An extremely rare, and extremely old, motorcycle will be heading to the auction block in a few weeks. The 1906 Indian Camelback is expected to fetch big money when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams in Las Vegas, US, on January 12, despite the fact that it's a little rusty and hasn't been ridden in over 40-years.
If it did run, the 1906 Indian Camelback would pump out 2.25 horsepower to drive the bike up to 30 mph. So bidders aren't expecting to ride the 105 year old motorcycle. Instead, the Indian Camelback will serve as a nice showpiece for whoever has the estimated $75,000 to buy it.
'This motorcycle is in such demand because of its condition and to restore it would actually take value off," Ben Walker from Bonhams told the Daily Mail. "The motorcycle will probably be oily-ragged...It will probably be rebuilt mechanically but with as little change to its condition. Indian were the great rivals of Harley-Davidson and were at the forefront of motorcycles when they evolved from bicycles. It would have been a quick machine with a fair turn of speed and no brakes on early motorcycles were much good - the were the same design as bicycle brakes."
Only 1,698 Indian Camelbacks were produced. The bike that will be auctioned off was owned by the du Pont family, who bought the 'Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company,' and was last driven in the 70s.
