Classics star at Vegas auction

A pair of rare Ducati MHe 900s, a fully-restored example of ‘the world’s oldest motorcycle’ which fetched $161,000 (£104,000), and one of the earliest Indians ever built were among the highlights of Bonham’s Las Vegas Motorcycle Sale on Thursday.

The Ducatis, which were styled by Pierre Terreblanche as a homage to Mike Hailwood’s 1978 TT-winning machine and of which just 2000 were built, sold for $11,115 (£7200) and $12,870 (£8300) respectively.

The ‘world’s oldest motorcycle’, is a restored, though not operational example of a 1894 Hildebrand and Wolfmuller, the first powered two-wheeler to enter production and to be given the name ‘motorcycle’. 

While the Indian is the firm’s third ever prototype, built in 1901 and called the ‘F Head Single Camel Back’, which sold for $133,500 (£87,000).

The annual sale is one of the biggest on the auction calendar and took place at the Imperial Palace Hotel, Las Vegas. Full details via www.bonhams.com.