unrestored

by Mike Hanlon from https://newatlas.com An extraordinary 109-year-old motorcycle that looks new but has never been restored, has sold at auction for US$225,500, setting a new world record price for a Pierce Arrow Four-cylinder motorcycle. The new record once more shows a marked trend towards complete authenticity by the motorcycle collector market, with unrestored motorcycles now fetching higher prices than bikes returned to showroom condition. The Pierce was America’s first four-cylinder motorcycle, built to unfeasibly high standards that ultimately made it too expensive and led to its demise. Less than 500 were built between 1909 and 1914, they rarely reach auction and when they do, they invariably command high prices. Recent Pierce Fours to sell at auction have fetched $99,000, $104,500, $115,500, $161,000 (the same bike also sold for $137,000 and $143,354) and the record for the model until a few days ago was $192,500, paid for a 1913 model that had been restored to Concours standards over 40 years and had spent most of its life in the world-renowned MC Collection of Sweden. This latest Pierce to reach auction has a remarkable level of originality and authenticity that is almost without peer – the paint still shines like it is near new, but it is the original 109-year-old paint, testimony to the extreme quality of the Pierce marque, also known for producing some of America’s finest pioneer automobiles. This price further confirms the trend in motorcycle collector circles towards exceptionally original motorcycles. In recent years the highest prices fetched at auction have tended to be unrestored, totally original motorcycles with their original paint. Some perfect examples of this include: The most valuable Crocker The most valuable Crocker ever to sell at auction: an unrestored, totally-original 1935 61ci (1000cc) Crocker V-twin. The most valuable vintage Harley-Davidson The most valuable vintage […]