1951 Vincent Black Shadow
Miles: 300
Clean Title
Listed Price: $110,000
Listing Ends: November 4th, 2024
First of all, before we get into any arguments in the comments that start, “well actually, the Brough Superior blah, blah, blah,” this is my post, and I’ll use any clickbait headline I want. Secondly, my assertion is that the Vincent Black Shadow was the first modern superbike, with features so wildly ahead of their time that we’re still using many of them today. Plus, it has the coolest name ever. If you’re not already familiar with this blue-chip investment-grade machine, it featured a foot-shifted four-speed unit-construction gearbox when most motorcycles were still using hand-shifted non-unit three-speed boxes, hand controls a modern rider would mostly recognize, a swingarm rear suspension when many contemporaries used rigid frames, and had a claimed 125mph top speed. In 1948. Powered by a dry-sump, air-cooled 50° v-twin with 998cc of displacement producing 55hp that also doubled as a stressed member of the frame, the bike was a higher-performance version of the company’s Rapide, with sinister black paint and blacked-out engine cases. While the company generally didn’t participate in road racing, a stripped-down version of the bike was famously piloted by an also stripped-down Rollie Free to a top speed of 150.313mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1948 while lying stretched out across the rear fender, as the seat had been removed…
1951 Vincent Black Shadow. A concours restoration done over 35 years ago and still looks like it was done yesterday. This bike is perfect and will win any show. It has just been serviced and started again after 30 years in owners living room. It starts,runs and drives perfectly and will go anywhere. It won the first and only show it entered after its restoration. It needs nothing! It has covered 560 miles since its restoration. Triple matching numbers with all documentation, certificates, books, and trophies.
A no nonsense bike and definitely amongst the best in the world. Buy with absolute confidence. Please note that this is a bike for the collector and connoisseur, not for the bargain hunter. Please note that I have not put the VIN number on eBay for privacy reasons and to avoid time wasters. Once you send your number and we talk on the phone I will send all numbers and documentation to serious buyer.
This bike is obviously a bit older than our usual content, but it seemed appropriate, considering its rarity and very special place in the development of the high-performance motorcycle. At the $110,000 asking price, this example isn’t cheap. But the Vincent Black Shadow was never really cheap: not now, not in my memory [such as it is], certainly not when new. Collectors always knew these were special bikes, would be increasingly valuable in the future, and I know vintage bike fans who are beating themselves up for not buying in when they were going for a mere $50,000. One of the coolest bikes of all time. With luck, you might actually see one being ridden out in the wild.
-tad