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