Two racing motorcycles will be offered up for auction on Friday, Jan. 9 at Bally’s Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The first racing motorcycle offered will be the ex-1973 Daytona 200 1972 Butler & Smith BMW F750, one of only two factory-supplied, purpose-built machines modified by tuner Udo Geitl of Butler & Smith — the BMW importers for America. The fast and powerful R75/5s that Geitl uprated for Team Butler & Smith stunned the world and helped change the image of BMW in America from that of a tourer to a sporting machine.
This particular F750 was an official entrant in the 1973 Daytona 200 with BMW rider Kurt Leibmann, alongside its twin ridden by Reg Pridmore. It was also the focus of a feature article written by motorcycle journalist Alan Cathcart. He test rode the bike at the Barber Motorsports Park in October 2013. It goes to auction with an estimate of $60,000-75,000.
Next is the 1950 Isle of Man Clubman TT-winning 1947 Vincent HRD Series B Rapide, which has an estimate of $120,000-150,000. It was ridden to victory by Alex Phillip and subsequently owned by larger-than-life British war hero “Mad Jack” Churchill. Soon after the Isle of Man win, the Rapide was uprated to full Black Lightning specifications and performed, in the words of Phillip, “like a rocketship,” before being sold to Lt. Colonel Churchill of WWII commando fame.
“We are very pleased to have been selected to represent these historic motorcycles at auction," said Nick Smith, head of motorcycles for Bonhams U.S. Motoring Division. “Both machines are quite significant for different reasons and both represent the ultimate in motorcycling: racing at its highest level.”
These motorcycles will join the Silverman Museum Racing Collection of Ducatis and the Pierce Family Museum Collection of Harley-Davidsons — along with many other diverse and important motorcycles — on Jan. 9 in Las Vegas. To order a catalog and register to bid in person or remotely, visit bonhams.com/vegas.
