Bonhams Spring Stafford Sale - What It Says About the Classic Bike Market

This weekend I was at Stafford for The International Classic MotorCycle Show, where alongside the bikes on display, club stands and autojumble, Bonhams were also holding The Spring Stafford Sale.

Now, let's be clear, I wasn’t there with any intention of buying another bike. But like most people with an interest in old motorcycles, that doesn’t stop me looking. With a borrowed catalogue in hand, it would have been rude not to go and have a wander.

Beyond simple curiosity though, auctions like this are always interesting for another reason - they offer a snapshot of where the classic bike market really is. We all hear plenty of talk about prices collapsing, investors disappearing and values falling through the floor, but walking around the sale and watching the bidding in person often tells a far more interesting story.

So, with no paddle in hand and my wallet staying firmly in my pocket, here are a few of the bikes that caught my eye, and what I think this year’s Stafford auction might say about the state of the classic motorcycle world.

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My Pick of the Bikes

I'm not going to go into huge detail about all of the bikes I looked at, what follows is just a selection of my favourites from the weekend.

1929 Velocette KTT

I was interested in having a look at a 1929 Velo in race trim. I am in the early stages of building a lightweight MAC race bike, which I’ll write more about another time, so I am always on the look out for ideas.

I was told by people in the know that it wasn’t a particularly good example and had a lot of wrong bits on it. The overall effect looked good to me though and I would happily have taken it home if I could have.

1949 Norton International Project

Anyone who knows me, or has been on this website before, has probably worked out by now that my first passion in classic bikes is Norton. I was on the Irish National Rally when I was about 18, riding my Royal Enfield, and I was following a friend on a 1947 plunger Manx. It had a Brooklands can on it and I loved it, especially the sound it made! Sadly this friend passed away in 2015. I wasn’t in a position to make an offer on the bike at the time but I have often wondered where it ender up.

Tony's Manx - photo from the catalogue for the 2015 auction at which it sold

Fast forward 11 years and I see this Inter project in the auction. It has the big fin head, Roadholders and a plunger frame. I could build a nice replica of the one my friend had. I know I’m not in the market for another bike at the moment, especially a project, but what’s the harm in looking?

This Norton International project wasn't quite as it first seemed

Upon closer inspection, the frame is pre-war, as is the bottom end of the engine. In my opinion, a bike like this really needs a set of girder forks to return it to a more period correct example. As well as the price premium the pre-war parts would surely bring, this would take it too far away from what I remember and would want to build. It makes letting this one go a lot easier.

A pair of Norton CS1s

There were two Norton CS1s in this auction. A '27 and a '28. Both looked to be fairly good examples to my eye. The 1927 CS1 had a very wide petrol tank which didn't look original to me, but after asking a few far more knowledgeable people, it is possible that an extra large tank could have been specified from new. It also had an aluminium primary chain case that, although not the casting we are used to, was beautifully made with some aluminium welding that I would be proud of!

1927 Norton CS1 with extra large tank

A nicely made aluminium cover on the 1927 Norton CS1

The 1928 CS1 looked more correct to me. It was an older restoration with beautiful shiny paint but a lot of rusty nuts and bolts, which I always think is a shame but an easy fix. This would have been my pick of the two until, immediately before the bidding started, the auctioneer informed us it had an ES2 frame. The two frames are the same, but the numbers stamped in it would denote ES2 and this matters to a lot of people, my immediate reaction when this was read out by the auctioneer was 'that'll hurt the value.'

1928 Norton CS1

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Bonhams Stafford Auction Results – Are Classic Bike Prices Rising Again?

We've heard it all before: The bottom has fallen out of the market. Nobody wants these old bikes anymore. Everyone who is interested is dying out. We’re all doomed. Yes, prices have dropped recently, and sharply but I’ve taken the view for some time that this isn’t all bad news. A few years ago the common moan amongst enthusiasts was the over inflated prices meaning nobody new was coming into the hobby. So surely we've got exactly what we were wishing for right?

I firmly believe that these lower prices mean that those of us with a genuine passion for the bikes themselves are closer to owning them, and that encouraging motorcyclists who want to restore and ride these bikes into the fold, rather than investors, can only be a good thing.

I’m not going to claim that there is a rush of new people coming into the hobby, but numbers at a lot of events are starting to turn a bit of a corner after years of decline. This weekend I think we saw the beginnings of that following through into auction prices.

Things got off to a very good start when the first lot on Saturday, with an estimate of £2000-£4000 saw the hammer fall at £9500, that’s north of £11k with the commission and taxes.

The 1949 Norton International project I had been looking at went for almost £6.5k once all is said and done, and the ‘not very good’ 1929 Velocette KTT cost someone upwards £17500 (I don’t mean to be critical of this bike, I really liked it!)

Having said prices are rising, I do think with the number of bikes coming onto the market people are being more choosy. Of the two Norton CS1s sold, the earlier 1927 machine set the lucky new owner back over £20k while the 1928 example one was more than £5k cheaper. 1927 was the first year of the CS1 so, combined with the incorrect frame on the '28 I was not surprised to see the discrepancy.

Million-pound MV

We can't really finish talking about prices without a mention for the 1965 ex-works Hailwood / Agostini MV Agusta. Including the commission this bike sold for £967,000 pounds. Add VAT to the commission, and possibly import duty because it had been brought in from Japan, and you’re not getting much, if any, change out of one million pounds!

That's all for my views on this year's auction. For what it's worth, I spoke to a lot of people over the weekend and the general mood around the place was a positive one. It will be interesting to see if we have reached a slight turning point. Personally, I think we have.

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