It’s not everyday that you can bid on museum-sized bikes and Mecum’s Upcoming Auction at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa, are filled with heavyweights. The collection hits the market from the real estate of John Parhamfounder J&P . Cycle with his wife Jill in 1979. After amassing one of the finest private motorcycle collections in the country, John unfortunately passed away in 2017 and his 300 bikes will find new owners.
With everything from road-racing Harleys, hill-climbing and trick-or-treating European riders in the collection, there’s a lot to see. Mecum is having a sale September 6-9, and if you’re in the Midwest, help us bring one of the following bikes home—preferably the XRTT.
1971 Harley-Davidson XRTT The XRTT 750 is the most beautiful off-road bike Harley has ever built, it’s a scientific fact. Okay, it sounds like an educated opinion backed by sources, but I welcome your challenges in the comments. A road racing version of the hugely successful flat tracker XR750, the XRTT is a beautiful piece of purpose-built Milwaukee iron.
Harley’s KR750 used to be the dominant force in flat road racing, so why doesn’t it work on the pavement? Back in the 1960s, you could modify your KR for asphalt through HD’s parts catalog, or buy a factory-made KRTT and race in AMA Class C.
New rules from the 1969 AMA leveled the playing field for British brands and put Harley back on the drawing board after seeing the KR750 struggle to compete. The hasty development of the XR750 race engine based on the 900 cc Sportster, resulted in an iron head mill that frequently fell into nuclear meltdown, until a new terminal was developed for the ’72.
The new alloy XRTT (and also some irons) made Europeans big in ’72, especially in the Transatlantic Head-to-head Races, but that was a different story altogether. This 1971 XRTT was driven by George Roeder of Ohio, who finished within inches of the Grand National Championships in 1963 and 1967. The XRTT was powered by an updated 750-alloy head engine and is under construction. beautifully restored with timeless HD orange and black paint and Roeder’s number 94. Mecum’s estimate Lot S142 will bring in between $40,000 and $48,000.
1949 Vincent Black Shadow Without a doubt, the iconic Vincent Black Shadow is one of the finest motorcycles ever built. It’s light and well designed with a 998 cc engine as a tension member, and of course, it stinks. The twin 50-degree tilting, air-cooled engines put out 55 horsepower and propel the Black Shadow to 125 mph in its original form. Off the showroom floor or in the salt flats, the Black Shadow is truly the fastest motorcycle in the world.
The Black Shadow will remain a speed-loving bike for many years after production ended in 1955, and several American tuners have perfected the bike for traction use. Minnesota-based Bill Lehmann is one of the best, and his supercharged fuel-burning Black Shadow tow bike is definitely one of the highlights of the Parham Collection.
Lehmann’s Shadow is based on a custom rigid chassis with short Hagon upside down forks, a Harley clutch and a Burkhardt Engineering transmission. Engine power was maximized by pushing the V-twin to 1,200 cc and installing rare Vincent Black Lightning heads. The nitromethane/alcohol mixture is sucked through a SU CV carburetor and powered by a belt-driven supercharger from a small British car.
By any definition, Lehmann’s ’49 Black Shadow is a drag racing time capsule and one of the wildest Vincents in existence. Estimate Mecum Lot F48 will sell for between $50,000 and $60,000.
1937 Brough Superior SS80 Stepping out of your father’s motorcycle business to start your own motorcycle business right down the street is definitely a bold move. Even more so if you take his name and add ‘Superior’ at the end. But if your goal is to build the best motorcycle available, then George Brough really has a way of doing it.
Brough started his own business in 1919, and his Brough Superior motorcycles cost roughly what the average person would make in a year. For your great investment, you received a bike that matches your personal taste and specifications, and each Superior comes fully assembled, then disassembled for painting. and plating. Brough personally will make sure that each bike performs as it should, and in the case of the SS80, that means it will reach a top speed of at least 80 mph.
