Every classic motorbike Tell a story, whether it’s a cerebral origin story or a lifelong favorite. The best stories and the biggest prices don’t always go hand in hand and we’ve rounded up Bonhams’s catalog of upcoming launches Summer motorbike discounts to find the bikes with the most to talk about.
The online sale starts at 12:00 BST on June 14 and runs until the 24th, and while there are plenty of exciting bikes, projects and accessories, here are the five lots we’ll be following follow.
BMW R65 1980
Much of BMW’s illustrious desert racing history is built around the GS, but that’s not to say it all started there, and racers have long modified boxers for use on the off-road before the versatile GS debuted. The product of several skunkworks specialists, this 1980 BMW R65 was heavily modified and campaigned in notable desert races throughout the 1980s.
Very little remains of the original R65, with a contoured frame in key areas, a 1,020 cc boxer engine with Schek Motorad heads and all Acerbis bodywork. Since I know you’re wondering, the fuel tank has a staggering capacity of 43 litres. [11.35 gal].
Of course, it’s the massive height adjustment that gives this R65 such an impressive look, and those giant front pogos come from White Power (now appropriately abbreviated as WP). The rear swingarm and driveshaft have been extended by Arcueil Motors for more travel, and the lightweight spoked wheels are wrapped in Michelin Desert 1 tires.
Originally built by Bracken Motorcycle Workshop Ltd, the R65 was campaigned by Jon Watson-Miller in the late 1980s in events such as the Pharaohs Rally, Tunisia Rally, Baha Aragon and Weston-super-Mare Beach Race.
Sitting for more than 20 years, Bohams reports that Lot 53 is not in running condition and the motor does not rotate. I can’t imagine those large premium parts are easy to come by, and so the BMW is expected to bring only between £2,000 and £3,000 [$2,500 to $3,800]. This old desert warrior looks cool, though – there’s nothing better than ’80s booze and cigarettes.
1957 Ariel Square Four MkII
At best, tampering with an investment-grade machine like the Ariel Square Four is a no-go, and fans of the brand will immediately spot the swingarm and rear shock in place of the original piston rear end. top on this ’57 MkII Square Four. Before you express blasphemy, hear us out, because this story has an interesting backstory.
Having carried Square Four in the past, That’s my experience that the performance of piston rear suspension is almost as outdated as it looks. The front end and rear end of the bike work on their own time and it’s a strange feeling. So it’s no surprise to learn that Ariel experimented with swingarm designs before closing in 1959.
This Square Four has been in the collection of famous British actor Sir David Jason for over 30 years, and somewhere along the way, he undertook an extensive restoration. Sir David came across an advertisement for Ariel parts and discovered the person who posted it was the son of an original Ariel employee.
As the story goes, this guy’s father was working on a new arm design when Ariel closed in 1959, and the family kept the jig. Inspired by the story, Sir David hired the owner to convert his bike to the swingarm design and found a suitable donor frame to use for the conversion to preserve the frame in accordance with the numbers. mine.
Looking at Ariel’s modified side profile, I’m actually quite smitten. Nothing against the piston, but the rocker arm shifting is done so well that it looks like a factory job. Along with (predictably) improved performance, the rear end was significantly toned down and the design was more in keeping with a high-end motorcycle of the time.
Since Sir David’s bike had been slightly restored, he saw it fit to address another of the Ariel’s shortcomings—the brakes. The front drums are ditched in favor of leading Grimeca 4 shoe front brakes, and like the rear suspension, the visual effect is huge.
Arguably the bike that Ariel should have built, Bonhams estimates Lot 8 would bring in between £10,000 and £15,000 [$12,798 to $19,196].
Black Knight Vincent 1955
The Vincent Black Knight is supposed to be the bike you either love or hate, and I can’t say I’d top any of the other Vincent V-twins. While I can’t fully understand the awkward aesthetic of Black Knight, I can certainly appreciate what Vincent was trying to achieve—even if it did contribute to the franchise’s decline. this brand.
The legendary Series CV twins cemented the Vincent’s status as the world’s fastest motorcycle, and Phil Vincent was predictably looking for new marketing ideas when perfecting the Series D bikes in 1954. A fully weatherproof version of the Rapide was developed, with fiberglass panels covering the machinery and shielding the driver from the weather and greasy realities of the day—aptly named appropriately the Black Knight.
