Large reward offered for rare stolen bikes

A substantial £10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the recovery of two historical motorcycles that were stolen in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

A factory-prepared 1974 MV Agusta that was built for 8-time world GP champion, Phil Read was stolen alongside an immaculately presented 1952 Vincent 1000 Rapide at around 2:00am from an office in Epping, Essex on 29 August. the bikes together have been valued in excess of £100,000.

The MV was built in the factory race workshop for Read in 1974 and has been backed-up with extensive paperwork outlining the history of this iconic machine.

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“This is a well-documented and genuine machine as confirmed by the treasurer of the MV Augusta owners club” said Ross Burnard, Director of Clarke International where the bikes were stolen. “These are special, cherished motorbikes with great heritage and as you can imagine, we are very keen to get both motorcycles back. We are hoping that the substantial £10,000 reward offer will lead to their safe return.”

The MV can be identified from its engine, frame and registration markings:

MV Frame No. MV4C75022177
MV Engine No. 77
MV Reg WHJ 467M

The identifying markings for the Vincent are:

Vincent Frame No. RC/1/7896
Vincent Engine No. F10AB/1/4628
Vincent Reg No. NNK 813

Anybody who might have information leading to the recovery of these motorcycles are encouraged to contact either Ross Burnard or Ray Houldsworth on 01992 565 300/07734078892 or by emailing; ross.burnard@clarkeinternational.com or ray.houldsworth@clarkeinternational.com.

These machines are the latest in a string of recent high-profile motorcycle thefts which include Tito Rabat’s Marc VDS World Championship winning Moto2 machine the other week. A van containing 4 Tyco BMW machines that were ridden by Guy Martin, Ian Hutchinson and Christian Iddon was also stolen towards the end of last year at the NEC in Birmingham.

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