Actor and motorcycle buff Steve McQueen on his 1940 Indian Chief, which sold at Bonham & Butterfield's November 14 "Classic California" auction for a record $99,450.

The ex-Steve McQueen 1940 Indian Chief – pictured on the cover of the book “Steve McQueen: The Last Mile" – set a new world record for the model at Bonham & Butterfield’s “Classic California” auction November 14, selling for $99,450. The latest Bonham’s auction shows once again that when it comes to motorcycles, if Steve McQueen ever owned it, it’s hot.

Following is Bonhams & Butterfields’ report on the auction, which celebrated the eighth year of the “Classic California” auction at the Petersen Automotive Museum:

“A large crowd of collectors and motoring aficionados paid $2,138,736 for automotive collectibles and celebrity-owned vehicles, cars and motorcycles from noted private collections.

“With a headlining ensemble of 28 cars from the Sam Garrett Collection and 33 motorcycles from the Forest “Woody” Shrider Collection – both of which were 100 percent sold – and numerous lots of vehicles and personal memorabilia from screen legend Steve McQueen, the auction consisted of an impressive and diverse line-up of items from the world of motoring. In all, an impressive 76 percent of vehicles, both 2- and 4-wheel, were successfully sold.

“Strong bidding from buyers in the audience and via telephone from around the world resulted in the following highlights:
*The ultra stylish 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham previously owned by crooner
*Frank Sinatra was bought for $122,500.
*Two Rolls-Royces, a 1964 Silver Cloud Drophead Coupe and 1929 Phantom II Dual *Cowl Touring, sold for $172,000 and $111,150, respectively.
*$81,900 was paid for a 1933 Ford Model 40 Deluxe Cabriolet hotrod.
*A 1966 Mercedes-Benz 600 SWB Limousine exceeded all expectations and went for $87,750.
*The 1915 Harley-Davidson 11K Board Track Racer surpassed its estimate selling for $58,500.

“Says Mark Osborne, VP of the Motoring Department at Bonhams & Butterfields, ‘Our annual Classic California sales at the Petersen Museum, which have consistently made world record prices and attracted lots from such celebrities as Steve McQueen, Bruce Willis, Von Dutch, Charles Bronson and Clark Gable, to name a few, continue to hold strong interest and just keep growing from strength to strength. This year, strength in the market was seen for celebrity–related cars and motorcycles from McQueen and Sinatra and the sale drew international interest from Europe, Asia and Canada as well as national attention from the Northeast and Midwest.”

A full list of sales results may be found at bonhams.com/Petersen.

Mark Scott's 1927 Scott Flying Squirrel: Smooth running and very easy to ride, it's hard to believe this 498cc 2-stroke water-cooled twin was built 82 years ago.

Ever wonder what it’s like to ride a truly vintage motorcycle? How about an 82-year-old water-cooled 2-stroke twin? It’s amazing enough to discover anyone even built such a bike back in the 1920s; more amazing is riding one and discovering that except for the expected deficiencies in braking, it’s a remarkably user-friendly machine.

Sometimes life just goes your way – it certainly did for me at the recent Barber Vintage Festival at the famed Barber Motorsports Park outside Birmingham, Ala., last month. While there, I was approached by Motorcycle Classics reader and ardent Scott motorcycle fan Mark Scott. No, I didn’t make that up; his name really is Scott, although he claims that has nothing to do with his affinity for the English 2-strokes.

Mark’s bike, a 1927 Flying Squirrel, is a well-maintained rider, not a polished trailer queen. Showing all the signs of regular use like oil and fuel stains on the cases, and reflecting the general aura of a daily rider, Mark’s Scott is a beauty. And he let me ride it. In the rain. Now there’s a dedicated – and trusting – owner.

Firing up the Scott is a pretty basic affair, and familiar to anyone used to “tickling” their carbs – essentially flooding the carb to give a rich shot of fuel on start up. After tickling the carb and flicking on the ignition, Mark swung out the kick-start lever (founder Alfred Scott introduced the first kick start to the motorcycling world in 1910), gave it one dedicated kick, and the Scott roared to life, popping and belching oil-rich exhaust through its single fishtail muffler, as the video below shows.