The idea was revolutionary at the time and it got people talking, but that talk didn’t bring in sales for Vincent. In addition to delays in production of fiberglass panels, Vincent found that the Black Knight and Black Prince models were not resonating with their regular customer base. Only 200 accompanying models were sold between 1954 and 1955, and Vincent lost money on each one. The factory will close permanently in December.
Strange circumstances often contribute to the rarity of motorcycles, and although the Black Knight is not the most desirable Vincent, it remains a coveted Vincent. Lot 11 is a 1955 model with only two documented owners from new, has matching numbers and is in very original condition. Although it is somewhat of a relic, it seems to be ‘there’ and ripe for sympathetic restoration. Bonhams estimates the bike will sell for between £18,000 and £25,000 [$23,039 to $31,998].
2004 Voxan Black Magic
Long before Voxan created the world’s fastest electric motorcycle (with a record of 283 mph set in 2021), the company had more ambitions for sporty handling and engine goodness. V-twin engine. According to all reports, Voxan has supplied the Black Magic 996 cc.
Jacques Gardette founded Voxan in 1995 and envisioned a premium French-made motorcycle that offered responsive handling and soulful, practical performance. He contacted all the right people, with Alain Chevallier of French Grand Prix fame designing his chassis and tuner Sodemo Motours supplying the engine. Voxan produced nearly a dozen models throughout the early 2000s, but never escaped financial troubles, eventually falling into the hands of Monaco-based Venturi and rebranding itself as a high-performance electric bike company. .
Unlike V-twin offerings from Arch, Voxan’s boutique models boast impressive real-world performance with premium materials and craftsmanship. These attributes are certainly evident on the stripped-down Black Magic, which is powered by a 996cc, 72-degree DOHC V-twin and weighs just over 400 pounds.
The Chevallier offers a sharp aluminum twin-tube frame with a sporty 58-inch wheelbase, 17-inch alloy wheels at both ends and an adjustable WP rear shock. Raw and a little rough around the edges, the Black Magic is an attacker in the turns, and certainly the visceral experience Gardette intended.
Besides its low odometer reading of 3,726 km and being the 14th Black Magic to roll off the production line, this Voxan was previously owned by the late grunge icon Chris Cornell. Cornell passed away unexpectedly in 2017, leaving behind a genre-defining musical legacy with Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog.
Lot 42 It’s certainly enough to excite one of the greatest singers of all time (facts, not opinions), and now it can be yours. Bonhams estimates Black Magic will fetch between £7,000 and £10,000 [$9,000 to $13,000].
Benelli 900 Sei 1981
What does a six-cylinder, 900cc Italian bike with angular ’80s styling sound like? The answer is a bit like a Honda. I offer you the Benelli 900 Sei 1981, a surprising combination of something borrowed and something new.
Benelli faced stiff competition in the 1970s, and its small displacement models were losing ground to more affordable and rugged models from Japan. Financial strains brought the company under the patronage of Alejandro de Tomaso, who devised the pragmatic approach of ‘If you can’t beat them, borrow their intellectual property.’
De Tomaso’s plan was to create a top-of-the-line Italian big-displacement motorcycle to give Benelli its reputation, but he needed an engine to do so. De Tomaso boldly tasked his engineers with creating a direct copy of Honda’s CB500 four-cylinder engine, and the resulting engines powered the 750 and 900 Sei. These engines are almost complete Honda copies, with two extra cylinders and subtle changes to the radiator fins!
This plan worked for a while as Benelli attracted attention by building the first production bike with a six-cylinder engine and the Ghia’s angular bodywork was a success. Unfortunately for Benelli, the 750 Sei was quickly surpassed by Honda’s CBX1000, forcing the 900 Sei to be introduced to stay competitive.
Despite its Italian flair, fewer than 2,000 900 cc bikes were produced, and the last 900 Sei left the factory in 1989. A rare model with larger-than-life origins, the 900 Sei certainly Definitely a topic worth discussing Lot 30 Seems to be an exceptional example of the brand. Bonhams estimates the 1981 900 Sei will bring between £9,000 and £12,000 [$12,000 to $15,000].
Source: Bonhams
