Ten Vincent HRD motorcycles, including several “barn finds” rescued from a Midwest warehouse, will be among the bikes offered October 5 during Bonhams’ auction at the Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Alabama.
The sale, held during the Birmingham Vintage Festival, also will include a pair of dirt bikes with motorcycle-celebrity ownership, having been owned and ridden by Bruce Brown, director of the iconic motorcycle documentary On Any Sunday.
Brown’s bikes are a 1967 Triumph Tiger Cub and a 1970 Husqvarna 250 Cross.
“The Triumph was Brown’s first real motorcycle (he traded in his Honda step-through scooter to help with the purchase) and it opened the door to a friendship with Steve McQueen, which led to the making of On Any Sunday,” Bonhams says in news release. “One could say that this bike was the catalyst for the production of the greatest motorcycle documentary ever made.
“Furthermore, it’s in original, unrestored condition, with matching numbers and low mileage.”
The Husqvarna has a direct connection with the film, Bonhams notes.
“The Husky was given to Brown by Edison Dye, the then-exclusive U.S. importer of Husqvarna,” the release says. “In a now-famous gesture of brilliant product placement, Dye donated several 250 Cross models for the film.”
The Vincents from the storied British brand include four Black Shadows from C and D production, an Egli Vincent built to Lightning specifications and two Comets. The project bikes retrieved after longtime warehouse storage include a Black Prince, Black Shadow and Rapide, as well as many genuine Vincent parts.
For more information about Bonhams’ motorcycle sale, visit the auction website.
