Got a load of vintage motorcycle parts to sell? The inaugural Road America Motorcycle Classic June 11-13 features a large swap meet along with vintage racing and vintage bikes shows, a perfect opportunity to sell off that horde of vintage bike parts you’ve been collecting.

Spaces are 20’ x 20’ and the cost is only $75 per space. Your $75 gets you the space plus two weekend passes, and you can camp in your space if you choose, making the weekend that much cheaper. Swap items are limited to bikes, bike parts, bike literature and memorabilia, and no food sales are allowed in the swap meet area. There are showers on site, and children under 12 are admitted free. Pretty good deal, really.

Note also that while you’ll be able to ride your motorcycle around the Road America grounds, you must have a license plate on your bike at all times, and no underage riders are allowed to ride.

Reserve your space now by contacting Classic Swap Meets at (440) 591-5099 or via email, info@classicswapmeets.com – Richard Backus 

Circa 1895 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller sold at Bonhams' Stafford auction April 25 for $131,866, almost double pre-sale estimates. 

One of the few surviving Hildebrand & Wolfmüller motorcycles, the world’s first production motorcycle, sold for £86,200 – $131,866 at current exchange – at Bonhams' April 25 auction, held during the annual International Classic Motorcycle Show at Stafford, England. The amount was close to double of most pre-sale estimates, which had the bike’s value pegged at $65,000 to perhaps $100,000.

Manufactured in Germany and built under license in France between 1894 and 1897, the Hildebrand & Wolfmüller is significant as the first powered two-wheeler to enter series production, and is the first such machine to which the name “motorcycle” (motorrad in German) was ever applied. Power was from a 2-cylinder, water-cooled 4-stroke engine displacing 1,488cc and producing 2.5hp at 240rpm. It was, until not too long ago, the largest production motorcycle built.

The “barn find” example that sold, a circa 1895 model, had been in the ownership of the vendor’s family in the USA since at least the early 1930s, which is when it last ran. Presented in original, unrestored condition, the machine returned home, selling to a private collector in Germany.

Other stars of the show included a 1938 Brough Superior SS100, which brought a stunning $241,281, almost $50,000 more than estimated. Restored, it hasn’t been licensed since 1959. A 500cc 1935 AJS Model 10 drew $25,500, double the pre-sale estimate, and a 1982 Suzuki GS1000G with only 1,937 miles on the clock hammered at $4,925, a relative bargain it seems compared with some of the other top money grabbers.

An interesting sale full of fascinating machines drawing top dollar, the Bonhams' Stafford sale shows the market for classic bikes is not only strong, but growing. Go here to view full results from the Bonhams sale. – Richard Backus 

Get ready for a killer classic bike show, a great ride and an incredible weekend of classic motorcycle racing this June 11-13 as we host the inaugural Motorcycle Classics Ride & Show at the Road America Motorcycle Classic.

Organized by Will Stoner and Road America, the June 11-13 event at Road America race course in Elkhart Lake, Wisc., will feature rounds 8 and 9 of AHRMA’s Michigan Engineering/Race Tech Historic Cup Roadrace Series, a motorcycle swap meet and the Motorcycle Classics Ride & Show. There will also be club corrals, and the racing will expand with vintage motocross, cross-country and trials racing on courses created just for this event.

The Motorcycle Classics Ride & Show will feature a low-stress, 40-mile ride through the surrounding Wisconsin countryside, followed by judging and awards in seven classes, including People’s Choice and Best Rider, picked from bikes that participate in the Ride & Show. It’ll also be your first chance to get a look at the Motorcycle Classics/Dairyland Cycle Insurance Bonneville Build, the 2010 Triumph Bonneville we’re customizing and then giving away. That’s right, giving away. Dairyland Cycle Insurance is making it happen, we’re putting it together, and you could be riding it after we announce the winner at the 6th Annual Barber Vintage Festival this October. 

Register your bike now for the Motorcycle Classic Ride & Show, and don’t forget to enter to win the Motorcycle Classics/Dairyland Cycle Insurance Bonneville Build .

A "brand new" 1975 Norton Commando Interstate still in its crate, one of 11 found recently in Belgium

Here’s something you don’t come across every day: 11 brand new 1975 electric-start Norton Interstate motorcycles, still in the crate and awaiting final assembly! The horde of Nortons came to light recently following the death of the owner of Motoshop Podevyn in Aalst, Belgium. Incredibly, the bikes are just a small part of an even larger collection.

From what we’ve been able to learn, the owner of Motoshop Podevyn had quite a reputation for collecting bikes and parts, but he also collected quite a reputation for being difficult to deal with, many former customers saying he rarely let go of parts or complete bikes from the huge collection he amassed over the years.

Here are the other 10 Nortons, still in their original, unopened packing crates.

Regardless, collect he did, and we can tell you from looking over the auction bill that this is going to be an amazing auction, with almost 400 lots being offered. In addition to the 11 Nortons there’s also an ex-Peter Williams Norton-powered space frame racer, a Rotax-powered 1989 Matchless G80 still in its crate, numerous standard and customized Nortons, a Triumph T160, Bonnevilles, piles and piles of wheels and seats, and racks of used and new-old-stock gas tanks.

Also discovered was this never-assembled 1989 Rotax-powered Matchless G80.

The collection is being auctioned online by Trooswijk Belgie, with bids accepted starting April 19 and closing April 26; a public viewing has been scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, April 24 and April 25.

While you can be that getting any one of these bikes running after 35 years in storage will require quite a bit of work, how often do you even get the chance to consider buying an essentially brand new, unmolested Norton Commando? We haven’t heard any guesses on what sort of money they might bring, but even with the considerable work they’ll probably require we’re still betting they won’t be cheap. Check out this amazing collection of new Norton Commandos by clicking here. – Richard Backus 

UPDATE: 6/22/2010
Selling prices for the Belgian Norton Commandos have finally been revealed. The cheapest went for just under $21,000, while the most expensive sold for just under $23,000. The Matchless G80 went for a shade under $12,000. - Richard Backus 

Bikes on display at last year's Historic Moto Gran Prix display at the Walter Mitty at Road Atlanta

Bill Brown, founder of the Historic Moto Gran Prix exhibition race series, has put out a call to action to classic bike owners to bring their machines to Road Atlanta April 16-18 for the AMA Superbike Showdown. Bikes don’t have to be race ready, just show ready, and Brown is offering free event passes to anyone who brings their bike to display.

Brown is promising a weekend of great vintage bikes and personalities from the past, including the likes of former AMA Superbike Champion Jamie James. Brown says he’s also looking for owners to bring bikes to the annual Walter Mitty historic race at Road Atlanta April 29-May 2 held by the Historic Sportscar Racing association, with whom Brown has teamed for his Historic Moto Gran Prix motorcycle race series.

Historic Moto Gran Prix has four more races on the 2010 schedule including the Savannah Historic Races June 10-13, the Atlanta Historic Races August 19-22, the Savannah-Hilton Head HSR event October 28-31, and the Sebring Historic at Sebring International Raceway December 2-5.

To register your bike, email Pam at PTVERSHURE@Charter.net or call (770) 365-9805. – Richard Backus