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Feb 12
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World’s Oldest Production Motorcycle Sells For $212,000

By General Posts

This example may be the earliest one still in existence in 2023.
World’s Oldest Production Motorcycle Sells For $212,000 At Auction

by Janaki Jitchotvisut from https://www.rideapart.com

The early days of motorcycling were a wild time. From strapping engines to the frames of unsuspecting bicycles, to steam-powered velocipedes, people were eager to find new and improved ways to get around. New technological frontiers are typically a time of great experimentation, and this era in motorcycling was certainly no different.

In February, 2023, an extremely interesting piece of that early history went up for auction at Bonhams Paris The machine in question is an extremely rare 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller, which bears the reputation of “the first powered two-wheeler to enter series production,” as well as the first vehicle to be called by the name “motorcycle” (or “motorrad,” in German). It ultimately sold for €195,500, or roughly $212,000 Yankee dollars including the premium.

Brothers Heinrich and Wilhelm Hildebrand set to work crafting their first powered two-wheeler designs during the crucial transition between steam-powered and gasoline-powered vehicles. As the story goes, they started with steam, but eventually turned to a two-stroke design in cooperation with two other individuals: Alois Wolfmüller and his mechanic Hans Geisenhof.

Development is often an iterative process, and what the team eventually came up with to make this production vehicle was a water-cooled, four-stroke, parallel twin engine with what must have been a breathtaking displacement at the time: 1,489cc. This reportedly made about 2.5 brake horsepower at 240 RPM, and resulted in a machine that could top out around 30 miles per hour. That might seem terribly slow in 2023, but was likely more impressive in a time when motor vehicles (let alone faster ones) weren’t so commonplace.

If this machine seems like an alien contraption to your modern eyes, that’s because it’s quite different from any motorcycle we know today. Here’s how the Bonhams listing describes some key features of this bike:

“Steam locomotive practice was further recalled by the long connecting rods directly linking the pistons to the rear wheel, which opened and closed the mechanical exhaust valves via pushrods actuated by a cam on the hub. The latter contained an epicyclic reduction gear and there was no crankshaft flywheel, the solid disc rear wheel serving that purpose. Rubber bands assisted the pistons on the return stroke. Fuel was fed from the tank to a surface carburetor and thence via atmospheric inlet valves to the cylinders where it was ignited by platinum hot tube, as developed by Daimler. The box-like rear mudguard acted as a reservoir for the engine’s cooling water, while one of the frame tubes served as the oil tank. The tires, manufactured under license from Dunlop by Veith in Germany, were the first of the pneumatic variety ever fitted to a motorcycle,” it reads.

Also, this bike didn’t have a clutch. Instead, the starting procedure involved pushing it until the engine fired up, then jumping into the saddle and riding it wherever you needed to go. (Perhaps it wasn’t only the world’s first production motorcycle, but also the world’s first production exercise bike?)

The design for this bike was patented in 1894, and the machines were produced both in Munich, by parent company Motofahrrad-Fabrik Hildebrand & Wolfmüller , and also under license in France as La Petrolette. People of the time were reportedly optimistic about the new bikes, but their optimism was soon tinged with regret and demands for their money back due to starting difficulties and unsatisfactory running performance. By 1897, after French licensee Duncan, Superbie et Cie lost a court case with a customer about these issues, both the German and French concerns went bust. It’s unclear how many of these machines were ever made, but it’s believed to be somewhere between 800 and 2,000 in total.

This specific example is believed to be the earliest numbered example still existing today, with frame number 619 and engine number 69. It was last sold in 1990, and documentation that accompanies this sale includes papers from that time, as well as period marque literature (mostly, if not all, in German). The tires and bands have been replaced (and one of the bands needs replacing yet again), but this bike is otherwise in mostly untouched condition—which makes it even more remarkable, given the fact that it’s almost 130 years old.

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Jun 06
Love0

Used Volkswagens and Autonomous Cars

By General Posts

Auction Market Growth

This is for those committed to keep driving alive

Never Stop Driving ! Two things are on my mind: A recent sale of a used Volkswagen and a podcast in which Elon Musk said Tesla cars will have Level IV autonomous capability in 2023. I think the two are related. Let me explain.

While I would not mind an autonomous pilot myself from time to time, I am first and foremost a driver. The one thing I’ve had in common at all my gigs is that I have no off-hours from cars. I spend nearly every waking minute either working on cars; driving cars, whether around town or, my favorite, long road trips; racing; or passing on my enthusiasm.

Your humble narrator fathoms deep in the car thing.

–by Larry Webster from Hagerty.com

Read this Editorial Article on Bikernet.com by Clicking Here.

