Post Listing Update: Did not meet reserve with 36 bids up to $85,100.
The SS80 was named because Brough Superior guaranteed that each model would be able to top 80 miles per hour. Motor Cycle magazine had a different name for it – they called it the “Rolls-Royce of Motor Cycles.” Some people just consider it to be the predecessor to the SS100 – but no matter what you call it, it’s an important part of motorcycling history.
I say that the bikes were guaranteed to hit 80 – George Brough himself rode each example to verify, and each bike had to put down at least 30 horsepower on the dyno. For more on the SS80 (and the tale of someone who got to enjoy riding one), check out this profile from Real Classic.
This bike (VIN: 181) is claimed to be a ‘superb example’ that’s on the Brough registry with the original UK registration. Impressively, it has a fully known history going back to the first owner – a Mr. Stinnes who bought the bike from Heinrichs and Eichorn, a dealership in Cologne, Germany. Just a year later, he returned the bike so that he could pick up a SS100. The bike went through several owners over the next few decades until it came to the current owner in 2014. Find this SS80 for sale in Stowmarket, Suffolk, England with bidding up to $28,100 and the reserve not yet met