Welcome to our February Silverstone Auctions motorcycle review. The first big auction of the
year. We're going to go through a selection of the 10 bikes that we think were quite interesting and
worth looking at from the auction, and also at the end I'll pick my two particular favourite bikes
that I would have bought if it was up to me, and then we'll also look at some of the trends for the
year ahead. So without further ado. Now there were quite a lot of off-road and enduro bikes featured
in this auction, and it's one of those that we're going to start with. An unusual one. Lot 114,
a 1977 Laverda, 125cc, that featured a Husqvarna two-stroke engine. Now when we think of Laverda,
instantly think of the 750 twins or the 1000cc triples that they produce such as the Jota.
Off-road bikes, you don't see them very often. Still retains that beautiful bright orange
paintwork that we associate with a Laverda. A rare bike indeed. Pretty little machine, fully
restored, fully working. Estimate £3500 to £4500. Achieved £3700 including premium. So, bike number
two. Something completely different now. Lot 120 is a 1940 Matchless G3. MOD war issue machine.
Now these have been quite popular style of bikes in recent years and prices have really started
to generate quite a bit of interest. Now this is a genuine World War II machine dispatched out to
the MOD in 1940. Saw service out in the desert. A little bit unusual to what you normally see.
Most of the bikes used were side valve machines for ease of maintenance. This was an overhead
valve model so had a bit more performance, a bit more usable on the road as well.
Looks great with its girder forks, eight inch headlamp. Nicely restored. Good running order.
Estimate £6000 to £8000. But on this occasion it didn't reach its estimate so £5500 including
premium. That was a really good value machine in my opinion. Now lot three. One of the star bikes
of the auction. One that was promoted quite heavily before the show and well, it didn't
disappoint. Lot 131. A 1978 Honda CB400F featured in that really bright parakeet yellow. Now these
bikes, again five years ago, you could pick a mint one of these for about £3500. Good ones now
£6000 plus. This particular one was very special. One owner from new. Genuine UK bike. Never been
fired up. Brilliantly stored, in fabulous as new condition. Still has the cellophane wrapper
on the headlamp bezel. Original toolkit included. One push mile only. So showroom condition,
as new bike. Estimate was quite low on this bike, just £6000 to £8000. I thought it might tickle
£10,000 mark all in. However it achieved the fantastic sum of £15,975 which has got to be
a record for one of these bikes. But where are you going to see another one again like this?
So number four on our list. Another one of the star feature bikes was lot 138. 1927 Triumph
which was a Works TT machine. So one of six bikes produced for the TT in 1927.
Very rare indeed. It was stored in a loft in 1932 and not discovered until the late 60s.
Brought back to life in the 70s and used in hill climbs in the 70s and 80s.
Running machine. Loads of patina to it. Very original condition. It's verified as being
one of the genuine works bikes from that period, although mismatched. So it's got
frame number one paired with engine number five. However, you know, it's still the real deal.
Bonhams actually sold this bike back in 2012 and it achieved £32,000. So the estimate on this was
£35,000 to £40,000. It achieved better than that. It got £41,625 all in. So a 50% growth from 2012
to the present day in value which is a very solid return if you're into investments. What's also
interesting about this bike is the sister bike to this, the other remaining one of the six, was sold
by Bonhams in 2020. That's got frame number five with engine number one. So if you're the owner of
the bike just sold at Silverstone, could meet this guy who owns the other one, you could do an engine
swap and have your original engines, who knows. But food for thought. Very interesting machine,
very good price. Now lot number five. So we've gone from an expensive bike through to something
a bit more better value, and a bit more unusual. Lot 151. A 2005 model year Sachs B805. So
an unusual looking bike, a bit Marmite. Sort of retro with its spoke wheels, but street fighter
with its styling and twin headlamps. So not quite one or the other. But an interesting machine all
together though, with its V-twin Suzuki powered engine. German built. One of just 150 made.
Over 15 years old, so it could be registered as a classic machine and used at some of the
classic events with the VMCC. You're not likely to pull up alongside another one. Great value.
£2,700 including premium. Bike number six on the list is our 1936 Brough Superior SS80. Now we've
talked about these plenty in our old videos and they are stunning looking machines. The Rolls
Royce of motorcycles featuring the Matchless side valve engine, 998cc. Great condition.
Very well kept. Was a non-runner so would require some recommissioning. Said it was correct numbers
on the description although no certificate from the club, so make your own mind up there.
Lovely looking bike. Estimate £50,000 to £60,000 which was reasonable. It achieved £61,875 pounds
all in. Now the certificate from the club would be quite an important thing to consider as a
buyer of this bike because although it says it's correct numbers, so the numbers for the frame,
engine, gearbox, tank, might match that on the works card that they've got for the bike,
how do you know those stampings are correct and original stampings?
