Help identify these bikes

Eight bikes belonging to former Isle of Man TT racer and Manx GP winner Peter Darvill have been unearthed after years in storage to be auctioned.

MCN readers are being asked for help to try and trace the history of the bikes as Darvill’s ill-health and mice eating the original paperwork has meant key information about them has been lost.

The bikes will be auctioned at the Cheffins vintage sale on April 21 at Ely, Cambridgeshire with a total of 45 bikes and 300 lots of automobilia.

The eight bikes are a mix of old classic Vincents from the 1940s and 1950s and much newer Hondas and a Kawasaki from the 1980s – none have been seen since they were put into storage almost 10 years ago.

Darvill was a privateer racer from the 1950s and 1960s and had considerable success in the TT and won the Manx GP in 1963. He also raced in world endurance events claiming a second at the Bol d’Or in 1970 on a Honda CB750.

Darvill’s racing career was brought to an end in 1976 in Barcelona when another rider exiting the pits at dusk knocked him off and he broke his back. He then turned his attention to running a team and had riders such as Roger Hurst and Simon Buckmaster riding for his Darvill Racing team.

Auctioneer Jerry Curzon of Cheffins said: “Due to the state of Peter Darvill’s health it has not been possible to discover much about any of the bikes and mice have destroyed much of the paperwork. Perhaps MCN readers may recognise the machines and have some useful info?

“This will be the first time in many, many years these machines have seen the light of day although I understand a few people are aware the collection exists.”

Anyone who does recognise any of the bikes can contact Cheffins on 01223-213777. Auction details: www.cheffins.co.uk

The exact models from the Darvill collection are:

1984 Kawasaki GPZ900R Reg No. unknown
1983 Honda CB1100RD Reg No. PUL 605Y
1982 Honda CBX Pro-Link Reg No. FLB 682Y
1984 Honda VF1000RE Reg No. A160 DBL
1947 Velocette KSS Reg No. KKE 520
1950 Vincent Comet Reg No. KOK 921
1949 Vincent Black Shadow Reg No. NPG 345
1955 Vincent Black Knight Reg No. YHA 898