A collection of rare and vintage motorcycles is going up for auction later this month, with bikes from Indian, Velocette, BSA and Norton, among a host of other bikes and tons of petrol-head memorabilia!
The auction is being held on the 29th of December, and money raised from the sale of the bikes and the memorabilia will be going to help Smile Scotland. The charity works with young people from Scotland, helping them to gain real-life qualifications through hands-on training, with a view to them finding employment opportunities. This sale of bikes, featuring around 15 rare, classic, and vintage machines, is bolstered by an enviable collection of memorabilia.
A selection of bikes in the haul is being called ‘The Dirty Dozen’, a name then gained from the manner in which they were owned and stored. The owner would buy a bike, get it running, ride it for a year then chuck a blanket over it while he moved on to another project. You could call him a motorcycle magpie of sorts! Some of the highlight bikes in the catalogue are already garnering international interest, with Clive and the team at the auction house fielding calls and welcoming viewers in person. We obviously can’t cover them all here, although you can check out this page for yourself, so here are some of our picks from ‘The Dirty Dozen’.
Ex-US Army 1942 Indian Scout 500cc
One of the rarest bikes in the haul is the Indian Scout 500cc. It’s not been run in around 15 years although outwardly at least looks to be in very good shape. It’s road-ready in the UK complete with a V5C and has a fairly conservative estimate of between £9,500 and £14,000 placed on it.
1964 Norton Dominator SS 650cc
The Norton Domi’ may have lived most of its life in the shadow of the Manx and Commando, but with prices for both of those on the rise sharply in recent years, bikes like the Domi’ SS 650 offer collectors the look and feel of a classic post-war Norton without the price tag. This tidy-looking example carries an estimate of between £3,400 and £4,200.
1967 BSA B40 – Ex-army
I have a soft spot for a BSA B40 (my dad used to own an ex-army one) so the 1967 example included in ‘The Dirty Dozen’ really got me interested. It’s still got its MoD release papers and has never been registered as a civilian vehicle. And if you are wondering about the paint on the front mudguard, that’s from the original military auction it was sold back in the day!
As mentioned above, it isn't just bikes in the auction, there is a world of weird and wonderful paraphernalia, tools, man/women-cave essentials and quite a bit more.
You can check out all the lots for yourself at the Smile Scotland online auction page.
