Vintage motorbike priced at £280k to go under hammer

Vintage motorbikes are to go under the hammer at an auction in Stafford – including one of the fastest models of the 1920s.

Auction house Bonhams will return to the International Motorcycle Show held at the County Showground, in Stafford, on October 16, following a successful event at the venue a few months ago.

The earlier auction held at the venue by Bonhams raised more than £2 million and experts are hoping to repeat the success.

And bosses say the star of this auction will be a 1929 Brough Superior SS100, called the Moby Dick, which was among the fastest motorcycles manufactured in the 1920s.

Experts today said interest in the machine was expected to be high and the bike had attracted a pre-sale estimate of between £240,000 and £280,000.

The speed of the vehicle was first tested in 1931 when it achieved a top speed of 106mph.This was at a time when very few road vehicles of any kind were capable of reaching three-figure speeds.

Further tuning to the engine later increased the speed to 115mph in top gear and 109mph in second. The bike was originally sold but later repurchased by the vendor's family.

It was restored in 1998 and has continued to delight enthusiasts at events where vintage vehicles are displayed.

Other bikes being sold at the event include a 1924 Brough Superior 980cc SS80, which is one of the earliest surviving models of its kind. It has been given an estimated selling price of between £75,000 and £95,000.

Head of motorcycles at Bonhams Ben Walker said: "There is everything, from one of the earliest Brough Superior models to a Kawasaki Z1."