'HOW YOU FIND THEM' MANX FOR SALE

A 'barn find' 1956 Norton Manx 30M, featured on The Vintagent two years ago, will appear at the Bonhams Petersen Museum auction on November 13, 2010.  This machine was catnip to me when a friend forwarded the photos - a full-blown racer on the road! - but queries about a sale were rebuffed.  Now it appears the owner has changed course, and the story revealed behind the machine and its modifications for the road make it all the more desirable.

The text of the Bonhams catalog bears repeating, as its charmingly written:

"The argument over best-loved automotive writer of all time would last far into the night, but among the finalists has to be Henry Manney III. No finer wordsmith ever grasped a steering wheel or set of handlebars. For decades his pieces were required reading in Road & Track magazine, especially his "At Large" column, which often signed off with his trademark shorthand coda, Yr Faithfl Srvnt. It was Manney who famously characterized the sexy-swoopy Jaguar E-type as the "greatest crumpet-catcher known to man." He also wrote for R&T's sister magazine Cycle World, where his good humor, keen wit and wonderfully obtuse writing style were always welcome entertainment.

Manney, a trained dancer in his youth, was comfortable rubbing shoulders with the Grand Prix greats in Monaco or touring deep in the American South driving some European import the locals had never heard of. His personal garage often included at least one exotic four-wheeler from Italy, but on the motorcycle side he favored the Queen's Iron, as illustrated by the four Britbikes on sale in this auction.

Flagship of the motley fleet has to be his Manx Norton. As befits Manney's slanted view on life in general and transportation devices in particular, this is no ordinary Manx. In silhouette, all the familiar components are there. The overhead cam motor with its right-side bevel-drive tower and exposed valve springs. The innovative all-welded frame so ahead of its time it was said to ride "like a featherbed," a name that stuck. The bread-loaf gas tank and bum-stop seat, known to legions of privateer roadracers learning their craft, not least of which was a young Mike Hailwood. The conically shaped brake hubs, the front with a jutting scoop to collect cooling air. All standard Manx fare.

But look closer and you'll discern Manney's grand plan for his Norton. First clue is the Smiths speedometer alongside the usual tach. Gone are the low-mounted clip-ons, replaced my more comfortable tubular handlebars. A custom alloy bracket on one of the frame's front downtubes holds an alternator intended to be belt-driven from a pulley attached to the crankshaft. The engine breathes through a filtered Mikuni carburetor, easier to start and keep idling than the proper remote-float Amal GP (which is included in this sale). The rear fender is drilled and wired to accept a taillight. In deference to neighbors and the local constabulary, a sound-deadening flapper valve was fitted to the megaphone exhaust, cable-operated from the handlebars. Yes, Manney intended this Manx to be street-legal and road-ridden! 

His untimely passing in 1988 put a stop to the project. Since then, all of Manney's bikes have been in the care of son Henry IV, stored in a shed for decades and only recently brought back into the light of day. Obviously, it would take very little to put the machine back in race trim, but what fun to continue where Manney left off, complete the transformation and end up with a cafe-racer ne plus ultra, a genuine road-going Manx Norton with literary provenance."

Mike Jackson, former 'Sales Mangler' for NVT (NortonVilliersTriumph), relates the following:

"Denis Jenkinson [another giant among motoring writers] first knew Henry when he was based in Paris at some time in a late 1950s, at which time he was riding a Manx on the road.  It was so high-geared that as a result he coined the phrase, 'One Bang per Lamp-post*'!   Well, there's a chance that this Manx might be that very machine."

What a terrific provenance, and I wish Henry Manney IV had sold it to me then!

[* Ribald phrase; in pre-internet days, Parisian hookers could be found leaning on lamp-posts as their 'turf']

BROUGH BACK AT BONNEVILLE

It appears the revived Brough Superior is feeling its oats and wanting to test its mettle at the Bonneville Salt Flats, after an absence of 60 years, when Noel Pope made an ill-fated attempt with a streamlined B-S to take the motorcycle Land Speed Record (which would make an excellent post...).  Mark Upham has no such ambitions with this proposed foray onto the salt, but would like to 'see what she'll do'  - she being an SS101 'Pendine' model (apparently, 'Bonneville' is taken...) with a specially-tuned JAP engine, which will be redubbed the 'Retro'.

