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Julien’s Auctions is presenting a marquee occasion (actually!) on the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on November 6, and the partnership with Turner Traditional Films lives as much as its “Films and Motorcars” moniker. A standout lot is a 1926 Excelsior Tremendous X bike that was as soon as owned by Steve McQueen. The estimate is for a sale of between $125,000-150,000.
From the public sale website:
[T]he Excelsior Tremendous X was the primary mass-produced American 740cc (45ci) V-twin, launching in 1925 and kickstarting a giant V-twin pattern among the many likes of Indian and Harley-Davidson. Curiously, the Tremendous X was really developed by Harley-Davidson’s Assistant Chief Engineer, Arthur Constantine, who took the design to Excelsior after Walter Davidson turned it down.
The bike wound up in McQueen’s in depth assortment within the Seventies, a present from his stunt double and racing compatriot, Bud Ekins. In accordance with Julien’s, McQueen stored the Excelsior at his California ranch, the place he rode it through the remaining 12 months or so earlier than his dying in 1980.
It nonetheless runs!
Julien’s says the bike nonetheless runs, so should you can cowl the eventual hammer worth, you may channel a few of your interior King of Cool. The aforementioned V-twin motor is paired with a three-speed chain-driven transmission, all packed right into a single crankcase, a departure from the designs that had preceded it. The one-time flat-tracker runs on alcohol, is unchanged from when McQueen owned it, and is somewhat barebones. “[T]his mannequin incorporates a racing body, an outsized rear fender, no entrance fender, quick exhaust headers, and…[a] race tuned engine,” Julien’s notes. “There isn’t any lighting or electrics, nor a entrance brake, with only a single drum on the rear.”
The Excelsior was initially auctioned in 1984, when McQueen’s property was bought off (Julien’s has the documentation). The tires are “classic,” and the leather-based seat is “unique,” requiring periodic conditioning to take care of it. So you actually are getting a correct piece of vintage, two-wheeled racing historical past right here, with further Tinseltown cred attributable to its affiliation with an actor who in all probability cherished automobiles, planes, and motorbikes greater than he did the large display.
McQueen lived amongst his toys
The Santa Paula property the place McQueen lived out his days along with his third spouse, Barbara, was an attention-grabbing remaining vacation spot for each the Hollywood legend and his quite a few types of transportation. He and Barbara moved there in 1979 and initially dwelled in an precise airplane hanger earlier than relocating to a modest ranch home, the place they tied the knot. I’ve a e-book about McQueen’s final years, full with Barbara’s images, and the ranch does certainly appear like it was Steve’s comfortable place. It additionally supplied ample storage for all the things from the Excelsior to his yellow prop-driven biplane, in addition to loads of open area and native roads for McQueen to discover.
Julien’s has loads of different items of McQueen-connected stuff within the public sale. You can seize film posters, racing awards, one other bike (a 1971 Husqvarna 250), jackets, and even a pair of very Steve McQueen Persol sun shades which might be anticipated to hammer at $20,000-30,000.