English motorcycle dealer Reg Dearden commissioned Vincent to build him this one-off supercharged Vincent Black Lightning in 1950 to break the world speed record. The bike never made a single run.

The supercharged ex-Reg Dearden Vincent Black Lightning sold for $383,400 at Bonham’s Stafford, England, auction Oct. 19. Some serious coin, to be sure, but well short of pre-sale estimates that predicted the bike selling at closer to $500,000. But even if it didn’t hit estimates, the final price still ranks as an all-time record high for a British bike sold at auction.

So why didn’t it sell for more? Auction watcher Paul d’Orleans thinks it simply comes down to poor marketing by Bonhams. Among issues limiting the final price, he notes a poorly prepared sales catalog that failed to bring out the Vincent’s special nature. Additionally, d’Orleans thinks Bonhams simply failed to appreciate the unique nature of the machine and the challenge of selling it in tough economic times.

Marty Dickerson's "Blue Bike" 

Bonhams held its annual auction at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles Oct. 25, where the headliner was yet another Vincent, Marty Dickerson’s “Blue Bike,” developed and ridden by Dickerson over a 50-year period. Pre-sale estimates suggested a selling price pushing $500,000 (we figured it might go for around $250,000), but the bike failed to sell at all, as did a number of other high-profile bikes including a 1974 Ducati 750SS Imola Replica and a 1952 Vincent Rapide. Like the Stafford auction, we have to wonder if the current economic conditions are causing buyers at the high end to be a bit more circumspect in their purchases.

Steve and Neile McQueen's Chinese visas from 1975 sold for $9,000

Then again, economic woes didn’t stop somebody from shelling out $9,000 (!) for Steve McQueen’s 1975 passport and Chinese visa or $2,500 for a letter from President Lyndon Johnson to McQueen. Interest in anything McQueen has been on the up tick, but the prices paid for pieces of McQueen memorabilia were pretty amazing, including $1,020 for a birthday card and note written by McQueen. Go figure.  – Richard Backus

 
Dale Keesecker won Best of Show for his 1971 Egli-Vincent at the Motorcycle Classics East Meets West Bike Show at the 2008 Barber Vintage Festival

Vincent collector Dale Keesecker’s 1971 Egli-Vincent won top honors at the Motorcycle Classics East Meets West Classic Bike Show, Saturday, Oct. 18 at the 4^th Annual Barber Vintage Festival. A long-time Vincent fan, Keesecker has over the past few years focused on Vincent specials like the Swiss Egli and Australian Terry Prince specials.

Although a driving rain on Friday threatened to put a real damper on the show, and forced us to cancel our Barber to 29 Dreams Charity Ride, Saturday dawned clear and bright, if maybe a little too cold to burn off the rain water liberally coating just about every square inch of manicured grass at the Barber Motorsports Park outside of Birmingham, Ala. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to stop tens of thousands of vintage bike fans from descending on Barber, taking in the incredible collection of vintage bikes housed in the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum while also watching the season ending races in the AHRMA vintage race schedule.

The Aeroshell Aerobatics Team puts on a show at Barber 2008

The Barber folks pulled out the stops – again – for their 4th festival, with a repeat performance from the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team who gave attendees an incredible show of old-school aerobatics in their vintage North American AT-6 “Texan” planes. These guys are nothing short of amazing, flying with incredible precision and skill, buzzing seemingly feet above the start/finish line at the track before pulling up in an impossibly vertical climb and roaring off in perfect formation. Cool stuff, and the sound their engines make is music to the ears. Loud music, but music, none the less.

The swap meet has grown exponentially since the first festival back in 2005, and I heard more than a few attendees suggesting it’s now better than the swap meet at Vintage Motorcycle Days. Smaller, to be sure, but with more good stuff over obvious junk on sale.

Cook Neilson and Phil Schilling check out Deja Blue being readied for its maiden run at the Barber Vintage Festival

The big news of the weekend was the museum’s Friday night fund raising dinner with special guests Cook Neilson and Phil Schilling. Cook and Phil were major figures in the mid- and late-1970s, both as motorsports journalists and as racers. They garnered particular fame for their now legendary Ducati 750SS racer, “Old Blue,” which they campaigned successfully at Daytona in 1977.

