Old Bill' Brough Superior auctioned for $452,000

Created when the Brough Superior company was still in its infancy, the 1,000cc sidevalve v-twin 'sS80' was raced by Brough himself on the famous Brooklands track in the UK, where it became the first machine to lap the banked circuit at over 100mph.

Rebuilt soon after with a prototype JAP v-twin (when Brough first dubbed the SS80 'Old Bill' in honour of a WWI cartoon character), the bike was campaigned throughout 1922 and 1923 before Brough converted the bike back to road specification and sold it to pay the company's wages.

In the 1950s, it was purchased by a Brough enthusiast, who with the help of George Brough himself and company Works Manager Ike Webb, restored the SS80 back to its C1923 race specification.

Old Bill remained in private ownership until the early 1990s, when, following the death of the owner at the Isle of Man, it was put on display in the Nottingham Industrial Museum, alongside other examples of the region's engineering and manufacturing history.

On October 23, the motorcycle was auctioned by H&H (UK) at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. Pre-auction speculation suggested that Old Bill may set a new record for a publicly-auctioned motorcycle. On auction day, the Brough reportedly saw enthusiastic floor and phone bidding from three continents, and was on track to exceed the current $550K (approx.) record set in 2008.

The final sale price of _291,200, claimed by H&H as a new record, equates to around AU$453,000 or US$469,600, depending on exchange rates. This exceeds the previous record price paid for a Brough Superior at auction of $286,000 (for a 1929 SS100 in 2010). H&H reported the new owner was located outside the UK, with Old Bill being added to the successful bidder's 'significant collection'.

Depending on how you read exchange rates, the $291K paid for Old Bill makes it the top seller at auction, or runner-up behind the 1915 Cyclone auctioned in the US in 2008, which made US$551K (around $275K).

While overshadowed by Old Bill, there were other Brough Superiors auctioned at H&H's Duxford auction, including a 1928 SS100 and 1937 11/50 which commanded $100,800 and $28,000 respectively. Other strong performers among the motorcycles included a 1915 Harley Davidson F Combination ($33,600), 1977 Harley Davidson XR750 ($17,920) and 1922 Humber 4.5hp ($15,680).

Combined results from the October 23 auction and H&H's earlier Duxford auction of collectable cars and motorcycles exceeded $4 million.