With the Scott running, I climbed on and Mark gave me a 10-second tutorial on riding the Scott. Hand controls are familiar to any rider, with the clutch on the left and front brake on the right. Shifting is a bit different, as the Scott uses a hand shift mounted on the right side of the tank to select one of three forward gears. The clutch has a light pull, and the tranny shifts easily into first. Torque isn’t exactly the engine’s forte, so it takes a little revving on the 498cc twin and a little slip of the clutch to pull away smoothly, but there’s not a hint of drama as the engine spools up and the bike pulls away cleanly.

The engine is remarkable for its smoothness, belying its age, and getting the revs up a bit once on the move cleans out the Scott’s throat, and it pulls strongly. In fact, once moving it’s almost hard to believe you’re riding a machine that was built two years before the start of the Great Depression. That is, until you go to stop, at which point you’re reminded that, well, this bike was built two years before the Great Depression!

There’s not much compression braking from the engine to help slow things down, but then again I doubt I ever got over 30mph on the Scott, so the lack of real pull-down from the brakes didn’t cause much concern, and I never had any trouble getting them to bite enough for my purposes.

Mark’s currently waiting for delivery of a “built” Scott engine from Roger Moss in England, the guru of Scott engines – I hope I get to ride it once that’s been installed, assuming, of course, Mark gets the brakes up to snuff! Special thanks to Mark Scott for the thrill of a lifetime! – Richard Backus 

 
Look for the new 961 Commando SE at the Long Beach International Motorcycle Show, Dec. 4-6, 2009.

Norton Motorcycles in England, which has relaunched the Norton brand with the new 961 Commando SE, is bringing three new Norton Commandos to display at the International Motorcycle Show in Long, Beach, Calif., Dec. 4-6, 2009, and Motorcycle Classics will be there with them, welcoming the return of one of the most storied names in motorcycling!

Ian Kerr reported on the new venture in our September/October 2009 issue, and since then Norton, under the direction and ownership of British entrepreneur Stuart Garner, has been busy putting bikes together. The first bikes started rolling off the production line October 29, and activity at the new Norton facility in Donnington Park, northeast of Birmingham in central England, is picking up.

Garner initially promised 200 bikes for 2010, but with the U.K. allocation of 150 bikes already sold out Garner is now planning on building 500 of the first series Nortons. Fifty of the first 200 machines are earmarked for the U.S. market, and South Bay Norton in Lomita, Calif., has been appointed Norton’s exclusive dealer/distributor in the U.S. South Bay is owned and operated by Matt Capri, who also runs South Bay Triumph and is well known as the founder of BMW Luftmeister, a BMW accessory company. Capri has a long history in racing, working closely with BMW in the mid-1970s when the Superbike series was launched (BMW won the first-ever Superbike race with an R90S in 1976) and regularly running his own specials at the drag strips and Salt Flats. Capri currently holds a land speed record for a 162.472mph two-way average at Bonneville on a prototype turbo-charged 2005 Triumph Bonneville.

Capri tells us Norton plans on shipping three machines for the Long Beach show – a black SE, a red SE and a yellow SE with a bikini fairing – all first-production SEs with carbon fiber wheels and adjustable suspension. Only 50 SEs (for "Special Edition") will come stateside; subsequent 961 Commandos will have spoke wheels and non-adjustable suspension.

Norton Motorcycles owner Stuart Garner with the Commando 961 SE.

Motorcycle Classics will be there alongside South Bay Norton, helping celebrate the reintroduction of the famous Norton brand to the U.S. with a special display of first-generation Norton Commandos. We’re working up a great booth and display, and can’t wait to see the new Nortons in the flesh. This will be the only venue for this season’s International Motorcycle Shows where you’ll be able to see the new Norton Commandos, so get yourself to Long Beach Dec. 4-6, 2009, and join us in celebrating the return of Norton to the U.S.! – Richard Backus

If you’ve been lucky enough to be exposed to classic motorcycles for any length of time, particularly classic European motorcycles, you’ve probably come across some of the books written by Ian Falloon. An internationally recognized authority on motorcycles, Falloon writes for magazines around the world. Although he trained at one time to be a symphony oboist, that career was derailed following a motorcycle accident. Rough for him, but good for the rest of us, who have benefitted greatly over the years from his change in career. 