Okay, cool enough, but the real fun came when the museum presented Cook with an exact, piece-by-piece replica of Old Blue, aptly named “Deja Blue.” Stunning in every detail, the build was commissioned by the museum and carried out by Ducati expert Rich Lambrechts with help from Motorcycle Classics contributor Christian Clarke, who penned our article on the Motogiro d’Italia in the January/February 2008 issue. Cook was caught completely off guard, which of course was the plan. Museum consultant and restoration manager Brian Slark confessed it was almost impossible to keep the bike build secret, but keep it secret they did, and Cook was predictably stunned when the bike was rolled out and presented to him during Friday's dinner.

As the final build pulled together at literally the last minute, Deja Blue hadn’t been run prior to its unveiling. Rich and crew got the bike running the next day (after sorting out some clutch problems that became apparent as soon as they tried riding the bike), and Cook eventually took it out for a few ceremonial laps on Sunday, the Duc’s high-swept pipes bellowing their sweet sound as he worked his way around the Barber track. Too cool, and what a beautiful bike. Fortunately for the rest of us, Deja Blue will join the permanent collection at the Barber Museum, available for viewing and for Cook to ride whenever he happens to be around.

Cook and Phil check out their favorite mag: Motorcycle Classics, of course!

I caught up with Cook later on and asked him how it felt to be so recognized after dropping off the radar for so long. “You know, when I left the biz in 1979 I was glad to be anonymous again. I didn’t look back. But this is pretty amazing, and it feels good to see all this interest. We were just a couple of guys doing what we do,” Cook said.

Obviously, if you weren’t there you missed one of the biggest classic bike events of 2008. Don’t make the same mistake next year. We’ve been going since the beginning, and we’ll be back next year with a bigger bike show and another run at our Barber to 29 Dreams Charity Ride. – Richard Backus

 
Gary Nixon heads for a win on the Steel Breeze BSA triple at the inaugural Barber Vintage Festival in 2005

Okay, so the economy’s down and pre-election feuding is driving you crazy, but don’t let that stop you from pointing your bike toward Birmingham, Ala., and the 4th Annual Barber Vintage Festival, featuring the 3rd Annual Motorcycle Classics Barber to 29 Dreams Charity Ride and the Motorcycle Classics East Meets West Classic Bike Show.

It’s all coming up October 17-19, 2008, so get your schedule in order now for another spectacular weekend with Motorcycle Classics at the fourth running of Barber’s growing Vintage Festival. In addition to the fun we’ll be having it’s also the season ender for AHRMA vintage motorcycle racing, with classic bikes poring out on the world-class Barber race track vying for top honors for the 2008 season.

The Aeroshell Aerobatic Team will return for 2008, buzzing the Barber grounds while treating attendees to incredible vintage airplane aerobatics, and new this year is Rhett Rotten’s Wall of Death, with Rhett running a variety of vintage bikes on the vertical board track wall.

The museum is also hosting a Friday night fundraiser, Motorcycle by Moonlight Dinner, with former Cycle editor and racer Cook Nielson as the guest of honor. Ducati is sponsoring the evening, with all proceeds from the $100-a-plate affair going to support the museum. Tickets for the dinner include a three-day, weekend pass for the festival.

And of course we’ll be hosting our 3^rd Annual Motorcycle Classics Barber to 29 Dream Charity Ride, leaving the museum at 2pm Friday afternoon and returning around 6pm, following a late lunch/early dinner at 29 Dreams Motorcycle Resort.

Al Porter with his 1962 BSA Gold Star, which took Best of Show at the Motorcycle Classics Bike Show West at the 3rd Annual Bonneville Vintage GP September 6, 2008

Saturday, we’ll hold our second show of the Motorcycle Classics East Meets West Classic Bike Show. We held the first, West, at the Bonneville Vintage GP in September, where Al Porter won top honors for his immaculate 1962 BSA Gold Star. And whomever wins at Barber will see his or her bike matched against Al’s for a final award and a full spread in the pages of Motorcycle Classics magazine. Cool stuff, so don’t miss it! – Richard Backus