A 1915 Cyclone board racer motorcycle once owned by Steve McQueen sold this past weekend at Mecum Auction's Las Vegas event for a (King of) cool $775,000.
It may look like little more than a motorized bicycle compared to today’s racing bikes, but was one of the most technologically advanced motorcycles of the day. The Minnesota-made machine featured a 61 cubic inch V-twin equipped with overhead cams.
It was also the fastest, a 1914 model recording a top speed of 111.1 mph, but it couldn’t outrun a host of reliability issues that led to the company’s demise just two years later. One of just six known to survive, the ex-McQueen Cyclone was purchased at an estate auction in 1984 and fully restored.
The price paid eclipses the $551,000 sale of a similar Cyclone that didn’t have the McQueen connection in 2008, and makes it one of the most valuable motorcycles in the world. But it still might not be the coolest.
While the $775,000 bid exceeded pre-auction estimates, it pales in comparison to the Harley-Davidson chopper Peter Fonda rode in the film “Easy Rider,” which sold last year for $1.35 million.