The primary motorbike to public sale for $1 million is an ultra-rare, vibrant yellow piece of two-wheeled historical past. On February 1st, a restored 1915 Cyclone V-Twin from the City S. Hirsch III Assortment bought for $1,320,000 throughout a Mecum Auctions occasion in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Cyclone roadster isn’t an immediately recognizable motorbike for most individuals. Given its temporary manufacturing run from 1913-1915, there aren’t a lot of them round at this level, a lot much less in working order. In response to Mecum’s lot description, solely 14 Cyclones are estimated to nonetheless exist at present, whereas simply 5 of them stay in “racing configuration.”
The mannequin, nevertheless, stays a pivotal a part of motorbike historical past. Designed by engineer Andrew Strand, the Cyclone’s 61 CI (996cc), 45-degree V-twin engine was the primary within the US to make use of an overhead-camshaft, and at 45 HP, it was far-and-away essentially the most highly effective engine on the time. Maxxing out a Cyclone may see speeds over 100 mph—not that topping it out was really useful.
Given the comparatively rudimentary engine lubrication out there within the early-Twentieth century, the Cyclone wasn’t essentially the most dependable in direction of the tailend of the period’s widespread long-distance races. As an alternative of the overhead camshaft receiving optimistic lubrication, the motorbike used an oil properly which dripped instantly on every camshaft. Whereas this raised the chance of overheating, drivers usually stopped so as to add further oil throughout long-distance raises.
“[W]ith an OHC V-twn motor with a clutch, the Cyclone was a super Scorching Rod roadster able to leaving some other car on the highway in its mud,” Mecan’s lot description reads.
Saturday’s public sale beats the earlier document for costliest motorbike set in 2023, when a 1908 Harley-Davidson “Strap Tank” bought for $935,000. As New Atlas famous, yet one more motorbike within the City S. Hirsch III Assortment—a 1938 Crocker twin—bought for $880,000 simply minutes after the Cyclone, making it the third-most costly motorbike on document.
Each the Cyclone and the Crocker bikes beforehand belonged to the late City S. Hirsch III, an eccentric and rich newspaper magnate with a love of quick rides. Previous to the public sale, Hirsch’s bikes have been on show at a non-public museum situated in his personal mansion.
The Cyclone’s latest proprietor gained’t have the ability to merely take their recordbreaking buy out in town for a spin, nevertheless. The sale is relegated “for show functions solely,” and isn’t cleared for freeway or public highway use.
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