It’s essentially the most great time of the yr. No, not the one involving jolly previous Saint Nick. As an alternative, virtually precisely a month after the cheery (or maybe not so cheery) glow of Christmas fades, Mecum’s bike shopping for and promoting extravaganza takes over the South Level Resort & On line casino in Las Vegas from Jan. 24 to twenty-eight, 2023. There are some 2,000 bikes to be offered, from uncommon antiques resembling a 1906 FN 4 to extra fashionable machines together with a 2004 Honda Rune. From the quotidian to the unique, from barn finds to recent from the painters, platers and powder coaters, all method of bikes are actually accessible for viewing within the firm’s on-line public sale catalog. Introduced with the Herculean activity of selecting simply 10 bikes to observe from that intensive itemizing, right here is my in-no-particular-order collection of machines that caught my eye. Belief me, opinions will fluctuate.
Star of the present, one of the crucial fascinating of all Harley-Davidsons, an unique Strap Tank. [Mecum]
Given ‘Essential Attraction’ standing is that this extraordinarily uncommon and finally right 1908 Harley-Davidson Strap Tank – so named for its plainly apparent pair of nickel-plated metallic straps wrapping round that exquisitely completed pair of tanks. That’s two tanks – the 2-quart oil tank is above the gasoline tank. These early manufacturing Harley-Davidson Strap Tanks are exceedingly uncommon, as solely 450 had been inbuilt 1908 and fewer than 12 are thought of extant. This one has an impressive historical past, having been discovered full in a Wisconsin barn in 1941 by David Uihlein. The barn the place it was discovered? About 70 miles distant from the Milwaukee manufacturing unit wherein it was produced. Uihlein stored it in Wisconsin for the following 66 years earlier than Paul Freehill of Fort Wayne, Indiana expertly restored the machine. Freehill referenced an ’08 Strap Tank within the Harley-Davidson Museum for accuracy and overhauled the engine whereas changing the gasoline tank, wheel rims, muffler and some different elements (all of that are included within the sale). The bike is completed within the Renault Grey and Carmine Purple coachlining that led to the best ‘Silent Grey Fellow’ nickname.
Large enjoyable in a small package deal: when was the final time you noticed a Doodlebug with a manufacturing unit sidecar? [Mecum]
Okay, how cute is that this outfit? Here’s a diminutive 1947 Doodle Bug scooter full with factory-produced sidecar. After the Second World Warfare, comparatively cheap transportation choices geared toward a burgeoning teen market had been produced and offered, from Cushman scooters to Whizzer-powered bicycles. Doodle Bug scooters match proper in and had been constructed by the Beam Mfg. Firm of Webster Metropolis, Iowa from 1946 to 1948. Doodle Bugs had been badged Hiawatha and offered in Gambles shops. Based on the Doodle Bug Membership of America, there have been 4 manufacturing runs of those scooters, with every run incorporating roughly 10,000 scooters – for a complete of some 40,000. A few of the earliest scooters had been powered by Clinton engines, whereas the vast majority of manufacturing Doodle Bugs all acquired Briggs & Stratton NP 1-1/2 horsepower powerplants. This instance doesn’t seem like expertly restored, and there are some facets of it (such because the horseshoe-shaped decrease aspect panels with an exterior gasoline shut off on the tank) that don’t jive with DBCA particulars relating to manufacturing particulars. However all that apart, with the factory-made sidecar, this little outfit deserves some love.
Uncommon and weird is typical on the massive Vegas auctions, and yearly a ‘mint and boxed’ bike comes up on the market. This yr it’s an excellent uncommon Gilroy Indian. [Mecum]
The American bike trade is filled with dreamers, and within the early Nineteen Nineties one in every of them was Dan Hanlon. What began with a dialog across the kitchen desk along with his brothers about bikes, led Hanlon and his household to resurrect the Excelsior-Henderson identify, design a machine, construct a manufacturing facility in Belle Plain, Minnesota and, for a really temporary second of time, actually simply 1999, construct the Tremendous X. The entire Tremendous X was proprietary, from the body with main hyperlink, anti-dive forks to the fuel-injected, 85 cubic-inch engine with unit-construction cassette-style transmission. Within the American cruiser market, the Tremendous X stood out for a few of its advances however was criticized by some. The machine was a great begin, and any flaws might have been improved in future fashions however by the top of 1999, Excelsior-Henderson was strapped for money and filed for chapter. Simply lower than 2,000 E-Hs had been constructed, and this Tremendous X within the crate is one in every of them. Excelsior-Henderson manufacturing unit workers signed every crate as a machine left the ground, and the ends of this crate bear such witness. Positively not as uncommon or seemingly as fascinating as many different early American machines within the public sale, however it’s one to observe. Included with the lot are E-H manufacturing unit banners. Go away it within the crate, or uncrate it and experience it?
