1925 Coventry-Eagle to be Featured at Bonhams’ Upcoming Auction
newsdepo.com
1925 Coventry-Eagle 981cc Flying-8 will be featured at Bonhams’ upcoming auction, “The Spring Stafford Sale: The International Classic MotorCycle Show” that will be held on April 28, 2019, in Stafford, UK. The pre-auction estimate of this motorcycle is
1925 Coventry-Eagle to be Featured at Bonhams’ Upcoming Auction
1925 Coventry-Eagle 981cc Flying-8 will be featured at Bonhams’ upcoming auction, “The Spring Stafford Sale: The International Classic MotorCycle Show” that will be held on April 28, 2019, in Stafford, UK. The pre-auction estimate of this motorcycle is £ 100,000 - 120,000 and it will be presented in lot 505 at the auction. “Established in Victorian times as a bicycle manufacturer, Coventry-Eagle built a diverse range of motorcycles using proprietary (mainly JAP) engines from 1901 onward, though machines only began to be produced in significant numbers after WWI. Six Coventry-Eagles were offered for 1923, all JAP-powered except for a Blackburne-engined 350, ranging from the formidable Flying-8 to the diminutive S14 Ultra-Lightweight. Most famous of these was the Flying-8, which with its 1.0-liter JAP v-twin engine and muscular good looks, was a worthy rival for the Brough Superior and a formidable Brooklands racing machine. Introduced in 1923, the Flying-8 was not Coventry-Eagle’s first v-twin but it was the first to establish a sporting reputation thanks to its special 981cc side valve engine that guaranteed a top speed of 80mph, exceptional performance at the time. Motor Cycle’s tester found that the Flying-8 was tractable, comfortable, and handled well in town, while ‘on the open road, as one would expect, it is possible to annihilate space on the merest whiff of gas...,’” states the auction house. The present motorcycle is a rare Vintage-era v-twin and it has formerly been on display at the London Motorcycle Museum. The engine number of this 1925 Coventry-Eagle is KTOR/A 42942. As stated by the auction house, it comes with documentation that consists of an old V5, expired MoT certificates, an old-style continuation logbook (1948), a JAP Reference Book, expired tax discs (1948 onward), assorted correspondence, and a Coventry Eagle MotorCycles Olympia Show edition pamphlet. Commenting on the origin and modifications of the present motorcycle, Bonhams says, “In 1926, the side valve version was joined by a new and even faster overhead-valve engined Flying-8, again JAP powered. Motor Cycling concluded its test of the OHV Flying-8 thus: ‘We have no hesitation in recommending the latest Coventry-Eagle as a high-quality machine, capable of the most satisfactory road performance both as regards speed and flexibility.’ Within a few years, however, the onset of the Depression had forced Coventry-Eagle to change tack, the firm concentrating on bread-and-butter lightweights until it ceased motorcycle production in 1939. The last overhead-valve Flying-8 left the factory in 1930 and the final side valve model the following year. Compared with the rival Brough Superior, Flying-8 survivors are relatively few.” https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin Read more