Thanks to a deserved reputation for thorough research, Falloon’s become one of the most trusted sources for detailed information on marques such as Ducati, Moto Guzzi, Laverda and BMW. He’s written more than 20 books on motorcycles, including restoration guides, catalogs and detailed examinations of specific street and racing bikes.

Falloon’s books are always top shelf, and we think the “Bible” series constitutes some of his best reference work. Covering specific models from Laverda, Ducati, Moto Guzzi and now BMW, Falloon’s latest “Bible” focuses on the /5 air-cooled twins BMW introduced in 1969 and developed until 1996.

Published by Veloce Publishing, and following a successful format laid out from the beginning of the “Bible” series, Boxer Twins starts with a short tour through the history of BMW, touching on major events and changes that influenced the company’s development of the first /5 models.

From there, Falloon works his way up through the air-cooled range, starting with the /5 and ending with the final R80 and R100s of 1996. Along the way, Falloon supplies a detailed, year-by-year synopsis of each model’s development.

Model series (/5, /6, etc…) are broken down into chapters, each chapter concluding with a comprehensive list of frame numbers allied to production dates. Model information, much of it gleaned from factory records, is bolstered with periodic “distinguishing features” sidebars detailing specific model year changes to aid identification. 

Period photos aid identification while sidebars provide detailed information on yearly model changes. Nicely done.

A short history of racing with air-cooled BMWs brings up the back of the book, followed by a series of indices featuring detailed technical information and year-by-year production numbers for each model in the air-cooled range.

Exhaustively researched and featuring hundreds of supporting color and black and white reference photos, Boxer Twins is an absolute must for anyone who owns a post-1969 air-cooled BMW or is simply interested in having the definitive reference for the later air-cooled model range. 160 pages, $53.95.  Order now and get 10% off!!

AVAILABILITY UPDATE: Demand for Ian Falloon's BMW Boxer Twins has already outpaced supply! We've doubled our order from the publisher and will have copies in stock and ready to ship within the next 14 days, so please allow two weeks between ordering and delivery.  Order from Motorcycle Classics by clicking here. -- Richard Backus.

The 2009 Buell 1125CR. Better buy one now, because they won't be making them anymore.

Reeling from even worse than expected third-quarter results showing an 84.1 percent decline in net income over the same period last year, Harley-Davidson has announced it will shut down its Buell division and sell off MV Agusta, the Italian manufacturer H-D bought just last year. A visibly stunned and emotional Eric Buell, founder of the brand that carries his name, has posted a video announcing the planned December closure.

Eric Buell's video, posted this morning on the Buell website, appears below:

Harley-Davidson had the following to say about the planned closure of Buell and sale of MV Agusta:
Details of Buell and MV Agusta Actions
"The Company will discontinue production of Buell motorcycles. Remaining inventories of Buell motorcycles, accessories and apparel, while they last, will continue to be sold through authorized dealerships. Warranty coverage will continue as normal for Buell motorcycles and the Company will provide replacement parts and service through dealerships.

"The decision will result in a reduction over time of about 80 hourly production positions and about 100 salaried positions at Buell. Employment will end for a majority of Buell employees Dec. 18, 2009.

"Harley-Davidson, Inc. expects to incur approximately $125 million in one-time costs related to the discontinuation of the Buell product line. The Company expects to incur approximately $115 million of that amount this year.

"Relative to MV Agusta, the Company will immediately commence efforts to sell the business, which is based in Varese, Italy.

"In the third quarter, Harley-Davidson, Inc. recorded a one-time fixed-asset impairment charge of $14.2 million related to Buell and a goodwill impairment charge of $18.9 million related to MV Agusta."

