Bonhams' Banbury "Record" Sale

Bonhams fielded 102 bikes (out of 115 biking lots) at the 2014 Banbury Summer Sale of which just 8 failed to find buyers. The top seller was the above 1955 998cc Vincent Black Prince project (Lot 55) which has been off the road for 47 years following a failed attempt at restoration. The price? £91,100. That's a huge amount of money for an otherwise unremarkable box of Vincent large lumps, especially when it's not complete or correct (the front fairing, we hear, is a DMD Streamliner).

In fact, Bonhams tells us it's a world record for a Black Prince, adding that it sold for almost four times its estimate. Beyond that, the firm's Summer Sale turned over a whopping £2.4 million, which, they say, is roughly double last year's turnover.

Another Vincent project is the above Lot 56, this being a circa 1952 Vincent Rapide (from the same vendor as the Black Prince, and minus the documents), sold "as seen" for £21,875.

Bonhams is no doubt delighted with the result which, yet again, consolidates the firm's position as the auction house that gets the bikes sold. However, it has to be said that many of the estimates were depressed, and many of the bikes failed to reach their low water marks.

Moreover, even a casual glance through the results suggests that classic bike sales are continuing to fall, not necessarily by huge increments, but still enough to take the fun and profit out of many sales.

Meanwhile, the above 1966 650cc unit Bonneville (Lot 97A) sold for £5,175, which sounds like a cracking bargain until you factor in the fact that it's fitted with a 6T Thunderbird frame, a later (1968-1970) TLS front brake, and indicators. The bike has apparently been on display in a restaurant and requires recommissioning. Nevertheless, as a rider's bike, from this distance it looks pretty good.

Other notable/interesting lots include the following:

▲ This 1953 998cc "four pipe" Ariel Square Four Mk 2, sold for £6,325. Note that the engine, apparently, dates from 1955. Lot 35.

▲ Bonhams estimated just £1500 - £1800 for this circa 1955 BSA Road Rocket, Lot 31 (fitted with a Super Rocket engine). Too cheap by far, and the sale price didn't break the bank. It sold for £3,680. It's not original, but it sits well and is a good start for a new project. We'd simply ride it as is.

▲ No documents, and requiring re-commissioning, this circa 1960 650cc BSA A10 Golden Flash (Lot 32) fetched £2,875. A fair price, and definitely entry-level for a complete example.

▲ This 1951 Vincent 998cc Black Shadow "project" sold for £54,050. It was stored in 1970 and left for 40 years. Do owners who leave 'em this long deserve to own any motorcycle let alone a Vincent? Makes you wonder.

— Del Monte