Back within the Sixties, motorbike racing was a distinct world. It was a time earlier than Rossi or Marquez, earlier than literbikes and ground-effect aero, when top-tier racing might nonetheless occur at displacements smaller than Moto3’s 250ccs. A time when Mike Hailwood nonetheless raced, and did so atop this: A 125cc Ducati race bike dubbed the Barcone. Now, that very bike is up on the market.
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The Barcone got here on the finish of years of early Desmo improvement, and public sale home Bonhams claims it was the corporate’s final single-cylinder race bike. Only 4 Barcones have been ever constructed, and this one — the Barcone heading to public sale at Bonhams — was campaigned by Hailwood.
For a race bike, the Barcone’s specs are quaint. Its single 125cc cylinder places out a large 22 horsepower and revs out to 12,500 RPM. Its livery, all silver and blue, has looped all the way in which again round to being retro. Tell me this isn’t the direct inspiration for Ducati’s Scrambler Café Racer.
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The aesthetics matter greater than the engineering on the Barcone, because it’s unlikely the bike’s purchaser will ever really trip it. It’s a museum piece now – extra essential for its legacy than its efficiency. Plus, at an estimated sale value of $150,000, it’s seemingly a bit too costly to take out to a observe day.
The Barcone heads to public sale subsequent weekend, April 22. If you’ve bought the money and the attention for classic racing memorabilia, you can do rather a lot worse than choosing up Mike Hailwood’s previous Ducati. If not, although, don’t concern — that Scrambler can get you fairly shut by itself.
Source: jalopnik.com