The finished gauges on the BikeBandit.com/Motorcycle Classics Project Cafe, complete with custom face plates. Pretty cool, eh?

If you’re old Honda has spent any time in the sun, it’s a pretty good bet the speedometer and tachometer face plates are cracked and faded. Thirty-some odd years out in the elements will do that to a bike. The good news is, you can make those face plates look like new – or give them a personalized look – and it’s not as hard as you think.

Here's what we started with. Pretty typical, really, and pretty ugly, really.

As part of our BikeBandit.com/Motorcycle Classics Project Café, the 1973 Honda CB500 Four we’ve slowly transformed from a tired dog, ready for the parts bin or the junk yard, into a gleaming, lovely little café for the street, we decided to freshen up the bike’s clocks. We’d never tried disassembling a set of Honda gauges, so we went into this as cold as the next guy. And while it definitely takes a little time and patience, we discovered it’s a project completely in reach of the average guy.

Unfortunately for us, the telling of this tale got let down by technology, or maybe just bad “best practices,” you decide. I documented the entire process, taking pictures of the speedo and tach from start to finish as we worked through, but an unexpected and pretty devastating system failure in my computer resulted in losing just about every pic I took. A few – the ones you see here –survived, but that’s all. Had I backed everything up to a disc, I’d still have all my pics. There’s the “best practices” element. Fortunately, someone else has already documented the job.

It was, in fact, because of Steve Swan’s excellent step-by-step instructions for disassembling/assembling CB750 gauges on the SOHC Honda CB Motorcycles website that we decided we were up to the task. The process is nicely documented on the SOHC tech pages, and we relied heavily on the SOHC article to get our gauges apart.

As excellent as that article is, there are some differences between the CB750 gauges and those used on our CB500. Thanks to our paucity of pics, it won’t be very instructional to try a comprehensive walk-through – you can get that on the SOHC page. Instead, I’ll point out some of the things we learned that differ from the SOHC article and some of the elements unique to the CB500 gauges. If you’re going to follow along, you might want to print this out so you can refer to it while going through the SOHC article, or put both articles up on different pages in your browser and flip back and forth.

Step One: Removing the crimp band
Once you’ve removed your gauges from the bike, it’s immediately obvious that the biggest challenge in getting to the face plates is splitting the gauge body, which requires removing the crimp band holding the upper and lower parts of the gauge case together. The SOHC article suggests using a utility knife to uncrimp the band, slipping the blade up under the crimp band working from the lower side of the band (gauge face facing you), then using the knife blade like a miniature pry bar. We found it was much easier – and safer – to use a very small screwdriver, gently prying the band up and with a little sideways twist. As the SOHC article shows, once you get the crimp band to start bending back, move in baby steps around the entire circumference of the gauge, slowly prying the band open. We ended up working our way around the gauge about four times, transitioning to a slightly larger screwdriver in the process, lifting the band a little farther with each pass until it opened up enough to slip off the gauge body so we could separate the two halves.

Use a screwdriver to gently pry the crimp band off, twisting up and a little sideways. We started with a small screwdriver and then transitioned to a slightly larger one, once we'd made our first pass around the band.

Here's what the crimp band should look like once it has been completely opened up. It takes a bit of work to get to this point, easily 15 minutes, so be patient.

Step Two: Removing the trip odometer reset knob
To remove the inner speedometer assembly from the gauge case, you first have to remove the trip OD reset knob. Unlike the CB750 speedometer, where the trip reset knob screws off its stem, the trip reset knob on the CB500 is held onto its stem by a very small Phillips head machine screw. In our case it was rusted in place, and wouldn’t screw out. To remove it, we took a small drill bit just slightly smaller than the head of the screw. Drilling carefully and gently, we drilled through the screw head to the body of the screw. The tapered profile of the drill bit lets you remove most of the screw head until the bit hits the screw stem, at which point the head should pop off. The knob then slips off, and we removed the rest of the screw with a small pair of locking pliers. The threads in the shaft were fine, leaving us only to find a small, metric machine screw to hold it together on reassembly.

