Veteran bike group sell for $272K at auction
While much of the pre-sale attention at Shannons’ Spring Timed Online Auction this past November was on late models Ducatis, including a Desmosedici RR, 916 Senna II, MHR Mille and 750 Sport, the stars instead turned out to be a collection of veteran and vintage motorcycles.
From the collection of Victoria’s Warren Hicks, the six bikes, all being offered with no reserve, included machines from England, Germany, Belgium and the USA. The newest was a C1925 unit and the oldest from C1906.
That oldest unit was a Zenith Bi-Car, which has been described as the only surviving example worldwide.
One-off Oddity
The Zenith Bi-Car was an odd machine, even when it was new. Made in England, it first appeared as the ‘Tooley Bi-Car’ in early 1905 (some sources say earlier, others later). Zenith purchased the design and rebranded it that same year.
What defined the Bi-Car against other motorcycle designs of the period was its low-slung frame design, made up of tubes that ran from the rear axle to the front axle, then looped underneath to create a ‘parallel’ frame design. While the upper tubes connected the front and rear hubs, the lower tubes served as mounts for the engine (a 3hp 400cc Fafnir single in this instance), fuel tank, seat and hub-centre steering system. The oddities resulting from this layout included a lack of pedals and engine starting that was done by an automobile-style crank handle.
The configuration wasn’t just odd for odd’s sake: there was some engineering behind the Bi-Car. The two frame sections were separated by springs and hinges to reduce vibration being transferred to the rider, while hub centre steering was – generally – lighter, stronger and more stable than conventional fork front suspension of the period.
The Bi-Car was followed by a three-wheeled ‘Tri-Car,’ available in both passenger and cargo/delivery form, but from 1907, Zenith began producing more conventional motorcycle designs. In the 1920s, Zenith was successful in circuit racing, hill climbs and speed records and while the company was never a major player in the motorcycle market, it would survive bankruptcy and two world wars before finally ceasing production in 1950.
Bi-Car production was brief, with one account suggesting the last examples were built in 1907, making the C1906 example from Hicks’s collection possibly amongst the last built, despite a frame number of “3” suggesting it was one of earliest.
Unseen since 1974, the Bi-Car in the Hicks Collection only resurfaced this year and came to auction in ‘barn find’ condition. Described as a one-off, with near-mythical status in the International motorcycle scene, Shannons had expected the Bi-Car to sell in the $50,000-$70,000 range, but that proved conservative as the bike became the subject of enthusiastic bidding and eventually sold for $100,500 – the top-selling motorcycle at the auction.
FN, KG Cito, Excelsior and more
The next best-seller from the Hicks Collection was a C1910 FN Four Cylinder, also in barn find condition and needing extensive recommissioning work.
This early - and very rare - four cylinder, single-speed, shaft-drive Belgian veteran has a long Australian history, initially in Broken Hill, NSW, and passing through other hands before joining the Hicks Collection in 1970.
Early four-cylinder motorcycles have been strong sellers at auctions recently and this example was no exception, despite its ‘project’ condition. A package of parts, including spare FN engines, was included in the lot that also exceed its estimate to sell for $54,800.
A C1914 Excelsior V-Twin ‘two speed’ from the Hicks Collection represents a marque that’s largely forgotten today, but at one point was America’s third-largest motorcycle manufacturer. Excelsior’s ‘Big X’ models pioneered two-speed transmissions and the 61ci (1000cc) v-twin was the mainstay of production for almost two decades.
While four-cylinder bikes from the related Henderson marque were preferred by US police departments, Excelsior’s v-twins found favour with the US Army during World War I, as they were durable and tended to be faster than the Indians and Harley-Davidson of the same period.
Post-war, Big X production continued until 1924, when the model was replaced with the smaller 45ci (737cc) Super X.
Good examples of the 1910s/20s Big X have sold for around $50,000 in the past, so the $40,700 achieved by the ‘project’ spec unit from the Hicks Collection (which hadn’t run since 1978) was a good result.
Arguably just as rare as the Bi-Car, and just as unknown, was the Cito-KG; a single-cylinder motorcycle from a German marque that started as KG (Krieger-Gnädig) in 1920 and would finish as Allright-KG in 1932. Cito-KG production covered barely two years in between these bookends and the majority of the bikes built in this brief period were 500cc singles with multi-speed gearboxes and shaft drive, like the unit in the Hicks Collection.
Being one of just three examples of a Cito-KG believed to exist today, this very rare German motorcycle sold within estimate for $45,500.
Another rarity was the C1922 Stanger v-twin, which was uncommon when new, as only 20 were made, with the unit from the Hicks Collection being one of only two known survivors.
Made in England and characterised by a compact 538cc two-stroke engine, Stanger production started in 1919, with subsequent improvements including a three-speed transmission, chain-cum-belt drive, Brampton forks and a choice of rigid or sprung frames, but no front brake was a constant.
Unused for more than 40 years, the 1922 Stanger V-Twin from the Hicks Collection sold for $30,900.
Finally, a circa-1925 Diamond ‘Ultra Lightweight’ was the LAMS commuter of its day, from a British company that was in the business of making motorcycles from 1908 to 1933. With a 147cc Villiers single-cylinder engine, the Hicks Collection bike was one of the last of the chain-cum-belt motorcycles this company produced and its entry-level spec was reflected in the omission of a clutch, kickstart and front brake. Complete and restorable, the Diamond fell just short of estimate, selling for $4,200.
Another Success
The motorcycles from the Warren Hicks Collection represented just a fraction of the 175 lots consigned for the Shannons Spring Timed Online Auction. Of the 31 other motorcycles consigned, all bar one sold.
Of the aforementioned Ducatis, the Desmosedici RR sold for $74,500, the 750 Sport sold for $65,500, the 916 Senna II went for $50,500 and the MHR made $37,100.
Total sales from the 11-18 auction reached $6.4 million, with a clearance rate of 95 per cent.
For full results and further details from this auction, go to: shannons.com.au
