World’s First bike sells for £86,000
Added on Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
World’s First bike sells for £86,000
The world’s first ever production motorcycle fetched more than £80,000 after being auctioned at the Carole Nash International Classic Bike Show at the Weekend.
The 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller was auctioned off by Bonhams for a staggering £86,200 during the show at the Stafford County Showground, smashing the £40,000 - £60,000 estimate.
The Hildebrand and Wolfmüller, the first motorcycle in the world to be mass-produced, was made by the Hildebrand brothers, Henry and Wilhelm, who developed the motorcycle in partnership with Alois Wolfmüller and his mechanic, Hans Geisenhof, in the late 1800’s.
Their design was powered by a twin-cylinder, water-cooled, four-stroke engine displacing 1,488cc, which until relatively recent times was the largest power unit ever fitted to a motorcycle. It did however only produce just 2.5bhp at 240rpm but was capable of speeds approaching 30mph.
The bike was one of a number of high profile lots in the auction which raised a total of £1,618,342, with the biggest earner of the weekend being a Brough Superior, of the type ridden by Laurence of Arabia, which sold for a total of £157,700 against a guide price of for between £110,000 and £130,000.
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