Step Three: Removing the face plate
The SOHC article doesn’t address removing the face plate (it focuses on repairing a bad gear), so we called up Honda CB750 guru and café fanatic Steve “Carpy” Carpenter at CB750cafe.com for advice. The big issue was how to remove the speedo and tach needles without breaking them. Carpy told us they’re just a press fit on the shaft and come off easily, but who wants to break one once you’re this far along? Essentially, you need to lift the needle straight up and off the shaft, but using what? Carpy uses a pair of pliers, but we discovered the perfect tool; a common dinner fork. Using one of the two screws that hold the face plate on as a fulcrum, we inserted a regular bladed fork under the center of the needle, rested the butt of the fork blade (the part below the fork tines but before the handle) on the head of the screw and then gently pried down on the fork handle. The rocking action provided by the arc of the fork lifted the needle off perfectly! I think I need to patent that one. Once the needle’s off, it’s a simple matter of removing the two Phillips head screws holding the face plate on and that’s it, it’s off.

Step Four: Replacing the face plate
Once the face plate’s off you have a couple of options. The first of course is to replace them straight out with standard faces. Charlie O’Hanlon at Charlie’s Place in San Francisco works with a fellow who does perfect Honda replica faces, which is great to know. Okay, cool enough, but since our bike was/is a non-stock café special, we decided to do something a little different, so we turned to Carpy. Carpy’s been in the Honda café scene about as long as anyone, so we weren’t surprised to discover that he’s created his own custom face plate transfers. Carpy will sell you the transfers straight out, but we opted to send our face plates to him. Using our specs he made up a custom set of transfers, cleaned our old face plates and applied the new faces. We got them back in about a week, and the results speak for themselves. They look fantastic and really help finish off our café theme. Carpy can supply just about any design you can think of, and Carpy also has step-by-step instructions for replacing the face plates on CB750 clocks on his site. The only place we differ with him is on removing the crimp band, which he cuts off – it’s not necessary, and then you have to fit a new band or, as Carpy does, glue the old band back together.

Step Five: Putting the gauges back together
We cleaned our gauges thoroughly inside and out before putting them back together. They’re not hermetically sealed, so you don’t have to be too anal about it. Get them clean, and make sure the rubber seal on the upper half is still in good shape, maybe conditioning it a bit with some WD40 so it will go back in shape. With the gauge in place, place the two halves together, followed by the crimp band. Drop it in place going from the upper half to the lower, with the end you pried open facing the lower halve of the case. You’ll have to gently push it in place. Before going any farther, make sure the case halves are properly oriented to each other so the gauge face will be straight once you mount the speedo or tach back on your bike. Now, take a set of duck-billed pliers and a soft rag. Place the rag between the pliers and the outer face of the ring (the part you didn’t pry up – it has a nice chrome finish on it, and you really don’t want to mar it), and gently squeeze the crimp band down, putting the pressure on the side you opened up and gently rolling the pliers forward to seat the band. Do this slowly and carefully and the band will crimp in place without damaging the exposed side. Just like removing it, we worked our way around the gauge a few times to get it crimped back evenly.

Re-crimping the band takes the same kind of patience as removing it. Work your way around slowly with a pair of duck-billed pliers and a rag protecting the finished edge, gently re-crimping the band while gently rolling the pliers up to help seat the band and lock the two halves of the gauge together.

Here's a close up of our finished speedo. Cool.

Step Six: You’re done!
That’s pretty much it. Bolt those suckers back in the handlebar mounts and you’re in business. You might have noticed that our upper gauge bodies are polished. Near as we can tell, they’re made out of stainless steel. We started sanding off the damaged paint to repaint them, but once we saw how easily they’d shine up, we figured to hell with paint and just polished them up on a polishing wheel. They look great, and it’s loads easier than painting them. If we’ve left anything out, please add to our experience by using the “Comments” feature and fill us in on what you know. – Richard Backus