Property of the late Warrick Blackwell, c.1975 AMF Harley-Davidson 250cc Grand Prix Racing Motorcycle

Frame no. 250/2C/2T/10153 Engine no. 250/2C/2T/10153

• Rare Grand Prix racing motorcycle
• Offered for re-commissioning/restoration
• Large quantity of spares

With the competitiveness of its over-the-counter single-cylinder four-stroke racers rapidly diminishing as the 1960s progressed, Aermacchi (by now part of AMF-owned Harley-Davidson) had no option but to develop a new generation of two-stroke machines. They started out with a simple piston-ported 125cc single in 1967, which was doubled up to form a 250cc twin in 1969 and later a similar 350. Delays meant that the new 250 did not see its first race until March 1971, when Renzo Pasolini finished a promising 7th place at Modena despite crashing. Weighing the same as the 250cc pushrod single but with an extra 11bhp on tap, the two-stroke represented a huge leap forward; indeed in 1972 it garnered three Grand Prix wins for Aermacchi and Pasolini, who lost the 250cc World Championship by a single point to Yamaha's Jarno Saarinen. Pasolini's tragic death in 1973 put the brakes on Aermacchi's racing effort that year, and when the new two-strokes returned to the track in 1974 they were badged as AMF Harley-Davidson, Aermacchi having severed its links with the motorcycle business.

A water-cooled version of the 350 had appeared in 1973, and this innovation was applied to the 250 in time for the 1974 season. Riders that year were Frenchman Michel Rougerie and Spaniard Walter Villa. By the season's end, Villa had secured four Grand Prix victories to bring the Varese factory its first World Championship, a feat he repeated in '75 and '76, adding the 350 crown in the latter year for good measure. By this time, the 250 was producing 58bhp and the 350 70 horsepower. This marked the high point of the strokers' development, as the cash-strapped factory could no longer afford the expense of running a Grand Prix team. Villa was forced to contest the 1977 season as a privateer, finishing 3rd in the 250cc World Championship behind team-mate Franco Uncini in 2nd place.

This rare example of AMF Harley-Davidson's Grand Prix 250 is sold strictly as viewed, its condition, completeness and history being unknown. The machine comes with a sizeable selection of spares (some NOS) including cylinder heads and barrels, sprockets, carburettors, water pump and sundry other parts. Please note, a selection of mostly AMF spares (Lot 255) are offered separately within the auction.
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