The club would therefore be able to issue a certificate or a letter of authority to say that
in their opinion this machine does contain the correct numbers and they are the original
stampings. So always important to try and verify or confirm that when buying a bike
such as this where it's such high value, and there are clones and copies out there.
So now on to some two-strokes. Two-strokes, red hot category for the last two or three years.
We see some phenomenal prices fetched in auctions on these, and some really
hot bidding. Now a lot 156. 1982 Yamaha RD350. Liquid cooled bike. Genuine UK bike from new.
Matching numbers. Beautifully restored. Finished in a relatively rare candy blue paint scheme.
Very nice bike indeed. Estimate was about there £10,000 to £12,000. This achieved
£10,500 including premium which compared to some of the prices recently is pretty good value I think.
Lot 157. Another RD Yamaha. This time a 1978 RD400. Air cooled one with a coffin style tank.
White with the red graphics. Again, stunning example. Beautifully presented. Aftermarket
exhaust showing on this one but it did contain its original exhaust as well.
Estimate £11,000 to £13,000 which is sort of the top end of the market. This one though remains
unsold, so it's still available. Number nine on our list then. Another two-stroke,
but from a different era and a different mould this time. Lot 165. 1999 Aprilia
RS250. Race replica for the road. Ultimate sort of Grand Prix replica that you could
have just after you passed your test, get onto one of these back in the day. Real road rocket.
250 GP replica. 72 horsepower V-twin stroke. Very low mileage example. Again along with RGV250's,
NSR250's, there's real interest in these bikes again now. And finding good examples is harder
than you think. A lot of them were ridden by boy racers back in the day, ended up in ditches, or on
the track and broke into many pieces. So this was a fine example. Low mileage. Immaculate condition.
Estimate on this £10,000 to £12,000. It beat that comfortably and achieved a fantastic price. £15,188
all in. So number ten on our list. Lot 158. I've got a bit of a soft spot for these 70s Hondas
and this one is a 1970 KO Honda CB750. Genuine UK bike from new. One of around 30 plus bikes
that were imported into the UK of this model type. Immaculate condition. Fully restored. Candy red.
Beautifully running machine as well. Matching numbers with its original tool kit.
Strong, strong prices on these generally for the last few years. A lot of interest in these
bikes. Estimate was sensible. £17,000 to £19,000 and it achieved the top end of this estimate,
£19,125 all in. So that's our top 10 bikes. Now, if I was at the auction, my personal choice, in
fact there's two bikes that I would have loved to have bought or added to my collection. First one,
lot 178. A Honda 1989 NC30 VFR400. So the baby brother of the legend that is the RC30,
and this was a great example. Barn stored. Still has all the looks of the RC30 but in miniature.
Estimate £4000 to £5000. It achieved what, £5,625. So great value machines these are for
a proper classic in 1989. It's an old bike now and compared to the price of its big brother,
exceptional value. So I think these are great little bikes. So the other one,
something a bit bigger and a lot more exotic this time. Lot 187. A 1977 Benelli 750
Sei. Six cylinder, the first ever six cylinder production motorcycle. This one, immaculately
presented. Fully restored. There's a great little video of it on the website of it running on
Silverstone's auction website. Estimate £14,000 to £16,000. It achieved bang in the middle,
£15,188. Beautiful looking bike. So things to look out for as well for this year, it's the
first big auction now complete. There's lots to go as the year unfolds. Few trends I think in the
market that we can expect to see, or possibly see. Two-strokes continue to be very popular, 70s ones,
that we've seen for the last two or three years. But 80s and 90s two-strokes,
RG500s, fetching big money. The Aprilia that we saw earlier in the video again,
really strong interest in these bikes. RGV250s, NSR250s. I think as a category we'll start to
see more of these, or nice examples of these bikes appear at auction and on the market,
and the prices should continue to grow strength to strength. Pre-war British bikes.
Particularly when they've got some sort of recognised or written history, matching numbers,
they continue to be strong and create strong interest and good prices. Vintage and post-vintage
categories both included in that. Bikes that are going a bit softer, or continue to be good value,
readily available, are Brit bikes 50s and 60s, BSAs, Norton, Triumphs, sort of the more everyday,
every man bikes that three or four years ago peaked in price. They've dropped a little bit
now and seem to be again, pretty good value, and I expect that trend to continue this year.
So, all in all, an interesting auction. We'll be reviewing and previewing more of
these auctions throughout the year. Put your comments below, and we'll see you again soon.