Alistair Gibson (above), who was present at the Men's File party in Paris, is heading up the team, and brings considerable experience with F1 race team management, and prior experience with speed attempts at Bonneville, having broken a record with his Honda F1 car in 2006 (below).

Depending on the speed achieved by the 'Retro', replica machines with tuned engines may be dubbed 'SS120', or 'SS127.543'...  In any case, The Vintagent will be present to document the experience, and hopefully grab saddle time on the salt.

Here's the press release:

"Mark Upham, CEO of Brough Superior Motorcycles Ltd [above, with Gibson], is delighted to announce the firm will be contesting Bonneville Speed Week next year with a new machine based on the existing 1927 SS100 Pendine model, which was first unveiled at Pebble Beach in August 2009.  The machine will be known as the Brough Superior SS100 Retro; it will be running on pump fuel, un-streamlined.  Design, style, and construction will be the direct responsibility of Alistair Gibson, formerly chief mechanic for Honda Formula One, and lifelong 2-wheel enthusiast. After a quarter century working for several Champions in F1 Alistair now works from his own design studio near Oxford.  “When Mark approached me with the idea of a “Retro” machine for Bonneville I was immediately fired up; I know the extent of the challenge, having previously been deeply involved on the salt in 2006, with the Honda F1 car that broke the existing record for the category!” 

The motivation for this exciting project comes from Mark Upham himself, who confirms that the project is to be funded by Brough Superior Motorcycles Ltd.  In anticipating the machine’s final completion and testing by July it is then intended the “Retro” will be despatched to Jay Leno’s Big Dog Garage in Los Angeles where, after re-assembly, it will be shown for the first time.  The “Retro” will then be displayed on the Brough Superior stand at Pebble Beach in mid-August, prior to shipment to the Bonneville Salt Flats towards the end of that month. The “Retro” machine’s progress can be followed on the firm’s website: www.brough-superior.com

Mark Upham says, “Alistair has been helping us for the past two years; I am therefore delighted to have him so closely involved with the “Retro” project, which effectively, is Brough Superior’s first return to Bonneville after an absence of 60 years!”

[Below, Noel Pope with his streamlined B-S, at the Salt Flats, 1949.  He crashed the thing, vowing 'never to ride a streamlined motorcycle again.']

CRAZY GEORGE DISTEEL

George Disteel, towards the end of his life

 It was a rumor which floated around the San Francisco 'old bike' community for years - the crazy old guy whose son had been killed on a Vincent Black Shadow, went crazy, and spent the rest of his life hunting down Vincents, which he squirreled away in chicken shacks on his property.

Vincent Black Prince

The rumor was, as far as anyone can tell, based on the real life of George Disteel.  George was an avid motorcyclist, a fan of Vincent motorcycles, owning a Black Shadow named 'Sad Sack', and apparently a rider of some skill.  Born in 1904, he discovered Marin county in the 1940s after serving in the military - a motorcyclist paradise, full of empty, twising roads and year-round mild weather.  No one today knows what machines George owned before the Vincent, but he seems to have purchased his Shadow brand new, and created an impression in the local motorcycling community, not only for his riding ability and choice of the World's Fastest Production Motorcycle (as it said in the Vincent advertising), but of his increasingly erratic behavior, and appearance.

 ca.1947 Velocette KSS mk2 'bob-job'

A man of great personal discipline, George walked or bicycled many miles per day, and kept up a rigorous exercise routine.  He was also fond of wearing little clothing, quite possible in sunny Marin, and his ever growing beard usually served as his only upper-torso modesty.   Sometime in the late 1950s, his behavior became erratic, and he confided in an apprentice (Disteel was a master carpenter) the story of his 'son', who was tragically killed riding a Vincent at 20 years old.  George was never married, although he did have a few liasons earlier in his life, but no-one seems able to corroborate whether he had a son, or a paternal relationship with a young man.  In a sense, it doesn't matter, as this story became his justification for bizarre actions, such as stuffing every nook and cranny of his home and jobsites with paper and old cloth, and searching northern California for fast motorcycles, especially Vincents, to buy and hide away, preventing the death of another unsuspecting youth.

