One of the Great Collections of Classic Motorcycles On Auction – The Taggart Collection

Mecum Auctions is placing the The Michael Taggart Motorcycle Collection – a wild mix of 54 motorcycles – on the block at the third annual Mecum Monterey Auction,  on Aug. 18-20, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa.

Michael Taggart – the scion of the  Taggart Baking Company fortune, makers of Wonder Bread – grew up near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Not surprisingly, Taggart got hooked on cars and motorcycles and in the interim he’s collected an array of bikes from the racing, street, dirt track and motocross worlds.

The jewel of Taggart’s collection. That would be a 1929 Norton CS1. Which he kept in his his living room. Which begs the question, what did wife have to say about that?

Norton’s CS1 was produced between 1927 and 1939 and it was built as a TT racer. The bike featured the company’s first overhead cam engine design.

The CS1 engine was designed by Walter Moore in 1927 and designs were largely based on the Norton ES2 pushrod engine.

The frame for the CS1 featured a full cradle design and became the standard for racing Nortons for the next couple of decades.

Alec Bennett won the Isle of Man Senior TT in 1927 on a CS1. In March 1931 Joe Craig and Tim Hunt took the CS1 up to 118 mph and by virtue of that kind of pizazz, Norton then dominated international events with a series of wins in the 20’s and early 30’s.

In part due to the machine’s racing pedigree, you can expect that the bidding for this example from the Taggart Collection will climb well into the $40,000+ range.

The Taggart collection also includes high-quality examples from marques like Rickman, Matchless, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Norton, Triumph, BSA,  and Ariel, so you can bet the prices for these beauties will run higher than the gross national product of Samoa.

“Mecum has established an ongoing commitment to find underexposed motorcycles and expose them to interested buyers around the globe via the auction platform,” said AMA Hall of Famer Gavin Trippe. “We are excited to showcase this collection of bikes in our prime Monterey environment where collectors are eager to see and appreciate the art of the motorcycle in a live auction setting.”

Mecum’s daytime Monterey Auction is open to buyers, sellers and spectators with free admission and free general parking. Attendees can be part of the action while the auction broadcasts live on Mecum’s national TV show “Mecum Auto Auction: Muscle Cars & More” on Discovery Communications’ HD Theater. For complete auction details or to consign a motorcycle today, visit www.Mecum.com or contact Gavin Trippe directly at gavin@mecum.com or 949.337.5307.

Mecum 2011 Monterey Auction
August 18-20, 2011
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa
1 Old Golf Course Road
Monterey, CA 93940

Preview:
Gates open Thursday-Saturday at 8 a.m.

Auction begins Thursday- Saturday at 10 a.m.

Live TV Times:
Thursday-Saturday 1-5 p.m.
(All times Pacific)
CONTACT: