2014 Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction BMW & Vincent
The Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction Jan. 9, 2014, at Bally’s Hotel & Casino will feature two very special racing motorcycles from what is perhaps the most impressive collection of motorcycles offered at auction in years.
First is the ex-1973 Daytona 200 1972 Butler & Smith BMW F750 – one of only two such factory-supplied, purpose-built machines modified by tuner Udo Geitl of Butler & Smith, the BMW importers for America.
The surprisingly fast and powerful R75/5s Geitl uprated for Team Butler & Smith stunned the world and were to help forever change the image of BMW in America from that of a stuffy tourer to a sporting machine, as these were the precursors to the history-making Butler & Smith BMW R90S – also prepped by Geitl – that Reg Pridmore would soon ride to victory and clinch the first-ever Superbike championship title.
This particular F750 was an official entrant in the 1973 Daytona 200 with BMW rider Kurt Leibmann alongside its twin ridden by Reg Pridmore, and is the focus of a feature article written by renowned motorcycle journalist Alan Cathcart and his test ride on this rare, beautiful beast at the Barber Motorsports Park in October 2013.
Next is the 1950 Isle of Man Clubman TT-winning 1947 Vincent HRD Series B Rapide ridden to victory by Alex Phillip and subsequently owned by larger-than-life British war hero “Mad Jack” Churchill. Soon after the Isle of Man win, the Rapide was uprated to full Black Lightning specifications and performed, in the words of Phillip, “like a rocketship” before being sold to the daring and eccentric Lt. Colonel Churchill of WWII commando fame.
Nick Smith (Head of Motorcycles for Bonhams Motoring Department) says: “We are very pleased to be to have been selected to represent these historic motorcycles at auction.
“Both machines are quite significant for different reasons and both represent the ultimate in motorcycling: racing at its highest level.”
These historically significant motorcycles will join the Silverman Museum Racing Collection of Ducatis and the Pierce Family Museum Collection of Harley-Davidsons – along with many other diverse and important motorcycles – on January 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
To order a catalog and register to bid, in person or remotely, please visit bonhams.com/vegas.
