World’s Most Expensive Classic Motorcycle

Lawrence of Arabia atop a Brough Superior SS100

Sure new motorcycles utilize technology that comes from NASA or the Air Force or whatever, but some people will always prefer the historical value of a classic motorcycle. Take, for instance, the most expensive classic motorcycle in the world–the Brough Superior SS100.
Each of these bikes was custom built and designed by George Brough in Nottingham, England. The SS100 was the fastest motorcycle of its time. The bike’s engine was a 1,000 cc twin-cam KTOR JAP V twin. In 1927, the SS100 achieved a record speed of 130 mph. In 1928, Brough broke that record by .6 mph. It was, as advertised, the “Rolls Royce of Motorcycles.”
Lawrence of Arabia owned one of the first SS100 motorcycles and it was a crash on an SS100 motorcycle that took his life in 1935. That bike is now on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
The most expensive classic motorcycle was sold at auction at The Haynes International Motor Museum in October, 2010. Its final price was an astonishing £286,000 (US $442,000).