Million-dollar Harley? UPDATE!

Shannons Auctions will be putting a very rare Harley–Davidson under the hammer in Melbourne on Monday (September 21).

The Harley is a 1927 FHA twin-cam racer with sidecar which is reported to have been in the one family all its life. Shannons tells us these race bikes were generally used by Harley-Davidson's factory team and only a few were offered for sale -- with a big price tag.

This particular Harley was raced regularly by its owner up until the 1940s and was reputedly last raced around 1950 and then stored until now.

Shannons description of the bike states: "Given the rough treatment meted out to [the bikes] on the tracks of the day, it's hardly surprising that few original Harley-Davidson racers survived the passage of time and those that remain have often been extensively modified. Finding an unrestored example of a period board-track racer is becoming all but impossible, making the motorcycle offered here a wonderful opportunity for the Harley collector."

Shannons says that the Harley is: "Still covered in the oil and grit from its last outing, the bike remains in time warp condition right down to the paint and tyres and it hasn't been started or cleaned since retiring."

Rumours heard around Melbourne say that the ultra-rare Harley could fetch as much as a million dollars.

UPDATE:
The Harley did sell at auction to an unnamed collector. The price? A very neat $600,000! Which Shannons says is an Australian record.

Bidding was spirited and ended up being a battle between a bidder from the US and a local floor bidder with the local winning out. So, yes, the Harley will be staying in Australia.

A very excited national Auction Manager Christophe Boribon said the sale was "very important" for the future of collectible  and important motorcycles in Australia.

"Motorcycles of this calibre have been under-valued on the world market for some years," he said. "This is truly a watershed moment."