Moto blog

Behind the “Bathing Suit” Picture

Few motorcycle photographs are as iconic as that of the famous Bonneville “Bathing Suit Picture.” While you have undoubtedly seen this image before, you may not know the story behind it. The scantily clad and debatably crazy rider was a man by the name of Roland “Rollie” Free. The bike, often thought by many to be a Vincent Black Shadow, was in fact a Black Lightning – the fastest Vincent ever to see production.

Brough Superior Fetches $427k At Bonhams Auction

The ex-George Brough, Brough Superior SS100, which was projected to sell in the neighborhood of $235k – $300k, actually brought in nearly half a million dollars Sunday. Registered in 1939, the motorcycle was campaigned by George Brough himself in the London-Edinburgh Trial that same year.The grand final tally for the Bonhams Stafford Sale of Pioneer, Vintage, and Collectors’ Motorcycles & Memorabilia totaled $3,419,981. “We are delighted with the results achieved for this long and well-established sale.

Classic Japanese Bikes Highlight Bonhams’ Next Auction

Bonhams’ annual fall auction, the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show, at Stafford County Showground is scheduled for October 20, 2013. Included in the auction is the above pictured 1974 Kawasaki H1-RW 500cc triple. Expected to sell for approximately $96,000 to $112,000, the Japanese works Grand Prix racer is one of only two machines built by the factory for the French Kawasaki importer SIDEMM for use in the 500cc World Championship. The bikes were ridden during the 1974 season by the French endurance racing specialist Christian Léon and French-Canadian Formula 750 star Yvon Duhamel.