H&H to auction the Don Leeson collection

Having broken a number of significant records at its first sale of 2007, the burgeoning H&H motorcycle department will be holding its second auction of the season at Kempton Park Racecourse on May 12 – this will run concurrently with the EGP Southern Classic Bike Show and Bike Jumble.

Ardent bikers will be aware that this popular 21 year old event is arguably the biggest of all the general classic bike shows in the South, with some 400 stalls and thousands of visitors – an ideal venue for a motorcycle, motobilia and bicycle sale.

Said H&H’s George Beale, “This is a very well proven event and the motorcycles and many spares we are offering should be of great attraction to the visitors. Moreover, having held a very successful car auction there last year (there will be another this July), we know what an excellent and readily accessible venue it is.” Certainly George and the team will be making the most of the opportunity before them and have already consigned the Don Leeson collection, as well as a selection of interesting individual entries.

Don Leeson was a founder member of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club and an avid collector of Suzuki motorcycles. Sadly, he was killed whilst racing in the Isle of Man two years ago, so his personal collection of some 40 machines is coming to market. Many of the motorcycles on offer are Suzukis from circa 1960 to early 1970. Most are road models, but there are one or two racing machines including a TR250 and a factory RV61 racing chassis equipped with a T20 engine.

There is also a 1912 Corah, which is believed to be the only example in existence and is in very original condition. Several hundred lots of new and used spare parts will be on sale too.

Among the individual entries is a very rare 1967 Tohatsu 125cc Twin. It has had just one owner from new, who competed with it at club and national level before restoring it to its present condition. At the time of writing, the following had also been entered: a 1952 Norton Manx 40M (£9,000-11,000); a 1981 Ducati 900 SS restored in 2003/4 by Tony Brancato (£7,500-8,500); a 1947 Norton Manx 40M (£7,000-8,000); a 1971 Norton Commando restored by Norvil Motorcycles (£6,000-7,000); a genuine Pykett replica 1948 AJS 18T (£1,200-1,600) and Ron McBeth’s Talmag winning 1948 AJS 16M Trials machine (£1,200-1,400).

Pedal pushers
H&H are rapidly gaining an enviable reputation for their bicycle sales too and got the season off to a flying start at Cheltenham on March 1 by achieving over

£2,100 for an 1878 Coventry Machinist Co. Ordinary. As we closed for press a c.1995 Colnago Beach Bicycle (£280-350) had been entered and many more fine machines are expected.

Further information on these and all other H&H sales can be found at classic-auctions.com.