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May 09
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Indian Motorcycle from 1903 sold for $143K

By General Posts

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

It’s been a hell of a ride for those taking part last weekend in the massive motorcycle auction in Las Vegas. The top highest-selling two-wheelers, for instance, were responsible for getting close to two million dollars combined, in a bidding frenzy that seemed to have had no limit.

Out of this select team of ten motorcycles, eight of them were Harley-Davidsons, including the champion when it comes to money earned, the $297,000 Strap Tank. The other two were a Vincent Black Shadow from 1953 (sold for $165,000), and this here 1903 Indian that went for $143,000.

For all intents and purposes, the Indian is the oldest in this select lot. What’s more important is that for the first 62 years of its life, from 1903 to 1965, it was owned by the same guy, a California motorcycle racer by the name Gus Cheleini.

Looking probably just as good as it did 118 years ago when it was made, the motorcycle comes in a dark shade of blue and it is equipped with a tiny 13ci engine and an atmospheric valve that is still working, hinting according to auction house Mecum, which handled the sale of the two-wheeler, that the bike could be “started and ridden.”

Part of a select and limited number of bikes made under the Indian name that year, it still wears the first name of the company, Hendee Manufacturing, and features the large gas tank on the rear fender that earned it and its breed the nickname Camelback.

Since the death of its first owner, the Indian changed hands a few more times, and was featured in The Classic MotorCycle in 1988, but mostly spent its time out of sight. It’s unclear what the future holds for it, as we are not told who purchased it, but chances are we’ll get to see it again at a similar auction in the not-so-distant future.

Apr 16
Love0

CAC Racer Is the Bike Harley-Davidson Didn’t Want, But Joe Petrali Built Anyway

By General Posts

by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com

It sold earlier this year for $181,500 during the Mecum motorcycle auction in Las Vegas. It managed to do so thanks to the fact that it is one of only 12 such motorcycles known to have been made and, more importantly, it was built in person by the legendary Joe Petrali.

We’re talking about a 1934 Harley-Davidson CAC, a motorcycle designed specially not to race on the makeshift cinder tracks of that era, but on actual, purpose made speedways. And its arrival was made possible by the resilience of Class A racing champion Joe Petrali.

The Italian-American agreed to race for Harley for the first time in 1925, after proving his worth on bikes made by the competition. He quickly managed to do the same for the new employer by winning two national titles the following year riding H-D machines, just as the company decided to end its involvement in racing.

Harley returned to the starting grid in 1931, and quickly re-signed Petrali, only this time the man had bigger plans than ever before. Eyeing an entry in speedway racing, he needed a dedicated machine for the task, and tried to sell his idea to Harley-Davidson.

Word is the time’s higher-ups apparently weren’t impressed, and were reluctant to back the idea, so Petrali convinced several engineers to help him build the motorcycle over the weekends over at Harley. That bike is the CAC, a motorcycle powered by a 500cc engine with a single cylinder and no transmission and clutch.

The official story goes that there were a total of 20 CAC bikes built, and an additional 5 spare engines, but that number is likely lower than that, at about 12. One of them is this one here, which sold earlier this year in pretty much the same condition as it was back in the day.

More precisely, that means the bike has no modern replacement parts fitted on it, and it is not legal for someone to ride it on any public road. For collectors though, or for those planning to make an extra buck by reselling it at a later date, is a must have.

Mar 20
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3 Surprising Items Harley-Davidson Sold That You Didn’t Know About

By General Posts

by Elena Gorgan from https://www.autoevolution.com

Harley-Davidson may arguably not be the best or most affordable motorcycle maker in the world, but it is a strong contender for the title of most recognizable brand out there. Throughout its 117-year history, it is not without hit and misses, though.

Today, Harley sells a wide array of bike-related merchandise, from clothes and footwear, to accessories and other assorted riding gear. It also puts its name on other, perhaps more surprising stuff, like home decorations, holiday décor, garden gnomes (biker style!), and the usual range of cups, mugs and drinkware.

This is nothing compared to some efforts the company has made in the past to become more relatable, more popular and to effectively shake off that bad biker boy image and / or association with Hells Angels criminal activity. Here are three of the most surprising and strangest items Harley sold under the Harley-Davidson name, of which you may or may not have known about.

You think of Harleys and you immediately see a leather-clad biker. Whether that biker is male or female isn’t even of relevance, because he or she will be wearing black leather from head to toe, perhaps with studs, fringes or the occasional chain.

Yes, this is an over-generalization of the image of the Harley rider, but it’s meant to serve a point. The last thing on your mind when you think of a Harley biker is the image of a man in a suit with a necktie.

