Legendary bike under the hammer
Added on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Legendary bike under the hammer
The motorcycle that took the legendary Helmut Fath to the Sidecar World Championship in 1968 and Horst Owesle to the same title in 1971 is expected to fetch as much as £80,000 when it goes under the hammer at the 17th Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show, Stafford on 16-17 September.
The URS motorcycle and sidecar will be sold by Bonhams at the show after being offered from an important UK private collection, together with the 500cc URS-engined Seeley prototype that John Blanchard rode to 4th place in the 1967 Ulster Grand Prix and which was raced later in 750cc form by Tony Jefferies.
World Champion in 1960 riding a privately entered BMW, Helmut Fath spent the next few years out of racing following a serious injury. When his attempts to return to racing were knocked back by the German manufacturer, he set about building his own four-cylinder ‘URS’ racing engine, which took its name from the village of Ursenbach in Germany where the project was conceived.
The URS was plagued by teething troubles in its first two seasons but delivered Fath his sweet revenge in 1968, when he and passenger Wolfgang Kalauch beat BMW-mounted Johann Attenberger to take the World Championship. In 1969 another serious injury enforced Fath’s retirement from the sport but the URS was not done yet. Horst Owesle took over the drive and after a promising debut season which saw him finish 7th in the 1970 World Championship, he and passenger Peter Rutterford secured the URS’s second World title the following year.
Also offered from the same collection is the actual 1977 MV Agusta 832cc Monza superbike that was tested by ‘The Motor Cycle’ magazine at 147mph, making it the fastest production machine in the world at that time, with an estimate £30,000 - 35,000.
The Sammy Miller Museum in New Milton, Hampshire has put forward three of its machines: a 1933 AJS 496cc Model 34 (est £10,000 - 12,000), a 1934 Matchless 596cc Silver Hawk V-Four (est £30,000 - 35,000) and a 1922 Velocette 220cc EL3 Lady’s Model (est £3,500 - 4,500). The AJS and Matchless have been totally restored by the Museum’s own workshops to their customary impeccable standard, while the Velocette is presented in original and unrestored condition.
Vincents are always in demand and this sale provides plentiful opportunities for devotees of the Stevenage marque to expand their collections, there being no fewer than eight already consigned. Six are offered by the same private collector: a 1954 Black Shadow Series C (£40,000 - 50,000), c.1948 Rapide Series B (£17,000 - 20,000), 1949 Rapide Series C (£17,000 - 20,000), 1955 Rapide Series D (£18,000 - 22,000), 1969 Egli-Comet (£8,000 - 12,000) and 1951 Comet Series C (£8,000 - 10,000).
No sale at The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show would be complete without a selection of collectible Japanese motorcycles and Bonhams has some real rarities on offer this year. Consigned from the same private collection, these include a 1960 Lilac 300cc Lancer £3,800 - 4,200, 1959 Yamaguchi 49cc AP10 Autopet (£2,800 - 3,000), 1971 Bridgestone 350cc GTO (£4,000 - 4,500), 1966 Marusho 499cc Magnum (£3,500 - 4,500), 1956 Yamaha 125cc YA2 (£2,500 - 3,000) and 1959 Yamaha 125cc YA3 (£2,500 - 3,000). A 1919 Royal Ruby 269cc (£4,000 - 5,000) and 1953 Jonghi 250cc (£2,500 - 3,000), believed to be the only example in the UK, are offered by the same vendor.
Other noteworthy machines include a restored 1929 Brough Superior OHV 680 (£65,000 - 75,000); a one-owner 1967 Velocette Venom Thruxton (£15,000 - 18,000); and an ex-Robert Dunlop 1988 Honda RS125 (£8,000 - 12,000).
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