 Royal Enfield Interceptor700cc

 George eventually amassed something like 18 Vincents, two KSS Velocettes, a Norton International, two Moto Guzzi Falcones, an R51 BMW, Sunbeams, DKWs, Royal Enfields, plus a lot of rifles, clocks, oddments, antiques, etc, all of which he paid for by canny investments in real estate, making him quite rich.  He didn't appear rich at all though, with his near-nakedness, lack of bathing, and odd behavior.  Although he owned 23 properties in Marin county, he lived for a while in a '52 Hudson car filled with trash.  Eviction from the car meant moving to a Tenderloin residence hotel in San Francisco, after taking a sledgehammer to the car and having it towed.   Towards the end of his days, with cataracts making reading difficult and driving impossible, he wore a pirate's eyepatch made of gaffer's tape, switching from side to side in order to see better.

He collapsed on the street in SF in 1978, aged 74, and a keen-eyed coroner realized he was no indigent, which began a chain of discovery of the man's multiple homes, lands, sheds, hidden caches of motorcycles, storage units, etc.  As no heirs could be found, the motorcycles were sold at Butterfields auction house in San Francisco, where the Vincents fetched from $800 - $1500... Some of these motorcycles were brand new or nearly so, and many merely needed a good clean after their years packed in rags within sealed toolsheds.  A few of my friends own these bikes, so I'm fairly sure the story is true...at least, the Vincent-in-a-chicken-coop part.

 Moto Guzzi Falcone

Bobber motorcycle

History of the Old School Kikker Bobber Style Motorcycle

The Bobber motorcycle was the first of all customized motorcycles. Even before the choppers or the big cruisers of today. Service men recently returned from the war wanted bikes like the European ones they had seen during the time at war. These bikes were custom and spoke to the attitudes and self expression of the great courageous men. With the recent surge in popularity of the Bobber Motorcycle.. AKA Old School Hardknock kikker there are many things you may not know about the history of these great bikes

A Rare-it-"T" and the "Z" Man

When Bruce Parrish told me he still had a Dick Allen T-shirt, I told him he had to send some photos.

This may be the Holy Grail of vintage chopper T-shirts. I find it interesting that it says California. Perhaps, so Dick could use the same design no matter what city his shop might move to.

I'm not sure if this is a dark photo of the same shirt or a black one. Bruce designed Dick's lettering and drew the art. Joe Hurst said Dick looked like the Zig-Zag man and says he suggested using his head on the art, but Bruce said it was from a cigarette (I never heard of and can't recall the name), that Dick like to smoke. I have to admit, it looks like the Zig-Zag Man to me. Bruce, send me the name if you get a chance.

I don't know about the T-shirt art, but....

Update: Joe called and said the cigarettes that Dick smoked were (sounds like), Shebeedees or Zabedees). That's what Bruce had mentioned. When Bruce told me I did a search, but came up empty. I now found Azadbidi, a brand of bidi cigarettes. That's likely it. Bidis (pronounced bee-dees) are small hand-rolled cigarettes manufactured in India and other southeast Asian countries.

These are not Azadbibi, but show the type. Azad's usually have an elephant on the pack. Bidis are tobacco wrapped in tendu or temburni leaf . Traditionally they are tied with string and come in flavors, like chocolate, mango, vanilla, lemon-lime, mint, pineapple and cherry.

NY South Bay Chopper?

In this case, NY means Neil Young. Vilmino of LoserRules sent an email reminding me of this photo. It's been floating around the blogs for sometime. (this version is a little larger than most). Since I've recently been very focused on the South Bay Style, it seemed like a good time to bring it up.

The sissy bar swoop and Dick Allen style springer pretty much say it's origins or influence are from the south bay. I found a version of this photo with the only credit being, circa 1992 near Sturgis. I'm guessing it's not Neil's bike, but rather someone asked him to pose on it. Can anyone provide more information?

