Courtesy of H&H ClassicsA motorcycle that once belonged to John Lennon was sold at an auction held Sunday at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull, U.K.
The 1969 Honda Z50A trail bike, a model nicknamed the “Monkeybike,” fetched 57,500 pounds, or about $79,600, at the sale, which was organized by H&H Classics auction service.
Lennon owned the small motorcycle from 1969 to 1971, and used it to travel around the grounds of his Tittenhurst Park estate in Surrey, U.K. The bike had been expected to sell for between 20,000 and 40,000 pounds, or between about $28,000 and $55,000. According to H&H, the winning bid is the highest price ever paid for a Honda Z50A at an auction.
“Naturally we were thrilled to be entrusted with the marketing and sale of this bike, given its extraordinary provenance,” says H&H executive Mark Bryan. “So to achieve this price is hugely satisfying.”
The bike had been owned for the last 47 years by John Harrington, who would occasionally display it at various shows and events. Harrington had purchased the vehicle from a man named Henry Graham, one-time owner of a local business called Motor Cycle City, who bought the bike from Lennon earlier in ’71.
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