This weekend (June 10-11), Mecum will be auctioning off 350 motorcycles in Chicago. Let’s take a look at what they’ve got to offer! You know the drill by now – here’s ten bikes that I think are worth a closer look, but I have weird taste. Click here for a list of all the lots.
2005 MV Agusta F4 Tamburini – a special edition of the F4 1000S, just 300 were built (59 of which were exported to the US). Named after Massimo Tamburini, the MSRP was $42,695. As Cycle World stated in a review from 2005, “If the designer put his name on it, it must be good.”
1952 Maico Mobil 175 – also called the Maicomobil, this was marketed as a “car on two wheels” with enclosed bodywork, excellent weather protection, and integrated storage space. It was way ahead of its time. I highly recommend you click the above link just to see other angles of this interesting vehicle. This ’52 is the last year with the original 150cc two-stroke single. Power was fed to a 3-speed transmission with a twist grip shifter. This bike (VIN: 71513) was restored in Germany and then impoted by Blue Moon Cycles. What a trip!
1969 BSA A65 Sidecar Racer – unfortunately, there’s basically no details given about this. It just happens to be a gorgeous vintage sidecar racer, and there aren’t enough of those around!
2003 Feuling W-3. This is kind of cheating because it was on the block at Mecum’s Las Vegas auction earlier this year, but it’s just so cool that I can’t help share it one last time. Jim Feuling was an engineer who ran a skunk works facility that created fantastic technology. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2002, but one of the things he left behind was the W3 motorcycle engine (think of it as a V-Twin with an extra cylinder added inline. Feuling’s W3 engine was produced in varying displacements, STARTING with a 2,500cc lump of metal that put out 150 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. The bike was released to the public in 2001 with a MSRP of about $30,000. For more on the Feuling, check out this article from Motorcycle Cruiser, where it’s noted that Jim had already tested a 3,032cc engine and was considering building a 4,015cc drag racing kit. This example is claimed to be one of 18 built by Feuling’s company, and it features upgraded heads/oiling system and three Keihin carbs, good for over 200 horsepower.
1976 Yamaha OW 72 – To compete with the 85 horsepower Harley-Davidson was getting out the XR750, Kenny Roberts had Yamaha bring Tim Witham out of retirement to get more power out of the XS650 engine. Tim designed a new head, and Yamaha built 25 of them to homologate the model for racing. It was called the OW72, and it had success while being raced by Wayne Rainey and Kenny Roberts. This example is said to have been Kenny Roberts’ race bike, and it was later piloted by Rainey and Hank Scott. As Mecum puts it, “This OW72 is effectively a factory Yamaha dirt-track racer, built specifically for Kenny Roberts to retain his No. 1 plate.” The King himself said this bike was “the best thing I ever rode.”
1974 Hiawatha Doodle Bug Scooter with Sidecar – Built between ’46 and ’48, the Hiawatha Super Doodle Bug was built to compete with Allstate-branded Cushman scooters. As the latter were being distributed out of Sears, the Doodle Bugs were sold out of the now-defunct Gambles retail chains under the Hiawatha brand name. This scoot was powered by a 1.5 horsepower kick start Briggs & Stratton engine. For more on the Doodle Bug, check out Yesterday’s Rides.
1940s Simplex Servi-Cycle – this quirky homemade Simplex/Model A hybrid was “probably built in the 50s when a farmer was looking for cheap transportation.”
1960 Honda 240 Port Cub – The Honda Cub is fairly ubiquitous, but this variant is hard to find nowadays. Built for just a couple of years, it was designed to be cheaper and thus have a wider market appeal than the Super Cub. It had a slightly different pressed steel step thru frame and the plastic leg shield was removed. THe 49cc engine produced about 2.5 horsepower and the bike weighed 119 pounds – if you waited long enough you could hit ~30 miles per hour. Honda keeps one in the “Honda Collection Hall.”
1912 Flying Merkel – Other examples of the breed have sold between $200k and $400k at auction, so who knows how much the seller wants for this. A Flying Merkel board track racer currently occupies spot #11 in Paul D’Orleans’ list of most expensive bikes sold at auction – it went for $423,500 at the Mecum Las Vegas auction in March 2015. This example has the original engine and carb, though the listing is lacking a bit of information.
1985 Harley-Davidson XLCR Tribute Dragster – it’s built to sort of look like a XLCR, but it comes with plenty of the power that the original bike lacked. The motor is a XR750 lookalike with Sputhe competition crankcases, cylinders, and heads. Completing the build are Kosman wheels, Mikuni carbs, and an air shifter.
Again, click here if you’d like to pore through all the listings.
What was your favorite? I can’t believe I’m saying it but I think that Maicomobil makes me smile the most. I also love the Flying Merkel, but when Kenny Roberts says a bike is “the best thing I ever rode”, I don’t think you’re allowed to pass on it.