Guy Allen took note of a couple of recent sales of note in the Unique Bike market in Issue 511 of Unique Cars Magazine.
1954 Vincent Black Shadow
SOLD: $151,500 + buyer premium, Donnington Auctions
Vincents were big news at a recent Donington Auctions sale, bringing very solid money.
The 1954 Series C Black Shadow (shown) was the headline act and fetched a final bid of $151,500, which was above top estimate. Call that near enough to $164,000 with the relatively modest nine per cent buyer premium included.
Next up was a 1948 Series B Rapide which, curiously, didn’t see bidding get serious until the last hour of the auction. It stalled at around $64,000 for a day or two, then hit $78,000 at the last minute. That translates to around $86,000 with premium included once it’s loaded on the truck for its new owner, and is consistent with values for similar offerings in recent years.
The real star of the show was the 1952 Series C Comet single, which fetched an impressive $47,000 bid compared to a perfectly reasonable top estimate of $35,000. With premium included it would have carried an invoice of about $51,000.
That was a record result for that model, with the exception of a Steve McQueen-owned bike that sold for $95,600 back in 2018.
1988 Joey Dunlop Honda RC30
SOLD: $172,000 including buyer premium, Bonhams (UK)
Two race-winning Hondas ridden by the legendary Joey Dunlop were auctioned by Bonhams in the UK on October 12.
They were: the 1988 TT RC30 (pictured) and the the 1999 Ulster GP RC45.
The pair are from the Dunlop family collection and each carried an estimate of $160-200,000.
In the end, the RC30 – a Honda Racing Corporation V4 which helped Dunlop achieve international fame – went for a staggering $272,000 including buyer premium.
The RC45 – the successor to the RC30 – went for $92,000 including buyer premium.
RC30s consistently achieve higher results than RC45s, even though the latter were built in much smaller numbers.
A solid result for an RC30 in good road trim in Australia would be around $60,000.
Though Dunlop died in a racing incident back in 2000, he remains a much-revered figure. His son Michael has also become a formidable TT racing talent.