Back in the ‘90s, HD was struggling, both financially and image-wise. In an appeal to expand its reach to include new segments of the market, it started selling ties. These sold until the early 2000s and were discontinued following tepid response. You can still find them on eBay, though: they sell for anything between $10 for a used one and $40 for a 2-pack with the original tags still on.

The ties came with comic book-inspired patterns, or variations on the HD logo, or even in patriotic colors with the bald eagle. Some were funny, others quirky, and many just tacky. Only someone with a vivid personality and a strong sense of humor could have pulled them off, even in the funky ‘90s fashion.

Harley-Davidson Beef Jerky

In 2007, Harley-Davidson and ConAgra Foods announced a partnership that would mark the bike maker’s first and only foray into the food market: beef jerky. Starting from the premise that bikers too get hungry and are reluctant to cut their rides short just so they can grab a bite, the Harley-Davidson Beef Jerky came to be.

“Harley riders live for the time they spend on their motorcycles, and beef jerky is a convenient food for the open road,” Tom Parsons, Harley-Davidson acting general manager of General Merchandise at the time, said. “It’s a great way for riders to grab a snack and keep on rolling.”

Selling at $5.99, it came in three flavors (Original, Teriyaki and Pepper) and became so popular that dealers would include it in the purchase of a new bike.

Harley-Davidson Cigarettes

Back in the day, smoking was the “cool” thing to do. Before its health effects were fully revealed and the war against the tobacco industry started, smoking was everywhere, from music and movies, to ads, magazines and, perhaps more importantly, a fixture to the image of the Harley biker.

So, at the start of the ‘80s, Harley-Davidson decided to sell Harley cigarettes, as part of a limited-time partnership with Lorillard Tobacco Company. The decision was perhaps prompted by a 1985 Lorillard study that showed that, while people had a positive image of the Harley bike, they had a negative one of the Hells Angels members who rode it.

The goal was, as with the other two items on this short list, to broaden the Harley appeal, present a softer and more relatable image, and capitalize on the existing Harley image. The cigarettes were a hit among the bikers, but it’s not known if they helped Harley reach that stated goal.

In the early 1990s, Harley and Lorillard had a major falling out, which saw both companies sue and countersue each other. By then, the image of the good Harley biker was on the rise, so the maker wanted to distance itself from the tobacco war that had started. In court documents unsealed years later, it was revealed that its biggest concern was that cigarette ads would appeal to minors, and it would get dragged into tobacco litigation.

Lorillard was granted the right to sell the cigarettes until 2001, but in 1998, decided to rebrand them as Maverick. The Harley-Davidson Cigarette officially died then. Empty packs are still sold as collectibles online, if you’re the nostalgic type.

In addition to these three items, Harley also sold lampshades, beer, table sets and novelty phones – shaped like Hogs, of course.

Jan 13
Love0

Ford Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in ‘Bullitt’ sells for $3.4 million

By General Posts

This was the highest price a Ford Mustang ever fetched in any auction.

The 1968 Ford Mustang GT that Steve McQueen drove in the classic car chase from the movie “Bullitt, one of the most famed cars from American cinema, sold for $3.4 million (£2.60 million) at auction in Florida on Friday, Mecum Auctions said.

It was the highest price ever paid for a Ford Mustang at auction, according to David Morton, marketing manager for the auction house in Kissimmee, near Orlando. The buyer has not been publicly identified.

“The hammer dropped at $3.4 million, but with buyers’ fees, the total cost is $3.74 million,” he said, adding it shattered the auction house’s previous record set last year of $2.2 million.

The unrestored muscle car, its “highland green” paint looking rusty and black upholstery splitting apart, starred in a 10-minute sequence in the 1968 film, getting airborne a few times as it sped through the hilly streets of San Francisco.

The car was auctioned without a reserve, or minimum sale price, a risky decision that could have forced the owners to sell low.

McQueen filmed with the window down so viewers could see he was behind the wheel. Although credited as the driver, McQueen actually shared the wheel with Hollywood stunt driver Bud Ekins, according to the movie database IMDB.

Many movie buffs view the chase as ground-breaking for its duration and white-knuckle drama. The sequence forgoes a score in favour of roaring engines and screeching tires. McQueen, playing the no-nonsense police Lieutenant Frank Bullitt, was chasing bad guys who drove a black 1968 Dodge Charger.

After filming, the Mustang was sold to a Warner Brothers employee, and later to a New Jersey police detective. He in turn sold it for $6,000 in 1974 to Robert Kiernan of Madison, New Jersey, who held onto the car until he died in 2014.

