Photo: The Vintagent
There are cheap bikes and expensive bikes out there, but there also is a category of motorcycles which are rarely talked about: the collector’s items selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. And because they move quite rarely, it’s not often when we get to speak about them. However, we’ve now got wind about the most expensive bike ever auctioned, an 1910 Winchester, which changed hands for a whopping $580,000 (€422,000).
Now, paying $580k on an almost anonymous bike with no glorious racing past may seem way off, not that the same money for any kind of bike sounds any less eccentric for common folk. Still we’re looking at a motorcycle manufactured by the iconic gun makers, which seem to have also been in this business for a brief period.
The Vintagent delved deeper into the matter and found out that Winchester used to build motorcycles in 1909-1911 and badged them accordingly. They used a 6 horsepower Marsh-Metz single-cylinder engine and a clutchless belt direct drive, being quite simple, basic two-wheelers with no spectacular features for that time. Winchester contracted Edwin F Merry in San Francisco for making these bikes and apparently around 200 such machines were made.
The same source reports that the seller of this 1910 Winchester confirmed the sale through Worldwide Auctions last year. He still has an 1909 Winchester which did not sell, priced $520,000 (€378,000), and which is still waiting for a new owner.
Looking at my paycheck it’s really hard to fully fathom the value of this bike, but nevertheless, this is one hell of an expensive ride.
The Vintagent delved deeper into the matter and found out that Winchester used to build motorcycles in 1909-1911 and badged them accordingly. They used a 6 horsepower Marsh-Metz single-cylinder engine and a clutchless belt direct drive, being quite simple, basic two-wheelers with no spectacular features for that time. Winchester contracted Edwin F Merry in San Francisco for making these bikes and apparently around 200 such machines were made.
The same source reports that the seller of this 1910 Winchester confirmed the sale through Worldwide Auctions last year. He still has an 1909 Winchester which did not sell, priced $520,000 (€378,000), and which is still waiting for a new owner.
Looking at my paycheck it’s really hard to fully fathom the value of this bike, but nevertheless, this is one hell of an expensive ride.
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