One of the most recognized motorcycle scenes in the history of the movies has inspired a bike created for the 2011 Great Escape 2 movie.
Fifty RAF officers died in the backlash after the so-called “Great Escape” from the German prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III in March 1944, and a bike created to commemorate the event will be sold during a Bonhams’ auction of Collectors’ Motorcars and Motorcycles on Thursday, Dec. 1, at Mercedes Benz World in England.
The bike, based on a 2011 Triumph Bonneville T100, represents a modern version of the bike ridden by Steve McQueen in the 1963 film The Great Escape which pitted prisoners of war against their German captors and starred Richard Attenborough, James Garner and Steve McQueen.
McQueen’s most famous role may well have been that of Captain Virgil Hilts in ‘The Great Escape’, but it was McQueen’s pal, Bud Ekins, who actually rode the bike for the most famous motorcycle jump in the movies.
The bike is being sold with the registration ‘WW11 POW’ and the auctioneers believe it will fetch some $14,000-18,000. While the bike isn’t necessarily historically accurate, it does a fine job of simulating the one Ekins used for the famous “wire jump” scene. McQueen rode a 1962 Triumph TR6 Trophy in that film. The McQueen bike will be joined by six other classic Triumphs from the factory’s model line on a tour to raise money for The Royal British Legion and ‘Help for Heroes’.
The Great Escape bike is a 2011 Triumph T100 modified to incorporate Hagon shocks, wider handlebars, modified mudguards, a military paint scheme, asolo seat and Triumph performance exhaust. The bike has already covered 5,000 miles and it’s in excellent condition after a factory service, and as an added bonus, it’s still under the manufacturer’s warranty. What do you get with your purchase? As part of the deal, you’ll get a photographic record of the “Great Escape 2” event.
All sale proceeds will go to Armed Services charities, so you’ll be helping out while you ride.
“It’s a pleasure to be offering this machine on behalf of such worthy causes,” said James Stensel of Bonhams. “The team at GE2 have put in so much effort in to reach the culmination of this project and we ask bidders to bid generously.”
Insuring your collectible or vintage motorcycle
You can spend a lot less, but if you plan to ride the bikes in your collection, the above pricing is a reasonable approximation of what you can expect to pay.