The 1938 Triumph 5T Speed Twin formerly owned by Steve McQueen sold for $175,500 at the Rio Hotel & Casino, Bonhams’ annual Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction, last Thursday (24 January). The price set a new world auction record and the audience erupted in cheers and applause.
Another highlight was the 1993 Ducati Supermono, one of just 67 made, that was bought for $115,000, as well as the 1974 Munch Mammoth TTS, known as the world’s first superbike, that made $112,000. Another crowd favorite was the collection of six 1971 Honda Motorsport models – the full range of that model-year offered as one lot – that was purchased by a young lady from France, much to the delight of attendees.
Craig Mallery of Bonhams’ US motorcycle department, said: “We had a very impressive selection of about125 rare, uncommon and high-quality motorcycles on offer this year. It’s a selective market at the moment and while some of our motorcycles didn’t meet reserve, there were many exceptional sales.”
And talking of exceptional prices, a pair of new-in-crate Honda Z50 ‘monkey bikes’ brought an astonishing $51,150 at the Mecum sale, also in Las Vegas. These were dealer-only ‘Christmas Special’ models, gifts from the Honda factory to their best-selling dealers, and had an all-chrome finish. Twenty other Honda Z50s of various vintages were sold at Mecum’s South Point Hotel venue, with an average price of $5500, although one other Christmas Special sold for $13,200.
Results at Bonhams.com/Vegas
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