TWO rare racing motorcycles will go up for auction in January at the Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction.
A Vincent Isle of Man Clubman TT-winning bike and an ex-1973 Daytona 200 1972 Butler & Smith BMW F750 will be going under the hammer at Bally’s Hotel and Casino on January 9th.
The Vincent is a 1947 model HRD Series B Rapide that took victory when ridden by Alex Phillip in the 1950 IOM Clubman race.
Shortly after winning the race, the bike was upgraded to Black Lightning specifications giving it a 25hp increase in power. The bike was then sold to ‘Mad Jack’ Churchill, a war hero WWII Lieutenant known for his motto “any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed.”
The BMW up for auction was an official entrant in the 1973 Daytona 200 ridden by both Kurt Leibmann and Reg Pridmore. It’s one of only two factory-supplied machines, modified by Udo Geitl, tuner for Butler & Smith, the BMW importers for America at the time.
The tuned R75/5s were significant for BMW as they changed the image of their touring bikes to motorcycles with sporting potential. They were also the precursors to the Butler & Smith R90s that were ridden to victory in the first-ever Superbike championship title by Reg Pridmore.
Head of Motorcycles for Bonhams Motoring Department, Nick Smith said: “Both machine are quite significant for different reasons and both represent the ultimate in motorcycling: racing at its highest level.”
