Vintage ‘Bi-Car’ resurfaces for Shannons Spring Online Auction

Shannons next online-only auction will feature a selection of rare vintage and veteran motorcycles.

The Timed Spring Online Auction, scheduled for 11 – 18 November, will feature six bikes from noted Victorian collector and enthusiast Warren Hicks. All six bikes are offered with No Reserve.

Although each of the six are rare by world standards, the rarest is also the oldest – a circa-1907 Zenith Bi-Car, which is the only example known to exist.

Made in England, the Zenith Bi-Car first appeared in 1905 (some sources say earlier, others later), and was a licensed copy of the ‘Tooley Bi-Car’ that had debuted a year earlier. What defined the Bi-Car against other motorcycle designs of the period was its low-slung frame design, made up of a pair of parallel tubes, with the upper tubes connecting the front and rear hubs, while the engine (a 3hp Fafnir single in most instances), fuel tank, seat and steering were mounted to the lower tubes. Oddities necessitated by this layout included a lack of pedals, which meant engine starting was done by a car-style crank handle. 

The Bi-Car’s overall configuration was revived on the Ner-A-Car from the 1920s, and the hub-centre steering has been seen numerous times since, but the seating position directly over the back axle was arguably a design flaw - one that would be rectified within the Bi-Car’s brief lifespan.

The configuration wasn’t just odd for odd’s sake: there was some engineering behind the Bi-Car. The two frame sections were separated by springs and hinges to reduce wear and vibration being transferred to the rider, while hub centre steering was – generally – lighter, stronger and more stable than conventional fork front suspension of the period. Hub centre designs offer a sharper turning circle, too, although the frame configuration of the Bi-Car negated this benefit.

Zenith followed the Bi-Car with a three-wheeled ‘Tri-Car’ version, which was available in both passenger and cargo/delivery form, but a listed maximum payload of just over 76kg (even with a larger capacity JAP v-twin engine and multi-speed transmission) limited its usefulness in either application.

From 1907, Zenith moved to more conventional motorcycle designs. These saw the company achieve competition success, in both circuit racing and speed records, in the 1920s. Zenith would survive bankruptcy and two world wars before finally ceasing production in 1950. 

How long the Bi-Car remained in production is unknown, but one account suggests the last examples were built in 1907 – the approximate year of the auction bike. Frame number “3” suggests the Bi-Car from Hicks’s collection is one of earliest to be built, but the build period contradicts this.

Unseen since 1974, the Bi-Car comes to auction in ‘barn find’ condition. Being a one-off, with near-mythical status in the International motorcycle scene, Shannons expect it to attract strong overseas interest. A guiding range of $50,000-$70,000 may prove conservative for this one-off when bidding opens on 11 November.

For more details on Shannons Timed Spring Online Auction on 11 – 18 November, including information on how to register for bidding, go to: shannons.com.au