Kiernan rejected multiple offers for the car, including one from McQueen himself, according to the New York Times. He left it to his son, Sean.

“I would like to appeal to you to get back my ’68 Mustang,” McQueen wrote to Kiernan in 1977, according to the Times. “I would like very much to keep it in the family, in its original condition as it was used in the film, rather than have it restored; which is simply personal with me.”

McQueen died in 1980 at age 50. Robert Kiernan never responded to McQueen’s letter, which Sean Kiernan still has, the Times said.

Sean Kiernan told Mecum in a promotional video that his mother drove the car until the clutch failed in 1980. It went nearly 40 years without being driven until recently, with 65,000 miles on the odometer, Kiernan said.

Oct 27
Love0

World’s costliest parking space sold for almost $ 1mn

By General Posts

At 134.5 square feet, the cost of the parking space breaks down to $7,209 ($56,505 HK) per square foot, which is three times the median price of a Hong Kong house.

HONG KONG: At the 73-story Hong Kong skyscraper “Center”, a pricey parking space reserved for executives and tenants was recently sold for an eye-popping $969,000 ($7.6 million in HK dollars), the media has reported.

Johnny Cheung Shun-yee, one of the 10 investors in the consortium that paid $5.15 billion last year for “The Center”, told that he had sold the last of his four car parks in the tower to someone who owns an office in the same building because “the buyer now needs a car park lot,” declining to identify the buyer, according to South China Morning Post.

At 134.5 square feet, the cost of the parking space breaks down to $7,209 ($56,505 HK) per square foot, which is three times the median price of a Hong Kong house.

The sale price, in a city where nearly one in five residents lived below the government-defined poverty line in 2017, underscores the wealth gap that has pushed Hong Kong into the worst political crisis in decades, the SCMP report added.

Mar 15
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Harley-Davidson looks to consolidate position in big bike segment in India

By General Posts

One of the India Showrooms of Harley-Davidson

Last year, Harley-Davidson had reported sale of over 3,000 units in the country.

New Delhi: American cult bike manufacturer Harley-Davidson Thursday said it aims to further consolidate its position in the over 1,600-cc segment in India, which it currently dominates with over 90 per cent market share.

Economic Times Article: https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/two-wheelers/motorcycles/harley-looks-to-consolidate-position-in-big-bike-segment-in-india/68414005

The company launched its 1200-cc model Forty-Eight Special in India priced at Rs 10.98 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) here. It currently has four models in its big bike (over 1,600-cc) portfolio in the country.

“We definitely will be consolidating in the big bike segment,” Harley-Davidson India Managing Director Sajeev Rajasekharan told .

Sales in the 1,600-cc plus bike segment in India currently stands at over 600 units annually.

Rajasekharan said last few years have witnessed consistent growth in terms of big bikes; and the company has been able to maintain its leadership position.

“We expect the market to grow from this year as the trends have been positive. More models are there and road infrastructure has been improving. There is more awareness and all these factors will trigger further growth in the market,” he added.

Last year, Harley-Davidson had reported sale of over 3,000 units in the country. The company’s bikes are priced between Rs 5.33 lakh (Street 750) and Rs 50.53 lakh (CVO Limited).

When asked about the time-frame for introducing small capacity bikes in India, Rajasekharan said there is “not much to share on that”.

Last year, Harley-Davidson had announced plans to develop a 200-500 cc motorcycle through a strategic alliance in Asia which will be used to primarily fuel its growth in India.

On introducing its Livewire electric bike, he said, “We would launch it in the US and Europe; and when infrastructure is ready, Harley would look at spreading out to other markets as well.”

He said that there is a lot of emphasis on electric mobility in India and the company is very happy with the positive changes that are happening to get the environment more conducive for launch of such vehicles.

The company on Thursday also introduced an updated version of its touring bike Street Glide Special priced at Rs 30.53 lakh .

Commenting on this new edition, Rajasekharan said the bike now comes with an upgraded 1,868-cc engine and other accessories.

The model is one of the three touring models that Harley-Davidson sells in country right now. Other two have already been updated and launched.

Commenting on company completing ten years in India, Rajasekharan said this “is just the beginning as we remain the cruiser of choice for many riders. With the all-new Forty-Eight Special, the company takes its motorcycle line up in the country to 17 models”.

Over the past ten years one of every two big bikes sold in the country has been a Harley, he added.

Elaborating on company’s plans for the current year, Rajasekharan said Harley would add two more dealerships during the course of the year taking the total count to 33 from current 31 outlets.

“We also plan to add three lifestyle stores taking the count to 10. In the tenth year of operations in India we will have 43 touch points in all,” he added.