Top 10 most expensive motorcycles from the world's most valuable collection
If you need to ask, you can't afford it
WHAT amounts to probably the most valuable motorcycle collection in the world went under the hammer last weekend.
Only the rarest or rare machines make it into the legendary bike collection of American collector EJ Cole, so it’s no surprise to see that some went for insane money.
While none managed to breach the $1 million mark, as had been expected in some quarters, Mr Cole still walked away from the sale a with a couple of hundred fewer motorcycles and many millions more dollars.
Here are the 10 most expensive machines from the sale:
=9. 1907 Indian Tri-Car with Sedan Chair - sold for $165,000
Not one for the performance fans here, the Tri-Car looks more like a Victorian mobility scooter than a motorcycle. But its age, rarity and originality meant that it took a massive $165,000.
=9. 1930 Harley-Davidson Factory Hillclimber - sold for $165,000
At the same price as the Tri-Car, but probably a bike more likely to find favour among Visordown readers, was the H-D Hillclimber from 1930. Using a twin-cam, 45cu-in V-twin and dubbed the DAH, it’s reckoned to be one of the rarest Harleys in the world; this very example was even used as a model for a statue that now stands outside Harley’s own museum.
8. 1917 Henderson 4 - sold for $190,000
Four-cylinder Hendersons are pretty rare and expensive at the best of times, and this one can count a certain Steve McQueen among its previous owners, which pushes the value higher still.
7. 1912 Henderson 4 - sold for $205,000
This Henderson wasn’t owned by Steve McQueen, but it was pricier still at $205,000. That’s because it’s from the first year of production, one of just six survivors that can make that claim.
6. 1912 Harley-Davidson Model 8A - sold for $215,000
Never underestimate the collectability of early Harleys. This bike was expected to take $100,000-$150,000 at the auction, but in fact blew past that to $215,000. Its attraction comes from being one of the first twin-cylinder Harleys and, like so many of the Cole collection bikes, its originality and condition.
5. 1928 Indian Altoona Hillclimber - sold for $225,000
In case you’re wondering, Altoona was the name of a board-track circuit in Pennsylvania, and just as later bikes took on the names of circuits they won at (Daytona, for instance), Indian celebrated its successes by naming its machines Altoona in 1927 and 28 after setting a speed record there in 1926. This Altoona was modified in period for hillclimbing, and remains in tatty condition, just as it was put away after its last ever competition many decades ago.
