The World’s Most Collectible Motorcycle Marques

Our analysis of the top 100 motorcycles ever sold at auction has yielded a goldmine of previously unavailable information such as the most sought after vintages and engine configurations, where the top bikes are sold, who sells them and the most valuable and collectible motorcycle marques.

This list is comprised of the motorcycle manufacturers which command the highest prices at auction and are most populous among the top 100 – the distillation of activity in a marketplace which has existed for just over a century.

The golden heritage of the American motorcycle industry is perhaps the most interesting aspect of this analysis. The United Kingdom would reasonably have been expected to dominate the results thanks to the well publicized auction values commanded by Brough Superior and Vincent motorcycles. Those marques are the most heavily represented but in total, British motorcycles make up just 45 of the top 100 motorcycles ever sold at auction, and beyond those two marquee names, there is little else – there are only eight other British motorcycle brands in the top 100 (and one of them only produced one motorcycle).

Brough Superior and Vincent-HRD the most prominent marques
George Brough on one of the bikes which made him a household name
George Brough on one of the bikes which made him a household name
Brough Superior is the most prominent marque in the top 100 with 23 motorcycles, and Vincent is second with 14 motorcycles, though a further ten Vincents occupy the list between #101-120. As the list expands over time, we expect the most popular marque will become hotly contested between the two brands.

No one marque dominates the list as is the case with the top 100 auction cars list, where more than half the top 100 most valuable cars ever to sell at auction are from one marque – Ferrari.

Illustrious British names that might have been expected to be on this list such as BSA, Douglas, Matchless, Norton, Royal Enfield, Triumph and Velocette have not appeared. Beyond those names, the nearest another British marque gets to the top 100 is a Manx Norton race bike.

The Rollie Free Vincent recently sold for US$1,000,000 privately, making it the most expen…
The Rollie Free Vincent recently sold for US$1,000,000 privately, making it the most expensive motorcycle ever sold.
Beyond the 23 Brough Superiors and 14 Vincents, the top contains just one bike each from Ariel, Coventry-Eagle, McEvoy, Montgomery-Anzani, Zenith-JAP, Scott, AJS and we’ve attributed the sole Ferrari on the list to the U.K. because it’s not really an Italian Ferrari, but a British-designed and British-built tribute bike to the Ferrari brand.

Indications of the once–glorious American Motorcycle Industry
The Roper Steam Cycle failed to sell at auction, but ranks as one of the most important mo…
The American industry accounts for 35 of the top 100 motorcycles sold at auction, but a remarkable 12 different American brands are represented on the list, with a thirteenth brand (a 1916 Pope sold for US$121,000 as part of the Gooding auction of the Otis Chandler Collection in 2006) just outside and the historically-significant Roper Steam Cycle (above) would also be on this list if it had sold when it was auctioned in 2011. A high bid of US$425,000 failed to meet the reserve, but had it been accepted, would have propelled the bike into the top ten of all-time.

While the expected big-name American brands of Harley-Davidson (nine bikes), Crocker (seven bikes) and Indian (five bikes) are represented in number, the overall American showing is due to the number of brands which made an appearance – an indication of the depth of the industry and, perhaps to some degree, the nationalism of the world’s richest country.

The world’s most expensive motorcycle ever sold at auction – a 1910 Winchester sold for US…
The world’s most expensive motorcycle ever sold at auction – a 1910 Winchester sold for US$580,000 in August, 2013
Other Made-in-the-USA motorcycle brands to make the top 100 include Flying Merkel (four bikes), Henderson (two bikes), Iver Johnson (two bikes), with one bike each from Marsh Metz, Pierce, Curtiss, Cyclone, Winchester and Minneapolis.

source #bikesncustoms