H&H Auction Results- Brough Superior sells for £286,000

The Haynes International Motor Musuem in Sparkford, Somerset was the venue for the recent H&H auction consisting of 70 modern and classic motorcycles, many from the Willi Marewski collection and approximately 40 cars, including two classic motor cars owned by current F1 World Champion, Jenson Button.

The big news from the sale held on Friday 22nd October, was Lot 66, a well sorted 1929 Brough Superior SS100, which sold for an eye watering £286,000 including buyers premium, a magnificent figure for a motorcycle which may be a new record for a motorcycle sold in the UK. In July 2008, Monterey California, Mid America Auctions sold a 1915 Cyclone Board Tracker motorcycle for $520,000- still the current world record.

Other highlights of the sale included a stunning 1954 BMW RS54 production racer which sold for £143,000, a bike raced by Alois Huber, Ernst Hiller and Lothar John. Powered by a later, 1960s short stroke 500cc flat twin, this particular RS54 is said to be one of the fastest and most powerful RS models in existance.

For fans of two stroke race bikes, the sale included two early 1980s Suzuki RG500s both selling for around £18,000 apiece and a 1981 Yamaha TZ500 a machine that was originally supplied to former World Champion Walter Villa, selling for £37,400.

Sold for the price of £3,630, a 1970 Honda CR350 Replica featured, built with a factory 'race kit' package, the bike also came fitted with a tasty, racing Yamaha front brake. Good value for a high quality, period racer.

Many motorcycles did not sell however, including a very rare 1939 DKW SS 350 complete with supercharger and water cooling. According to legend, when raced at the Isle of Man, the ear splitting shriek given off by the DKWs could be heard on the English mainland. Maybe the ever increasing noise limits of many British tracks put a dampener on the sale of this particular lot..

Please enjoy the gallery below showing many more of the bikes included in the sale. For more information on the cars sold, please check my other blog Mr Motor Tweeter for more information.


1958 Mondial 250 Special- Not sold

1985 Laverda F500 - Not sold.

1949 Triumph Grand Prix Replica- Not sold

Cadwell Park Classic Track Day

 

Cadwell park is often called the 'Mini Nurburgring' by it's fans, a fitting accolade for a track with almost every type of corner, gradient change and trackside scenery. Hosted by track day specialists MSV and advertised and sponsored by Mortons Media the Classic Track day at Cadwell in early October was an event I wasn't going to miss. The event was open to three classes, pre '65, pre '75, pre '85 and race bikes, I decided to enter the pre '65 class on Dad's road registered 1957 500 Norton International.

Assembled by Mike Pemberton of Pushrod Performance from a genuine '57 Inter frame and fitted with an Andy Savage built '58 Inter engine (one of the last Norton made), the bike is currently in clubmans specification with Manx seat, flat bars, BSA Goldie silencer, aluminium tank and a Commando TLS front brake plate.

Noise testing at 8am insured any on-site campers were wide awake and following a friendly briefing in the bar, the first group of riders were on track by 9.30, albeit going steady in the Lincolnshire morning mist. Conditions were damp on track most of the morning and it took until lunchtime for the track to become bone dry.

Prepped for track use the Inter wore freshly scrubbed-in Avon Road Riders, with the kick start removed and centre stand wired up. Concerned we might fail the noise test with the BSA Gold Star-style pipe fitted, we had prepared a baffle in the shape of an old stainless VW Beetle taper tip that fitted perfectly up the end of the pipe secured with a bolt drilled through. A road test the previous week proved this system was a far better setup than running a road-spec Norton Inter pipe, the latter totally choking the rev-hungry OHC single. Nevertheless we sailed through the noise test unbaffled, I think some of the cheerful scrutineers might have been a little deaf anyway..

My first on-track experience of Cadwell consisted of completing a lap on my longboard a few years ago, some of the hills providing the prefect surface to carve on. Sat astride a Norton Inter is more fun though- and probably safer, as riding a very fast skateboard topless in short trousers is almost guaranteed to end in tears.

Following my fourth session I was beginning to improve my lines, overtaking some of the less spirited riders and keeping up with a confidently ridden mid-sixties Triumph Bonneville. I was impressed with the predictability of the Avon tyres and even managed to touch a knee slider down on one occasion. Entering the 90 degree Park right hander from Park Straight, I found blipping the throttle on down shifts helped keep the bike settled under braking, the front brake providing impressive levels of feel and power.

In total I completed five sessions and approximately 20 laps of the circuit with Coppice and Mansfield becoming my two favourite corners although swinging right-left into Hall Bends after The Mountain made me grin quite a lot too!

The Inter behaved perfectly all day with only my heavy footing to blame for an accidental stall upon entering the track on one occasion. Both my mechanic and I enjoyed the day thoroughly and hope there will be many more classic-only track days next year. A big thanks goes to MSV and Mortons Media for organising the event.

Ron Wood BMW F800 Flat Track

Take a near stock Rotax twin from BMW's F800 and allow legendary flat track builder Ron Wood to work his magic and you have one hell of a good looking motorcycle.

An Ordinary Man

Are we looking at the 'ton-up boy' of the 1900s? Neil and his Ordinary could quite easily be just that. The ingenious leather bottle holder is inpsired.

  

Freewheelers: Neil's Penny Farthing - Click here for the funniest movie of the week

Benelli 350 Wards Riverside for sale

Charming Benelli Wards Riverside is now for sale on eBay. It's a rare 350cc OHV machine, in great original condition with only 5000 miles on the clock. It was brought over from the USA by the previous owner. Once registered it will make a great road bike or could even be transformed into a fantastic race bike.

Take a look at the eBay auction for the Benelli 350 Wards Riverside.

Che Guevara's Norton crash footage

Classic footage from the Che Guvara movie, the Norton motorcycle misbehaving..

1950s Norton International

Check back soon for more images and a full back-to-back road test of two featherbed Norton Internationals.

Sporting BMWs

The Girl and the Motorcycle

The Girl and the Motorcycle..

Artwork by 'Bikersteve'

Spotted on a blog called Otterno, Bikersteve has managed to capture motion with this kaleidoscopic creation.

Castle Combe Lansdowne Classics Series

Castle Combe hosted the recent Lansdowne Classic races as part of the Fowlers Pro Bike event. As well as the National and Club events, the on track entertainment also included a classic parade.

The Lansdowne races included a whole field of Manx Nortons both 350s and 500s, with Matchless, AJS and Velocette also represented. Bike number 7, a new Works Manx Norton engineered by Patrick Walker of Norton Motorcycles was also present.

The 'King of Castle Combe' award was won by Aaron Walker, who quite simply obliterated the rest of the field in the several National races he entered on board his JHS racing Triumph 675 Daytona. To watch him ride around the outside of other riders at Camp corner, converting impossible looking lines into overtaking manouvers was breathtaking. The fact he was riding a smaller machine to the rest of the field made the feat even more impressive. At 22 years old, he is definately a talent to watch.

The first few pic's show Norton specialist George Cohen and his Daytona winning 1952 Manx in the classic parade.