The SS80 was one of Brough’s earliest successes, starting production in 1922 and ending with the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Initially, the SS80 was powered by a side-valve JAP engine and the Brough became the first to hit 100 mph at Brooklands on a side valve with one of these machines. From 1935 on, Brough used a 982 cc V-twin engine from Matchless with a modified lower section for the SS80.
Fitted with a brilliant alloy fuel tank with knee pads, the Brough Superior SS80 is a superb example of classic British bicycle design before the war. Mecum expected Lot S131 from the Parham Collection to bring in up to $120,000.
1954 NSU Sportmax Fitted with a giant silver bullet bib and a super intricate little 250 engine, this 1952 NSU Sportmax might just be the quintessential German motorcycle ever built. Reminiscent of the streamlined Mercedes and Auto Union race cars of the 1930s and 40s, this NSU transports us back to a time when aerodynamics were not limited to road races.
BMW reigns supreme among German motorcycle manufacturers today, but for many years that title belonged to NSU. Neckarsulmer Motorrad started building motorcycles in 1901, and they supplied motorcycles to the German army during World Wars I and II. In fact, NSU produced those silly half-bikes with a single rudder in the front, called Kettenkrad. In the 1930s and mid-50s, NSU built more motorcycles than anyone in the world.
The NSU Racemax is a factory running machine for 125 and 250 cc road races, instantly recognizable thanks to its massive aluminum ‘trash can’ shield. Construction bikes are complicated and impractical for private people, so NSU has supplied a small number of Sportmax bikes based on the Max and Super Max models.
The 247 cc OHV four-stroke engine used in the Sportmax uses a pair of rods, similar to connecting rods, to operate the valve system – technology Bentley has been using for 20 years. Sportmax class 250 bikes do not. hot-tuned like a work bike, but good for up to 20 hp.
These streamlined NSUs were quite successful in Grand Prix racing, with notable pilots like John Surtees and Mike Hailwood in the saddle, and the NSU took home the World Championship in 1954. Unfortunately, the relevant sanctioning authorities later banned the large strapless tops after a bad experience with headwinds. Since then, the front fenders do not wrap around the front wheels.
The 1954 NSU Sportmax in the Parham Collection is a great piece of road racing history, but it’s worth noting that this particular bike is listed by the National Motorcycle Museum as a replica. Thus, Mecum estimated Lot S15 will bring in between $6,000 and $7,200.
1951 Sunshine S7 Admittedly we find ourselves most drawn to interesting customs or bikes with a remarkable racing history, but sometimes it’s hard to ignore an interesting bike or simply strange. I wouldn’t call the Sunbeam S7 weird, but it’s certainly unique. I mean, look at those vertically mounted twin and ball tires?
John Marston started Sunbeam Cycles in 1887, focusing on high-quality bicycles. He began experimenting with motorized bicycles around 1903, but things didn’t go well and it became clear that someone actually died. Later, Marston embarked on automobile production (completely separate from the Sunbeam Motor Car Company), but reluctantly returned to motorcycles around 1912.
Marston’s Sunbeam motorcycles were standard for British bicycle designs of the era and had modest performance (understandably so), and Marston marketed its bikes as called ‘The Gentleman’s Machine’. Marston died in 1918, but production of Sunbeam motorcycles continued.
Sunbeam is best known for its S models, which were produced between 1949 and 1956, and that’s when things started to get a little weird. Sunbeam was acquired by BSA and BSA received the design of the BMW R75 for post-World War II repair. But the British were worried about the car looking too much like Germany, so the boxer had to go.
A vertically mounted 500 cc twin took the place and propels the S7 through shaft drive. Early bicycles suffered from severe engine vibration and the brass worm gear in the shaft drive could dislodge from excessive throttle. Sunbeam’s solution is nothing more than engine detonation!
Despite these design flaws, the original S7 model still costs more than today’s S7 Deluxe and S8 models. If the S7 from the Parham Collection is indeed one of these early models, Lot F51 can be a bargain at an estimated $7,000 to $8,400. [Mecum]
