Motorbike news

King of Cool's personal possessions up for auction

If you're anything like me then you grew up worshipping the legend that is Steve McQueen. The King of Cool was, when I was a little boy, a god.

Zipping across the Alps on his stolen Nazi Triumph in The Great Escape and tearing up the streets of San Francisco in that green Mustang in Bullitt turned him into a hero in my eyes.

I've since realised that I don't actually want to be Steve McQueen, but owning a piece of the legend has always been a dream.

Which is why, after flicking through the pages of Motorcycle News this morning, I'm in a state of delirium. I've just discovered that Steve's widow, Barbara, is preparing to sell hundreds of her late husband's personal possessions in an auction in November.

Not only will there be clothes, sunglasses and credit cards once owned by the Indiana-born actor up for sale but, get this, three of his motorbikes are set to be flogged too.

I can't get my head around the fact that I've got the chance to buy his 1920 Indian Powerplus Daytona, his 1929 Harley-Davidson Model B or even his 1934 Indian Sport Scout.

Imagine owning a bike like that; awesome, simply awesome.

The slight problem is that experts are predicting the bikes to go for a colossal figure, as much as £48,000 for the Daytona. No matter how hard I work for my motorbike accident masters, I don't think my bank balance will stretch that far.

Ah well, a boy can dream can't he?

But if you want to do more than dream then get yourself across to the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on November 11th, or check out www.bonhams.com to find out how to make a bid over the phone.