When you dig patina, right here’s your huckleberry. Plus, it’s an actual Triumph GP. [Mecum]
Seeming virtually competitors shy, Triumph didn’t get too concerned in racing actions. Nevertheless, its T100 GP mannequin is a uncommon exception. The machine can hint its historical past again to 1946, when Triumph positioned the sq. alloy barrel and cylinder head of a wartime generator set on the underside finish of its 500cc T100. With a number of modifications to the corporate’s inflexible body, within the fingers of Ernie Lyons, a prototype machine gained the 1946 Manx Grand Prix. In 1947, Triumph started restricted manufacturing of the T100 GP, and the factory-built bikes included the sq. barrel and head of the generator set making them reasonably distinctive to the marque. All different Triumph fashions of that period employed splayed exhaust ports, and in 1951, the all-alloy T100 grew to become so geared up. This machine, in as-last-raced situation, purportedly spent its life in Tasmania and seems unmolested, full with its twin Amal racing carburetors and larger-capacity 1-gallon oil tank, rear set foot controls and open megaphones. This one needs to be left as discovered, or sympathetically resurrected; undoubtedly not restored.
The littlest Vincent! And one most collectors miss: the Firefly. [Mecum]
Not each Vincent is a road-burner, as evidenced by this Vincent-manufactured 2-stroke, 48cc clip-on Firefly cycle engine fitted to a Norman bicycle. Vincent was primarily an engineering agency and alongside its vaunted 500cc single-cylinder Comet and 1,000cc V-twin powered Black Shadows and Rapides, designed and manufactured various completely different merchandise together with engines for unmanned plane, watercraft and lawnmowers. And bicycle engines. The Firefly cycle motor was initially designed and inbuilt 1952 by Miller (the opposite British supplier of motorbike electrical merchandise resembling dynamos and lights). However Vincent took on its manufacturing and constructed the ability unit from 1953 to 1956. Not solely was the Firefly offered as a separate engine, however in 1954 and ’55 Vincent constructed its personal machine known as the Energy Cycle with the engine put in on a purpose-built Solar bike, after which in 1956, a Phillips. “Add POWER to your cycle…” a interval Vincent advert proclaims. “No have to pedal up hills. The ‘Firefly’ takes you to the highest – with out effort.” The Firefly engine weighs 24 kilos, makes a single horsepower, and drives the rear wheel by way of friction curler. Now considerably uncommon, the Firefly has turn out to be a must have accent for Vincent fans.
An OG bob-job in unique patina. Very cool to seek out any early Sq. 4. [Mecum]
Not a ordinary candidate for a bob job, this pre-war Ariel Sq. 4 is one thing of a curiosity. Nevertheless, it seems to be terrific in its barn-find state and is era-appropriate with its twin ram horn open pipes, tall bars and stripped down rear fender sans detachable tail part. This is likely one of the 61 machines being offered out of Mike Wolfe’s ‘As Discovered’ assortment – and there are a lot of tantalizing bikes on provide from Wolfe, together with a 1950 BMW bobber, 1931 Henderson KJ and various Harley-Davidsons and Indians. As a fan of Edward Turner’s explicit talent on the drawing desk to execute a fairly bike, nevertheless, the Ariel is my choose of the bunch. And the unique customizer has accomplished a great job, retaining the girder fork entrance finish, full with its two-year solely (1939 and 1940) auxiliary verify springs, comparatively intact whereas allotting with the fender. This Ariel is being offered with no reserve, and in the appropriate fingers, it could possibly be made a stunner and street authorized runner with the addition of the lacking footrests and a few period-correct lights.