Just'a Few

From yesterday's Long Beach Swap Meet.

Billy Panhead. This bike gets around.


A Servi-Car would be nice to ride to the swap. Great for carrying parts, but I'd have to leave even earlier to get there a decent time.


15k with a $5 seat.


These same funky tanks have been showing up for a few month's now. Must be asking too much $.

In retrospect, I could'a should'a taken more photos. It was a nice day with temps around the mid to high 70's (sorry to our comrades in cold places). Saw a few friends and bought a few parts.

Mystery Bike Part 2, Funny Bike 1

Since I started with the third build of Bruce Parrish's bike, working backwards, here's the second version called Funny Bike 1. Just to keep things straight, the first build of this bike (to be posted soon) wasn't considered a Funny Bike.

This version shown with a long distance auxiliary tank was built around 1975. The oil tank foreshadows Bruce's move towards the use of more aluminum custom fabricated pieces. Although the later version (Funny Bike 2), is a more sophisticated and trick build, I really like the paint and look at this stage.


Bruce looking relaxed as he gets it on.


Much of the basic platform was carried over to Funny Bike 2.


Maybe I should have used this photo for my old running gag, "What Sort of Man Reads MC art?" Bruce circa 1975 with his girl friend (now wife), looking proud of his accomplishment.

All photos courtesy of Bruce Parrish

Nice Bike....

....for me to poop on!

All kidding aside, this bike (from Long Beach last fall), is a good reminder.

You might pick some other bars, style of sissy bar, or a different bend of pipes ....

....but it's hard to improve on the classic style of chop

....and no, it's not a bobber,

Dick Allen's Cobra, Shop and other Wild Things

All photos taken by and courtesy of Bruce Parrish

This shot of Dick and his Cobra Trike is probably familiar to many of you. It was published in Garage magazine and I posted it myself from that source awhile back. This time it's a scan from Bruce's original photo so it's without the magazine's gutter running down the image.


Dick and his pet leopard. It strikes me as very bizarre to see a wild cat on Artesia blvd. I asked Bruce about it and he replied, "Dick was really good with animals". The conversation switch gears, so I need to get back to him on that subject.


A good view of the trike. The bike next to it served as inspiration for Bruce's first chopper. More on that to come.


While Bruce's interest was in shooting the trike and this bike, I really like the fact we get a rare glimpse of Dick's shop. That's Dick to the right talking to someone who's cutoff. Those are the beginnings of more cobra trike frames leaning near the tires. If you look carefully you can also spot 7 Harley frames.


This blown version never got further than this mock up. The Cobra Trikes were a joint effort between Dick and Ed Roth. Dick welded up frames and Roth glassed up the bodies. The frames and the bodies were $250 each. Dick also made and sold the motor mounts. The bike next to it is the bike Joe Hurst referred to as Dick's Rat Fuck. It has the old purple Loco-Motion 1 tank and is the bike (with a different engine), in the previous post (Freeway Jamming), that eventually became White Bear.


It appears there was some type of parts counter in the shop. I'd love to get a glimpse of the bike inside.

I'm very glad that Bruce took and kept these photos. As far as I know, he's the only one who has shots of the shop, and once again, want to say thanks for sharing them. Now, if we could only go and walk inside them.

This Month's (late and temporay?), Header

I got hung up and really late on this month's header. The photo above was the first image/idea I had in mind ....as to say, let's kick start this new year. I really prefer to use and did get started on a illustration instead, but since it's so late, this will do for now.

The photo is a from the end of the Devil's Angels, a movie that I hadn't seen in years and recently Tivo'ed. Styles come and go, but I keep coming back to this style of bike.

LAS VEGAS 2011; TRENDS...

Total sales for MidAmerica over 2.5 days was $5.5Million, inclusive.

The MidAmerica 2011 Las Vegas auction held to their 20 year tradition with 500 motorcycles for sale over two and a half days, beginning with a Thursday night after-dinner auction of 50 bikes.  The colors, the buzz of the auctioneers, and the scale of the hall should be experienced by every motorcycle enthusiast at some point - once you're in Las Vegas, its a free show of very interesting machinery, much of it unlikely to be seen publicly again for some time.  It is also probably the best place in the US to meet bike collectors from around the world, old or young, established or just beginning, very rich or simply looking for one special machine.

