20 of Bryan Bossier’s Sinless Cycles are heading to Mecum Las Vegas 2027.
Character. That word suits Bryan Bossier in all its various meanings. He is both a Southern gentleman and known for his ribald homespun jokes; he is cherished by many as a generous and loyal friend, and has a funny habit of carrying a duck call around his neck. He fancies vintage seaplanes, is a multitime muleteer champion, has a world-class gun collection–including a functional Gatling gun in his office–and has also kept a superb group of motorcycles in his purpose-built workshop, which is made entirely from recycled materials.
Bossier’s family business is building roads, and in the course of that work, he salvaged materials from 1920s steel bridges–as well as the wooden beams, flooring and cladding from abandoned barns, hardware stores and gas stations–and he used it all to build the ideal storage and workspace for his exceptional collection. This February in Las Vegas, a portion of that top-shelf group will be headed for the Mecum auction block as part of the world’s largest collector motorcycle auction.
Humble, but High-Quality
Approaching Bossier’s remarkable workshop requires a meandering one-mile trip up his driveway, winding through the mature oak trees and pastures on the 500-acre property he calls home. Opening one of the electric barn doors reveals a stunning herd of blue-chip motorcycles, mostly British, but a few American bikes sit among them as well. Every machine in his collection is top-tier and on just about every “top 100” list of the finest marques and models in history. Even a bike as humble as a 1937 Harley-Davidson EL Knucklehead is included, but it’s one of the best-restored you’ll ever see, judged by the very particular AMCA as a 99.5 point restoration.
The same applies to his 1930 Indian 101 Scout, the brand’s most legendary model–not terribly rare but, again, a 99.5 point bike–as well as his 1929 Harley-Davidson JDH. Last, but hardly least, is “Slow Joe” Gardella’s 1914 Harley-Davidson Model 10 E single-speeder, which he spent countless hours developing into an amazingly swift and reliable touring machine and used to compete in several Motorcycle Cannonballs. Suffice it to say, it’s a Harley-Davidson in profile, but it’s all Joe inside.
From Across the Pond
It’s Bossier’s British machinery that really shines, and his collection includes the very pinnacle models of several important marques. His 1939 Vincent-HRD Series A Rapide OHV V-twin is a stunner. Restored by Scott Dell and in running condition, the bike sounds like nothing else. Boasting an even more distinct growl is his 1950 Vincent Black Lightning, a legend of song and story, holding the title of world’s fastest production motorcycle for 25 years. There is no other motorcycle on earth that bellows with the spine-tingling roar of a Lightning. The full history of the Sinless Lightning is known, from its days as a Danish sidecar racer, to its restoration using original materials by an aircraft mechanic. It’s as genuinely original a Black Lightning as one is likely to find.
There are more Vincents in the Sinless barn, including the unique factory prototype Indian-Vincent: a Series C Rapide built with Indian details during a collaboration exercise between Phil Vincent and Ralph Rogers, who owned Indian after World War II. It’s hard to find a rarer bike than a one-of-one, although there is another Indian-Vincent prototype using a Chief rolling chassis, on which Phil Vincent said he felt like “a yachtsman at the helm of the Queen Mary.” Apparently, he preferred Bossier’s version, with the Vincent chassis.
The last of Bossier’s Vincents coming to Las Vegas is an “ordinary” but very rare Series B Black Shadow with Brampton girder forks, which many reckon to handle better than the later Series C models with their Girdraulic forks. Of course, the Shadow is also impeccably restored.
Another unique machine in the Sinless collection is a Spanish-American hybrid called the Patria, a 1924 model using a 1263cc 4-cylinder Ace engine in a Spanish-built chassis. It was built by Antonia Serra’s FNM factory in Barcelona, Spain, as a prototype answering the Spanish government’s call for a home-grown military sidecar motorcycle. It’s said that 12 were built, but only this one survives.
The Superior Choice
Perhaps more impressive still is the Sinless trio of “the Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles”: three Brough Superiors with great backstories. The magnificent 1937 SS100 with a 990cc Matchless OHV is said to have been ridden by George Brough personally on a European tour that year, accompanied by sidecar manufacturer “Blackie” Blacknell. It’s one of only six MX100s built with Bentley & Draper rear suspension, giving a uniquely comfortable ride for this prewar hot rod that held the world’s fastest production motorcycle title for 12 years.
Another Brough is the “White Hunter” 1939 SS80 DeLuxe, originally delivered to a customer in Nigeria, who demanded only the best: Castle forks, plunger rear suspension, and all the details of an SS100, without the fuss of an OHV motor.
Finally, the third in the group is a humble and slightly scruffy original-paint 1933 11.50 model, with a big 1100cc side-valve motor using a smooth 60-degree cylinder angle, which George Brough himself declared his favorite model in his later years. This 11.50, dubbed “Margaret Ann” by Bossier, was ridden during the 2014 Cannonball, and it stunned its competitors with its capacity to cruise all day at 70 MPH (while carrying a passenger), all the way across the U.S. Not having an “SS” before its name meant the 11.50 model was neglected by collectors for years, but the price of the model doubled worldwide after word spread of Margaret Ann’s heroic ride.
From Norton to Sunbeam
Descriptions of several other Sinless machines could fill a novel, but one not to be overlooked is the Coventry-Eagle Flying 8 with a 1000cc JAP KTOR overhead-valve racing motor, which has been properly fettled by Sam Lovegrove in the U.K. There’s also a very rare Sunbeam Model 95L: a racer with lights, and one of the prettiest Sunbeam models ever built. Another is his one-of-two Grindlay-Peerless Speed Chief, with a Rudge Python 4-valve motor and Clubman high pipes, an astonishingly fast and beautiful machine with 100 MPH potential. Also included is one of Kenny Dreer’s first VR880 Norton Commandos, built in 1999 as a superb and reliable cafe racer. It’s the bike that laid the pattern for the Norton Commando reboot in the 2000s.
Nearly every motorcycle in The Sinless Cycles Collection comes with detailed provenance, which typically includes some very interesting details to add color to their history. Bryan Bossier is known for collecting only the best machines he could find, and the 20-bike collection coming to Las Vegas will definitely be the star of the week’s 2,000-motorcycle lineup. It’s an event collectors are already talking about, and one every motorcycle enthusiast will want to watch.
