Brough Superior Lead Bonhams Spring Stafford Sale
A brace of exciting Brough-Superior SS100 restoration projects lead consignments for Bonhams Spring Stafford Sale on 22-23 April, when the Bonhams Motorcycles team return to Stafford following another successful, record-setting year in 2021. Check out the amazing bikes below…
Ex-Reg Barton, Dick Knight, 1929 Brough Superior ‘SS100 Alpine Grand Sports Sprinter’ set to fetch some huge money!
The first of these legendary superbikes of the Golden Age, a 1929 996CC SS100 ‘Alpine Grand Sports’ Sprint Special – one of the marque’s most iconic models named after the success of SS100s in the 1925 Austrian Alpine Trial – has an impressive racing pedigree, having been raced, rallied and hill-climbed by notable Brough-Superior campaigners Reg Barton and Dick Knight.
Knight fitted the motorcycle with an ex-Eric Fernihough Brooklands racing engine, built by the solo lap speed record holder at the famous Surrey racetrack, with the engine timing case stamped ‘Supplied by Fernihough Brooklands’. The SS100 still has its original gearbox (‘SB 192’), its original tank (‘2027’, detached) and its original Brough front numberplate. It is now offered for sympathetic restoration to retain its ‘warhorse’ character and is offered with an estimate of $132,000 – 190,000.
The Brough Superior bikes are on track to set records at the Bonhams Spring Stafford Sale.
Joining the Sprint Special on the Stafford start line is one of the earliest Matchless-powered SS100s, a 1936 Brough Superior 982CC SS100, estimate $227,000 – $340,000. It is offered from over 50 years in current ownership, the vendor having known this motorcycle for more than 70 years, having been given lifts sitting on its petrol tank as a schoolboy. His dream of buying the motorcycle finally came to fruition, after several unsuccessful attempts, although the Brough was by then in a dismantled state.
The now retired motorcycle dealer and engineer restored the SS100 to a very high standard, both mechanically and cosmetically, before campaigning the machine in club events, reaching 90mph on one occasion riding on Pendine Sands. Due to a period of the owner’s ill health, the motorcycle was unknowingly laid up in damp storage and so the previously excellent cosmetic condition had deteriorated. Due to the vendor’s advancing years, this authentic Brough Superior, which retains its original frame and engine, is offered as an exciting opportunity to recommission and restore it to its former glory.
Other historic racing machines in the Broughs’ slipstream include the 1951 Swiss Grand Prix-winning 1948 Velocette 348cc KTT MkVII Racing Motorcycle, estimate $95,000 – $135,000, ridden to victory by Les Graham. A former Lancaster bomber pilot in the Second World War, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Graham went on to win the first ever 500cc World Championship in 1949 aboard an AJS Porcupine and is still one of the most respected World Champions.
The Velocette KTT was recognised as one of the most beautiful racing motorcyles and a formidable competitor. This example was raced by Graham during the 1951 and ’52 seasons including the 1952 Junior (350cc) class, triumphing over treacherously wet conditions to seal his Swiss Grand Prix victory.
ex-Les Graham, Swiss Grand Prix Winning, 1948 Velocette KTT MKVIII Racing Motorcycle set to fetch between $95,000 and a whopping 135,000.
The Ron Chandler 1972 Triumph Formula 750 Triple is set to grab $95,000 – $135,000. Featuring the first non-works frame built by specialist Rob North, this racing motorcycle is offered direct from Ron Chandler. The Isle of Man TT and Grand Prix rider rode it to victory in the 200-mile F750 race at Rouen in 1972 and then re-acquired the machine in 2003.
In the interim, the Triumph was raced extensively by Alistair Frame for the BeeBee brothers, with victories including three championships at Aintree. Following his reunion with the Triumph, Ron had the machine fully restored and has since ridden it at many events including the Festival of 1000 Bikes and Coupe Moto Legende.
The Ron Chandler 1972 Triumph Formula 750 Triple is set to grab $95,000 – $135,000.
Bonhams say they are delighted to offer the Alan Windsor Collection, a selection of British and key Japanese models, built up by the retired businessman and well-known figure in classic motorcycle racing, who competed at Goodwood as well as in Europe and at Daytona in the USA.
Windsor acquired his first motorcycle aged 19, having borrowed the necessary money from his father, but had to sell the machine when called up for National Service. He turned to serious collecting later in life. Highlights from the collection include a 1963 BSA 646cc Rocket Gold Star, estimate $30,000 – 40,000; a 1961 Triumph 649cc T120R Bonneville, estimate $15,000 – 27,000; and a 1966 Velocette 499cc Venom Thruxton, estimate $30,000 – 40,000.
Highlights from the collection include a 1963 BSA 646cc Rocket Gold Star, estimate $30,000 – 40,000.
The collection charts the history of motorcycle design, ranging from the earliest machine offered a 1910 Triumph 31/2 HP (estimate $15,000 – 27,000), which is eligible for the famous Pioneer Run, to his incredible one-owner low-mileage 1988 Honda VFR75OR Type RC30 (estimate $37,000 – 56,000), the first name in homologation superbikes.
The Spring Stafford Sale will be a traditional live auction, as well as being streamed and available on the Bonhams App, providing registered bidders the opportunity to bid in real time online via Bonhams.com. Absentee and telephone bids are also encouraged. Check out all the auction lots here.
