There was standing room only at H&H Classics Donington sale on 23 February despite Storm Doris. The wild weather blew in some forceful bidding on the 76 bikes entered for the sale giving a sell rate of 90%.
Highlights of the sale included a 1968 unrestored Velocette Thruxton which sold for £24,295, a new world record for an unrestored Thruxton at auction. A very rare c1929 Humber 350 sold for £9968; and a 1952 Vincent Comet series C sold for £22,400.
Head of bike sales Mark Bryan said: “It was a fabulous first sale of the year showing what the potential is in this difficult market. Results show that the buyers are out there. We are looking forward to our next “even bigger and better” bike sale in May.
It’s worth mentioning, however, that the top lot offered at this sale, a 1939 Brough Superior SS80 failed to find a buyer. The estimate was £75,000 – £80,000.
Meanwhile, it appears that late-model Meriden Triumph twins (T120s and T140s) are steadily rising in value with typical prices currently around £4000 – £6000. At the Donington Sale, H&H sold a clean 1972 Triumph TR6C (essentially a 650cc T120) for £5650, and a clean 1979 Triumph TR7 (essentially a 750cc T140) for £4181. The prices suggest that these last-of-the-line pushrod parallel twins have consolidated their classic status, due in part perhaps to the perspective afforded by the Hinckley Bonnevilles of the past 10 years or so.