CAFÉ RACER 76

The coolest bikes from Bonhams’ Paris sale 27 January 2015

Artcurial looks set to steal the limelight during this year's round of Rétromobile auctions with the Baillon collection - but while most are marvelling at the ‘barn find of the century’, motorcycle fans can quietly immerse themselves in the preview of Bonhams’ 47-lot motorcycle sale…

Miniature memories

There are machines in there that any motorcyclist of a certain age would dearly love to have in his (or her) collection. The one I’m particularly coveting is the simply stunning Moto Guzzi V7 Sport in a classic ‘lime’and red paint scheme. This is a motorcycle that I have longed to own since the age of seven, when I was given not one, but two tiny models of it by different people.

I still have them, but have never managed to acquire the real thing - and probably won't be doing so now, either, since this genuine, unrestored, low-owner example is likely to top €20,000.

Kawasaki's legendary Mach III

Another ’70s classic that’s making me all nostalgic is a mint-condition example of Kawasaki’s legendary Mach III, 500cc, two-stroke triple. I once bought one from a man who lived on the fifth floor of a tower block and kept it in his sitting room. We did a deal at the time-honoured rate of ‘one pound per cc’, and then had to remove the entire front end in order to get it into the tiny elevator.

Back on the ground floor, I bolted it back together, fired it up and enjoyed a crazy, smoky, 200-mile ride home without a hitch, revelling in the discovery that the Mach III’s acceleration was every bit as aggressive as legend suggested. The one on offer at Bonhams is tipped to fetch €14,000.

BMWs and Benellis

A little less should buy an original and low-mileage example of BMW’s first, true, road-going sports bike in the form of a 1977 R90S, complete with period ‘smoked orange’ paint scheme, while a 1972 Benelli 750 Sei – the six-pot superbike that preceded Honda’s CBX by several years – could realise up to €38,000.

The high estimate is accounted for by the fact that this is one of three prototypes created before the then-radical machine entered production in 1974. It is also the actual bike that was displayed at the Guggenheim Museum’s celebrated ‘Art of the Motorcycle’ exhibition between 1999 and 2002.

A horde of Huskies

The sale also offers an impressive selection of small-capacity MV Agusta sports bikes and racers from the ’50s and ’70s, together with a Husqvarna scrambler raced by the renowned Swedish rider Bengt Aberg at Saddleback Park, California, during the 1970s Inter-Am series. It’s estimated at €15,000 - 18,000.

Vincent

Vincent fans, meanwhile, can choose from a well-restored and ready-to-ride series C Black Shadow at €50,000 - 70,000 and another, more patinated example at €80,000 - 95,000.

See them all at Le Grand Palais, Paris, on Wednesday, 4 February from 9am - 5:30pm, prior to the sale the following day at 12:30.

Photos: Bonhams

MEAN GREEN’S NEVERMORE

There’s dark, black hole dark, blacker than Darth Vadar’s pants dark; and then there is this now not so regal Enfield. Aditya from Mumbai is an industrial designer and owner of Mean Green Customs, a design studio and custom workshop. Royal Enfields are as common a site on Mumbai’s streets as cars or trucks, and the current trend seems to be a tank swap and a bob of the rear end. Aditya wasn’t about to follow suit and set about fabricating a jig around which he’d construct a completely new hardtail frame.

The updated twin-spark, 350cc single is the heart of the build, a simple, tried and tested unit that can be repaired with a hammer and chewing gum. In this case a cone filter and shorter exhaust the only mods with a performance angle, although slashing weight by removing clunky iron parts will have made for a more spirited ride.

A stainless steel battery box sits down on the lower frame rails, keeping the centre of gravity where it should be and perhaps more importantly the angular tail is therefore able to hover over the rear tyre, free from practical encumbrance.

The engine design might be a decades old, but the fork yokes certainly aren’t. Machined from aluminium and doubling as a dash and speedo mount, and of course, black anodised.

The only splash of colour is the yellow tinted headlight, a common touch these days but here the euro-look really works against the menacing background. The front cowl is hand rolled and beaten from sheet steel and took a few attempts before Aditya was happy with it.

The seat and tail is again fabricated from steel, with minimal padding, as if from a giant pair of cycling shorts. LED turn signals discreetly sit in the rearward curve of the seat and tail lights hide behind mesh covered slits. Out of shot is the rather clever use of the slot where clutch and brake cables pass through the levers, amber LEDs have been grafted inside to negate the need for clumsy turn signals, very stealthy indeed.

The angular fuel tank is again, handmade from steel and reminiscent of a combat helicopter. This and the rest of the bike is painted in combinations of matt and gloss black, inspired in part by a character from the computer game, Dota. Nevermore aka Shadow Fiend provided the name to back up the stealthy vibe.

Anything that could be hidden, has been. An aluminium cylinder with machined end caps sits under the seat and masquerades as an oil tank, inside the electrical necessities are stored.

The custom scene in India is gathering some serious pace and with so many skilled craftspeople around expect the floodgates to open. Keep an eye on the Mean Green Customs Facebook page for updates on Aditya’s future builds.

via PIPEBURN