Bonhams’ 246-lot sale at the International Classic Motorcycle Show in Stafford promises to be one of the most significant motorcycle auctions in recent memory.
Headlined by Barry Sheene‘s 1977 World Championship-winning Suzuki RG500 XR14, the Stafford sale sees two major private collections, a historically important family collection and various individual consignments ranging from Edwardian pioneer machines to competition machinery come to market – 179 of them without reserve.
Sheene’s Championship-winning bike (above) is being offered as part of the Connoisseur Collection of racing machines – you can read more about it here. Offered entirely without reserve, the collection spans early Grand Prix motorcycles through to contemporary Moto GP-derived engineering.
Among the highlights is a 1965 MV Agusta 500cc Grand Prix bike (below) raced by Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini that was subsequently owned by John Surtees (est. £160,000–220,000). Also on offer is the 2002 Aprilia RS125R Grand Prix machine that Arnaud Vincent used to secure the 125cc World Championship (est. £25,000–35,000), as well as a 2015 Honda RC213V-S – a street-legal replica of the Japanese manufacturer’s MotoGP bike (est. £60,000–100,000).
The David Plant Collection of vintage British motorcycles is also being offered entirely without reserve. Predominantly offered in original condition, highlights of the collection include a rare 1926 HRD 499cc Model 90 (est. £25,000–35,000), a 1904 Ariel 2¾hp ‘No.1’ (est. £20,000–30,000) and a 1914 Sunbeam 3½hp (est. £12,000–18,000).
Complementing these single-owner collections is the Rex Judd Collection. Consigned by the Judd family, the majority of the motorcycles offered have been in their possession for almost a century. Rex Judd was a Brooklands-era racer who assembled a remarkable group of pioneer and early motorcycles and the collection is regarded as one of the most important of its type to ever have come to auction.
Highlights include one of Britain’s earliest motorcycles, a c.1902 Holden 1172cc (above, est. £40,000-70,000) and a c.1912 Pierce Four-Cylinder Model, one of the earliest American bikes powered by a four-cylinder engine (est. £50,000-80,000).
‘This is one of the most compelling and diverse Stafford sales we have ever assembled,’ said department director of Bonhams Collectors’ Motorcycles Ben Walker. ‘To present two major private collections entirely without reserve, alongside further significant entries from long-term ownership, creates genuine opportunity across every level of the market.’
A pair of highly desirable pre-war British motorcycles – 1939 Brough Superior 982cc SS80 Special (above) and a 1936 Vincent-HRD 499cc Comet Series-A are among the leading individual consignments with pre-sale estimates of £40,000–50,000 and £30,000–40,000 respectively.
Also offered is the 2019 Smiths Racing BMW S1000RR that Peter Hickman rode to victory in Isle of Man TT Superbike race, North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix in 2019 (est. £30,000–35,000). Meanwhile, a 1910 Harley-Davidson 494cc Model 6A (est. £38,000–48,000) represents a rare single-cylinder machine from the US marque’s formative years.
View the full auction catalogue here.