Fritz Simmerlein of www.Harleysons.de is perfectly matched to this original-paint 1919 H-D 'J'

With 500 bikes on show, in some years a repetitive horde of Triumphs or Shovelhead choppers have made for a tedious auction, but this year the mix was uniformly varied, and had something for everyone.  Unrestored 'teens and 'twenties machines, newly-built replicas of Board Track racers, seventies café racers, recent customs, racing bikes, and mopeds were all available.

Spring arrived early in Vegas; two Rickman-framed café racers...

Highlights of the auction included two Brough Superior SS100s with 'MX' Matchless overhead valve 990cc engines; a 1939 model to 'show finish' (chromed mudguards and cylinders/heads), which had correct, matching engine, frame, and gearbox numbers, and a 1938 example with MX engine, previously owned by Brough technical guru Bill Gibbard, author of 'Maintaining your Brough Superior'.  The Gibbard machine had an engine from another SS100, although the machine was all-Brough.  Still, when the reserve is a reputed $230,000, one can afford to be picky, and thus it proved to be when the machine failed to sell at auction (although it sold later in the day for $238k).  The '39 'show' bike sold for $260,000+ to a new player in the motorcycle collecting world; more on that later.

1939 Brough Superior SS100 'MX' to 'show' specification

Other interesting machines included a pair of 1934 Dirt Track racers which fetched big bucks due to their rarity and solid-gold provenance. The '34 Harley 'CAC' racer was one of a dozen machines built to challenge the JAP and Rudge racers which ruled the tracks of the time, but as it was no more powerful than the British machines, the model was dropped.  This original paint, two-owner bike was a time-warp machine, and fetched well over $120,000.

The 1934 Crocker speedway racer was one of 31 built in the small workshop of Al Crocker and Paul Bigsby (inventor of the 'whammy bar'), before they focused on their familiar big twins.  The Crocker twins reside on Olympus in terms of pricing nowadays, and that glory has reflected well on the rarer dirt racers - this took over $160,000 on the hammer.  While not an original-paint bike, the engine and frame were certainly correct, although that extremely rare Crocker carburetor looked brand new to my eyes; a very clean design with 'monobloc' float chamber, such a carb is beyond rare.  Both of these '34 racers compare well with the 1929 'Mine Find' Harley Peashooter at Bonhams, which sold for $125,800.

One of 12 Crocker speedway racers known.  That's Jeff Decker in the stripes.

 In the replica category was the Flying Merkel from the workshop of ace restorer Chris Carter.  Created around an original engine, such shiny machines are fetching less money nowadays than 'patinated' re-creations, a situation which is wreaking havoc with the collector's market.  Ron Christensen of MidAmerica noted, "All these replicas are really scaring buyers away from early American bikes. We had an [unnamed] four-cylinder which turned out to have a replica frame, purchased from France.  Sometimes owners have been misled, but we have to be more diligent about documenting the bikes to make clear what we are selling. It's difficult to get paperwork out of sellers, even things as simple as titles!" 

As the skill of 'antiquing' artisans develops, it can be a hard job indeed to tell the difference between a weathered original paint job or a brand new one which simply appears old.  Layers of different paint are forcibly 'alligatored' and rubbed with waxes and oils, sepia powders and pumice abrasions to get that just-abandoned look.  The ultimate effect of the replicas market has been to make all investors in old American motorcycles especially wary of both restored and original-paint machines.  The cry of 'fakery' is heard more often at motorcycle auctions, even against bikes possessing letters of authentication dating decades back!  Such wariness is understandable given the number of replicas with a mumbling description in auction catalogs, and it seems high time sellers and auction houses cleaned up their act.  Otherwise, its the lawyers who win...and I heard of several big-dollar lawsuits currently pending against well-known dealers and personalities.  Perhaps the time has come for a paint-and-metal testing service for valuable machines?  The car world takes the lead on this one, although the fine-art world has used paid appraisers/evaluators for a century...

