So welcome to another one of our auction review videos. This time we're going to focus on the
Charterhouse March 2022 sale which was held at the beautiful Haynes Motor Museum. So, for this
we're going to select a handful of the lots. There were 102 bikes or lots for sale in this auction
in total, so we're going to go through some of the most interesting lots to see what you think.
I'm going to start with a barn find. A really interesting machine. A 1923/24 Royal Enfield 200.
So this was lot number 2. It's a 225cc single cylinder two-speed two-stroke machine. Now it
looks fairly complete, there's a lot of work to do on it so you've got to be pretty brave, but it's
nearly all there. And the reason I like this is it's, some of these bikes from this period had
quite an awkward look to them in terms of their styling and their aesthetics.
You know, it was early days for motorcycling. But this particular bike, very nicely proportioned.
There's a beautiful example of one of these restored at the Barber Museum in The States.
And with its very long elongated tank, the two-tone green panels on there, a really attractive commuter
machine in its day and it's only capable of what 35 miles an hour top speed. But beautiful little
bike, very handsome, nicely proportioned. So what was also attractive about this bike, no estimate.
So well worth a punt, and in the end it sold for £915 including premium and VAT. So a very
interesting machine. Next bike then. Lot number 15 was this very attractive 1978 Rickman Honda
CR750. So Rickman frames beautifully made hand-built bikes and frames. Derek and Don
Rickman began making their own frames as early as 1959. They're best known for their off-road
scrambler motocross bikes. Obviously Steve McQueen also was a fan of their machines, and that
particular version is a very popular bike even to today, the Desert Race replica. But you don't
see so many of the road going versions, and this particular one features the four-cylinder Honda
engine. It's a 1978 model. These were offered back in the day in kit form. So you bought the frame,
you bought all the panels and everything to go with it, and built it up yourself. This particular
one, recently repainted, finished in this glorious red paint scheme. You normally see them in bright
orange, almost like a Laverda orange, so it's nice to see one in red. It's running well, it
presents nicely. Estimate on this bike £8000 to £10,000. It achieved £10,296 all in.
Next up lot 31. This time we've got an American machine. So it's a 1941 Indian
741B Scout. So this one is a genuine World War II bike. Totally restored, in good running condition.
It's a UK registered machine. This features this unbustable side valve 500cc V-twin engine,
producing 15 horsepower. Very reliable machines in the day. Great bikes for the military to use
back in the day as well. Some specific elements on these that made them specific for military use
was the enormous filter or cartridge air filter on the side to stop any debris getting in there. They
also had a slightly higher ride height compared to the original road models that they were based on,
and lower compression as well. So they're really easy to live with and start and ride.
A great looking bike. Nicely restored. Estimate on this one £23,000 to £25,000. It achieved
top end of the estimate at £25,168. So next bike, we have a race machine. A glorious looking
1962 AJS 7R. The Boy Racer as it was known. Final year of production was the '62/'63 model year.
350cc single cylinder engine, overhead cam, producing around 40 brake horsepower. These were
really popular bikes that you could buy from the factory, use as a clubman's racer. Very successful.
Winner of the Junior TT on several occasions these particular machines for the works riders.
Now this particular bike is quite a special version obviously. Presented in immaculate condition. Fully
restored by a marque specialist. This one features quite a distinctive larger shaped tank than what
you normally see as well, but still retains that glorious gold painting on the crankcases that make
it so iconic. It was raced in period by Tommy Robb who was a very well established and well renowned
road racer and Grand Prix racer back in the period, and winner of the Isle of Man TT. Estimate on this one,
£40,000 to £45,000. It achieved £41,184 all in. Jumping forward then to a more modern machine. Now
we've got a 1987 Suzuki RG250. Presented here in its glorious Walter Wolf scheme to replicate some
of the race bikes of the period. Two-stroke twin cylinder bike, final year of this particular model.
Just 4081 miles on the clock. Beautifully presented, very low mileage. These bikes had an
incredible power to weight ratio. So just weighing 130 kilograms, producing around 50 brake horsepower.
