RC30 tops bikes at Shannons Sydney auction

Ahead of the 18 November auction, the hero lots were the Walter Wolf Suzuki and a 1989 Honda VFR750R RC30 – the model developed as an homologation special for the World Superbike Championship.

Costing almost twice the price of a standard 750 when new, the RC30 was the Formula 1 racer of motorcycles, with its 748cc liquid-cooled four-stroke V4 engine featuring 16-valves, gear-driven double overhead camshafts, titanium conrods, forged alloy pistons, matched to a close-ratio six-speed gearbox.

Coming to auction with a low 17,100km on the odometer, this incredibly original Honda RC30 carried a pre-auction estimate of $40,000-$45,000, which it beat to sell for $50,000.

Next-best seller was a 1972 Laverda 750SF that was purchased by the current owner in 2016 as a stalled restoration project. Completed at a cost in excess of $15,000 and with just 920km covered since, the Laverda carried a $15,000 - $20,000 guiding range, which it exceeded to sell for $23,500.

With interest strong in Honda’s CB750 in its 50th Anniversary year, an unrestored 1969 CB750 KO was expected to sell well and didn’t disappoint, achieving a final price of $25,000 against a $15,000 - $20,000 range.

The Walter Wolf Suzuki was passed in, as was a fully-restored 1961 Triumph Bonneville T120R, but a 1961 Matchless G12 CSR sold for $7,000, a ’49 Matchless G80 sold for $5,100 and a C1959 BSA Bantam made $3,000.

The Malvern Star Autocycle and an Excelsior Universal 125 sold for $3,600 and $3,000, respectively.

For full results and more details from this auction, go to https://www.shannons.com.au/