Las Vegas is also the place to see unique machines which never turn up anywhere else, like this 1920s 'Engel' flat twin, which uses a car engine from a Holsman, and home-made frame, forks, and driveline.  The wheels are wooden, from a car, and the drive is direct - no clutch or kickstarter.  I would estimate the engine capacity at 2liters, which means this heavy beast would be a joy to push-start.  It may never have been ridden at all, but has a fantastic look, a 20s 'Dream Machine' (or nightmare!).

Fantastic H-D racing bicycle ca.1920; the ultimate 'fixie'?

Prices on the whole at MidAmerica and the Bonhams auction held on Thursday were solid, although they set few records (except a BSA Rocket Gold Star which fetched $32,760 - surely an American record).  The very best machines, such as Brough SS100s, rare racers, and documented original-paint machines, have firm pricing in six-figure territory, although dubious rumors can drop prices considerably.  The average rider can breathe easy that high-production machines are very affordable and prices remain flat, if not downright cheap, for Triumph, BSA, and Norton twins, most prewar British bikes, and the average Indian and Harley of all years.

Fantastic original-paint 1911 Indian belt-drive single.

The most intriguing new developments in the motorcycle auction world are twofold; the long-anticipated entry of well-heeled automobile collectors into the top tier of the old bike market, and the sudden appearance of bidders from previously silent countries.  This year marked what was hoped for/feared/expected for some time, as at least four big-time 'car guys' snatched some of the finest bikes on offer.  Their collecting senses already honed by years of dealing with Ferraris and Bugattis, I watched and spoke with several new players leaving the confines of metal bodywork, who sought advice from experienced 'bike guys' regarding the best motorcycles at each auction.  The buzz at Bonhams and MidAmerica was less about bikes and prices than flying rumors about who these new players might be, and what this means to the motorcycle world.  Regarding the former - the names are well-known to the Pebble Beach crowd, but the latter question hangs for now.  When one new player recognized another major car collector was bidding on the same SS100, he deferred, and bidding stopped.  Polite for now, such graciousness may evaporate when the current 'toe in the water' becomes a full-fledged desire to amass a serious motorcycle collection complementing their four-wheeled treasures....and when that happens, records will be broken.

The 'second' Brough SS100; not often you see a B-S on the showroom floor, with a price tag!  It later sold for $238,000.

The second notable trend of the week was the appearance of collectors from 'new' countries buying bikes to bring home.  South America and India have for decades been the happy hunting ground for collectors brave enough to travel or send money to unknown individuals with interesting machines...and I count myself among them, having sourced several Brough Superiors from South America in the early 1990s.  It seems they want some of these bikes back!  In the 1980s and 90s, it was assumed that bikes sold en masse to Japan or Europe would 'never be seen again', but in truth motorcycles, as when new, circulate around the world to enthusiasts, coming and going as interest and economies wax and wane.  It will be interesting to see if the rapidly developing economy of India will produce a new wave of collectors, as Indians are currently buying 300,000 new bikes per month.  They have a long tradition of appreciating older machines, although we have yet to see top-notch restorations emerge from their still-large home supply of prewar English machines...which is probably why they're buying good bikes here.

The vast hall of the South Point Casino.

1960 H-D Panhead custom, 'Acid Trip'.  Indeed.

Cabal of early American bike collectors, setting prices and determining the future of the market.  Or not.

Goggomobile! And a Berkeley; almost motorcycles...

The H-D sprocket of the racing bicycle.

1935 HRD Series 'A' Comet

1910 Marsh Metz belt-drive single

The clutch and belt tensioner levers of the Marsh Metz; two ways to slow down or start up.

Stunning if creepy H-D 'dresser' with Marylin undressed everywhere.

Plenty of rare European machines on offer, such as this 1905 Motosacoche, without the typical engine cladding.

Bad year for Munchs in America; none have sold here since the Dave Manthey collection was dispersed.

1936 BMW R5, the rigid version of the R51, and very desireable.

Tremendous variety; Vespa to genuine '75 Norton JPS Commando to dirt bikes.

1938 Husqvarna moped - fun!