The Honda Scrambler is an iconic machine, and gaining in recognition for its seminal affect on the entire trade. [Mecum]
Honda’s CL77 Scrambler was the dual-purpose variant of its well-liked 305cc Tremendous Hawk mannequin, however the machine was initially constructed from 1962 to 1965 because the 250cc CL72, after which the bigger CL77 from 1965 to 1968. Greater than 90,000 Scramblers had been offered within the U.S., and the bikes had been well-liked mounts for fans in search of a dependable rider each on the road and in (considerably delicate) off-road circumstances. That doesn’t imply they weren’t put to laborious use, nevertheless, and as proof, two early ’62 CL72s raced 1,000 miles throughout Baja within the fingers of Dave Ekins and Invoice Robertson, Jr. In 1965 for the CL77, Honda constructed a brand new body that noticed tubes working below the engine, as an alternative of utilizing the engine as a harassed member such because it was within the Tremendous Hawk. This supplied some safety for the crankcase and elevated floor clearance, though entrance and rear suspension solely supplied about 3 to 4-inches of max journey. The final 50 CL77s had been accessible in Sweet Blue (like this largely as discovered one) or Orange, and it is only one of seven CL77s on provide with no reserve at Mecum this yr. Will they continue to be reasonably priced traditional Hondas?
A pre-production Ninja that was meant for destruction, however mysteriously survived! [Mecum]
No query, Tom Cruise’s character Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell helped put the Kawasaki GPz900R Ninja on everybody’s radar when he zoomed throughout the display screen aboard the mannequin within the 1986 launch of High Gun. And right here’s a uncommon pre-production, one-owner Ninja that’s by no means been dealer-serviced, having spent 39 years on show with former Kawasaki government John Hoover. Kawasaki launched the Ninja late in 1983 for the ’84 mannequin yr, and the machine was powered by a transverse-mounted, liquid-cooled, double-overhead cam,16-valve, 4-cylinder engine. Horsepower was a claimed 113 at 9,500 rpm. This explicit instance was a part of 1998’s ‘The Artwork of the Bike’ exhibit at The Guggenheim Museum and has been displayed in six different museums. All of that pushing has added 5.8 miles to the odometer, and the Ninja is offered with all documentation, brochures and museum books.
So very uncommon, and for a lot of, the final word collectible BMW roadster: the R37 was BMW’s first sports activities bike. [Mecum]
Considered one of 13 Bavarian machines being auctioned as a part of the BMW Centennial Assortment, this 1925 R37 is quantity 125 of solely 152 that had been produced over a two-year manufacturing run from 1925 to 1926. Restored by grasp craftsman Hubert Fehrenbach, this R37 has a identified historical past having been bought out of Germany’s Marxzelle Museum. Fehrenbach purchased the R37 some 25 years in the past in unique, final used situation and proceeded to revive it with an distinctive stage of high quality and eye to originality. The R37 was BMW’s first racing machine and was largely primarily based on the corporate’s unique manufacturing machine, the 1923 R32. Whereas the body may need been the identical, the M36a flat-twin engine gained enhancements resembling mild alloy OHV cylinder heads and a a lot stronger built-up crankshaft incorporating one-piece connecting rods. So geared up, the R37 produced 16 horsepower at 4,000 rpm, practically 3 times the ability of the R32. The machines proved succesful racers, and gained many early victories for the model, serving to to solidify a company tradition devoted to engineering a few of the most interesting street and race bikes, then and now.
From a misplaced period of sci-fi grooviness! The DKW/Victoria Sputnik/Hummel. [Mecum]
Good issues, and exceptionally fantastically designed issues, do are available small packages. Contemplate this 1961 DKW Sputnik. Launched in 1961 alongside its badge-engineered sibling, the Victoria 155, it’s merely gorgeous in its sartorial attraction. A pressed-steel body is adorned with tinware that units the Sputnik other than completely the rest within the small-bore phase of the early Sixties. Powered by a 4-horsepower, 50cc 2-stroke single-cylinder engine, your entire package deal together with the deeply padded Denfeld seat and pannier-looking aspect panels, weighed solely 163 lb. With a left-foot shift pedal, a rider might row by means of the Sputnik’s 3-speed transmission and will finally obtain a prime velocity of 30 mph. Suspension up entrance is courtesy of an Earles fork, topped by a shapely headlight nacelle that flows again into the gasoline tank. A uncommon sight anyplace, as few as 200 Sputniks ever left the Zweirad Union manufacturing unit, and solely a handful have ever seemingly made their strategy to America. Be the primary on the block!
Greg Williams is Profiles Editor for The Vintagent. He’s a motorbike author and writer primarily based in Calgary who contributes the Pulp Non-Fiction column to The Vintage Bike and common function tales to Bike Classics. He’s proud to reprint the Second and Seventh Editions of J.B. Nicholson’s Fashionable Bike Mechanics collection. Observe him on IG: @modernmotorcyclemechanics
