails bike, and Ariel made both 350cc and 500cc prototype versions of it. Ron Langston was a successful competitor in British scrambles, and this is supposed to be one of them. The history of this bike is a little spotty, though it spent some time at the Sammy Miller Museum.
4. Ex Battle of the Twins Racer – 1991 Ducati 851 – estimated to sell between $20,000-$27,000. In 1991, Ducati Corse built 50 “851 Superbike Racing’ models for privateer racing. This example was raced by Mark Forsyth in England’s Battle of the Twins series and competed in 12 races in its history. Mark sold it in 2004 and the new owner brought it back to the 1991 livery. It has been kept in heated storage and regularly started.
5. 2001 Suzuki Hayabusa – estimated to sell between $10,000-$15,000. To compete in the 1998 Suzuka 8-hour race, Yoshimua modified a Hayabusa and created what they called the “X1”. They also created 100 replicas of the race bike. They put down 190 horsepower at the rear wheel and weighed less than 450 pounds. For more on this insane machine, check out this review from Motorcyclist. This example features lots of Yoshimura and was bored out to 1,400cc at one point. Since then it was brought back down to stock displacement for the sake of reliability. With all the work, this produces 198 horsepower at the rear wheel. The odometer shows about 4,000 miles and it’s claimed to be in ‘exceptional condition.’