They really were race bikes for the road. You don't see many of them in this particular colour
scheme either so it's nice to see one here. Obviously two-strokes, really hot at the moment,
and the 500 versions of these bikes, the RG500 Gamma, well we've seen those prices.
You see them at dealers now, for what, £25,000 quite comfortably. So
these 250s represent great value compared to the bigger brothers, the 500s. Now estimate on this
bike £5000 to £6000. It achieved £6,292
including premium and VAT. Lot 60 was a 1954 Norton Dominator. Very handsome looking machine.
Lovely pre-featherbed 500cc twin. Matching numbers. It was restored around 20 years ago with receipts for
over £8,000 spent on the bike back then. It was a bike that was originally in Uganda and
was brought back to the UK. It's UK registered. It's only done 36 miles since it was fully restored.
It is in showroom condition. Estimate on this bike, £8,000 to £10,000 and it sold for £9,152
including the premium. Something completely different now. Lot 72, a BSA Sunbeam Scooter.
Now first launched in 1959, Edward Turner designed a scooter to try and cash in on the popularity of
the scooter market at that point. Two models were launched, Triumph Tigress and the BSA Sunbeam which
were both the same bike with different badges and different colours basically. Available in 175cc or
250cc two-stroke engines. This particular one is 175cc model. Fantastically restored.
They're expensive things to restore these because the amount of panels on them there is a lot of paintwork
involved. This one is fully restored and running. It's nicely presented. It's almost
a sacrilege though that this, one had a BSA badge on which is bad enough because they were poorly
designed these bikes, they weren't very popular, they didn't work anywhere near as well as the
Italian versions. And not only did it have BSA on it, this was one of the final iterations that you
saw the Sunbeam badge appear on anything. You know, the high quality, pre-war, TT winning machines that
they used to produce, and then the final time you see it is on a scooter that didn't work very well
is a crying shame really. But regardless, it's an interesting bike. Very rare, not many survived,
they didn't sell many in the first place. Estimate on this, £2,000 to £2,400. It achieved
£2,288 including premium. So for probably the worst Sunbeam motorcycle ever made, or scooter, to
one of the greatest, lot 64. Sunbeam 1929 TT90 model. A proper pre-war thoroughbred bike. Again
fully restored running machine, beautifully presented, overhead valve, single cylinder engine.
1929 bike means it's eligible for the Banbury Run. These were basically, or the TT90 model was a
road going version of their sort of race bike. So it was the hot model to have.
Strangely this one is mounted to a very, very smart looking sidecar. But it to me it's the
equivalent of owning an Aston Martin and having a caravan on the back. It makes no sense whatsoever.
Regardless of that a really, really smart bike. Nice condition. Estimate on this £15,000 to £16,000.
It sold for £15,444 all in. So the final bike is the bike that if I
could have bought any of them myself from the auction, this is the one I would have gone for.
So it's something very, very rare. Lot 73. Post vintage model. 1936 Douglas Endeavour. Now
Douglas were a well-established, well-known, make of motorcycles in the pre-war years in particular.
Quite distinctive in their designs, they're quite recognisable in that they
preferred this fore and aft inline twin, side valve engines, in various sizes. But in 1936
they launched this model, the Endeavour, which was a new design which featured a transversely mounted
flat twin, side valve engine, 500cc. Shaft drive which was quite up to date and up
to minute design in that particular period. However it did still feature
hand change because the rumour was that they ran out of money on the development, so
had to retain that rather than having a foot change which was far more common at that point.
Numbers vary on how many were produced, between a minimum of 100 maximum of 200,
but thought that only around three actually remain complete, and an original engine frame combinations
of which this is one of them. Again brilliantly restored, a running machine, very nicely presented.
A beautiful, beautiful pre-war bike. Estimate on this machine was £13,000 to £15,000
and it actually achieved a really strong figure, £17,732 pounds including premiums. And it is a glorious
bike, I would love to have it in my garage. So in summary, high sell through rates for this auction,
the vast majority of the bikes fell within their estimates and the estimates were sensible so I
think it was a fair reflection on the market at present. All in all, a successful auction.
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