A 49cc pocket bike once owned and used by music legend John Lennon is to be auctioned at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham in March, with experts expecting the hammer to fall at over £30,000.

The Beatles icon’s Honda Z50A is an early example of the enduring monkey bike and was used by Lennon to get around his large Surrey estate, Tittenhurst Park, when he lived there from 1969 to 1971, when he emigrated to New York. The bike, which is road registered and carries the number plate XUC91H, bought by its current owner, John Harington, for £250 from Farnborough dealership Motor Cycle City. Initially unaware of the bike’s previous owner, yachtsman Harington regularly used the bike to get around ports before seeing pictures of Lennon riding the bike.

The current owner researched the history of the bike had the authenticity of the Z50 confirmed in 2011. For the past six years the red and white mini bike has been regularly seen on the classic bike scene, with The Times reporting that Harington had turned down an over of £90,000 for his bike.

The bike will now go under the hammer at H&H Classics’ auction at the National Motorcycle Museum, with a cautious estimate of over £30,000. “Naturally we are thrilled to be entrusted with the marketing and sale of this bike, given its extraordinary provenance,” added Mark Bryan Motorcycle Principal for H&H Classics Motorcycle Department.