What People will pay

While not strictly Norton Commando related some of you might like to see some very rare motorcycles that went up for auction.

I went to a deceased estate auction yesterday and saw some very serious money paid for vintage and veteran motorcycles.

Alas only one norton up for sale.

Here are a few of the prices in $AUD paid. I kept my hand well in my pockets else I accidently made a bid.

$12,000 '1928 Norton' model 18 - 500cc overhead - needed full restoration
$31,000 '1916 Indian Model 'K' Featherweight' - 250cc 2 stroke
$36,000 '1926 Harley Davidson' - rare O.H.V. 350cc Full resto required
$31,000 '1924 Douglas, Isle of Man' racer - overhead valve, 500cc origional condition
$20,000 '1925 Indian Prince' - single cylinder side valve full resto required
$45,000 '1917 Henderson' - 4 cylinder, 1000cc, 3 speed gear box
$35,000 'Indian Racer'
$55,000 '1924 Excelsior' - 61 cubic inch V-Twin, 3 speed gear box full resto required
$160,000 yes $160,000 'Indian 8 Valve Racer' - 61 cubic inch, 500cc overhead valve

and much much more

Oh and yes add another 11% buyers premium and 1.5% if paying by plastic.

If you want to have a look at some motorcycle history and it's worth a look at the condition and money paid here is the link to the auction
The prices paid on most items were way over the expected value

http://gdlauctions.com.au/index.php/auc ... gue?page=0

Cheers
Peter R

Seen it on the news last night the bloke that paid $160,000 for the Indian has to go home and tell the wife, they say its the same model as the fastest Indian, some nice bike but just shows you how things are now with vintage bike prices, way beyond anything I could afford, I just have to put up with my 2 Nortons and be happy for the rest of my life :lol:

But my youngest Daughter will get to keep them when I go I'm building the 60 Manxman caferacer for her now she will get it when she turn 18 and her bike licence, but she is not able to sell it while I am still breathing :wink:

Ashley

Thanks for the prices and link.
Some big numbers there.

That big $$ bike is not the same model as the world fastest Indian, its a genuine FACTORY 8 valve indian engine (4 valve heads), you can count on the fingers of one hand how many of those were made ?. Set speed records in the 1920s, so has some serious history....

I knew it wasn't the same model as the fastest Indian, its what the news reporter said, but the one that sold broke speed record so had history, he had a big collection as it was going for 3 days to get through all he had, they recond he had bikes all through his house , but he didn't just collect bikes.

Ashley

Here are a few photo's I took, have a drool

$160,000 yes $160,000 'Indian 8 Valve Racer' - 61 cubic inch, 500cc overhead valve


$35,000 'Indian Racer'

$45,000 '1917 Henderson' - 4 cylinder, 1000cc, 3 speed gear box


$31,000 '1916 Indian Model 'K' Featherweight' - 250cc 2 stroke


$36,000 '1926 Harley Davidson' - rare O.H.V. 350cc Full resto required

$55,000 '1924 Excelsior' - 61 cubic inch V-Twin, 3 speed gear box full resto required

bluemax said:

Here are a few photo's I took, have a drool

$160,000 yes $160,000 'Indian 8 Valve Racer' - 61 cubic inch, 500cc overhead valve

Click to expand...

Thanks for the pics, bluemax. Some serious collector bikes there.
Dunno why folks get excited about those featherweight Model K bikes though, they are tiny if you ever get to see one in the metal...

Hopefully everyone spotted that 61 cubic inches is 500cc per cylinder, so a 1000cc v-twin.
This misprint was in the sale catalog no less, serious mistake for such an important bike.

One of the reasons Bills bikes were so well known was the utterly original condition of most of them - looked like they had been ridden into the barn in the teens or 20s and never went out again ? Folks came from far and wide to study them, most of them never having been touched (or "restored") in their lives. Not so the 8 valve racer though, it had lost its original factory frame - would have been worth a real fortune if that was still intact ??

Wouldn't these be more valuable left as-is with maybe just a minimal clean-up rather than restoring?

batrider said:

Wouldn't these be more valuable left as-is with maybe just a minimal clean-up rather than restoring?

Click to expand...

Undoubtably.
But you never know with some owners.
And they lived only 100 yards from the ocean, so have not preserved quite as well as they could have.

Bill however was on the hunt for an original frame for that 8 valve, and was looking into having one made specially. Factory race frames are apparently rarer than the engines though, so even finding something to copy was not a simple task....