Property of a deceased's estate, c.1963 Honda 250cc CR72 Racing Motorcycle

Frame no. CR72-310192 Engine no. CR72E-310119

• Incredibly rare, Ex-works Honda racer
• Third place bike in 1963 lightweight TT
• Ex-Bill Smith

In the 250 class Honda were running the four-cylinder machines from as early as 1959, and in Grand Prix events from 1960. Whilst the fours participated in the most prestigious events, Honda made a twin-cylinder CR72 250 to compete in lower ranked races. Whilst the standard CR72 was an over-the-counter racer available to the public, and Honda even made a road-legal version fitted with lights, there were a few 'works' machines with significant differences, to be campaigned by works riders or selected privateer racers with close connections to Honda. The example offered here is one such works machine.

We have endeavoured to trace the history of the machine as far as possible and we know that the last, deceased owner, Bill Barker, purchased the bike in Ireland from John Martin for the sum of £2350 plus a 1928 Triumph in 1977 (receipt on file). At the beginning of its history, we believe that Bill Smith sold the bike to a gentleman in Wolverhampton from whom it was purchased by Terry Teece. Terry sold the Honda in 1974 to 'a Publican in Wigan' whom we believe to be Eric Biddle, Landlord of The Squirrel public house, who owned and traded many racing bikes around that time. How it moved from Eric Biddle in 1974 to John Martin in 1977 is still unknown at the time of cataloguing, but this may have simply been a sale from one to the other. In the early part of its life, until after the custody of Terry Teece, the bike was known as the one on which Bill Smith finished 3rd in the 1963 Lightweight TT. When Bill Barker obtained the machine, he was told that it had been raced by Ralph Bryans and Tommy Robb. Our enquiries have led to verbal confirmation from Bill Smith, with reference to the frame number, that it is the machine on which he finished third in the 1963 Lightweight TT.

The deceased owner used the bike in CRMC racing until an engine blow-up during the 1980s. After obtaining various parts, new Carillo conrods, and having a new crankshaft made in Germany, Barker had the engine rebuilt. It was completed and re-installed in the rolling chassis approximately 13 years ago, but he then became ill, and subsequently passed away in 2008. The machine has been kept in dry storage since that time, and will require a thorough check over, and careful re-commissioning before running or racing again. A small number of parts, along with two fairings (one fibreglass and one believed original alloy) accompany the machine, together with documentation comprising correspondence from Bill Smith with Japan, other correspondence with various parties, notes, and sundry papers.

Also consigned to this sale, listed separately in the Automobilia section, are two dismantled, incomplete engines, a CR77 and a CR72 (Lot nos. 204 & 203 respectively).