Debi Trevett joins H-C Travel, as travel agency manager and motorcycle tours sales and operations manager for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Debi previously worked for Trailfinders for 10 years, latterly as their product manager for Africa. Debi joins Linda Kember, North American sales and operations manager responsible for Orange & Black motorcycle tours and rentals, and Carol Hooker, responsible for Asia and Latin America.

David Grist, owner of H-C Travel, said: ‘Debi brings a wealth of experience and expertise to H-C Travel, and I’m delighted to welcome her on board. Our success is based on our professional, personal approach to motorcycle touring, our unique business model, and our passion for travel. Debi is a great fit and reflects our approach perfectly. I’m looking forward to working with her.'

H-C Travel Ltd was established in 1994 and is the UK's leading specialist operator of fly - ride motorcycle tours to destinations around the world. Based in Overton, Hampshire it also has a retail travel agency for the North Hampshire/Berkshire borders (serving the area between Basingstoke, Newbury, Winchester and Andover.) Its Orange & Black brand offers Harley-Davidson authorised guided tours, self-guided tours and rentals in the USA. H-C Travel is uniquely positioned in the UK motorcycle tour market with professional travel industry recognition, ATOL bonding and TTA membership.

See you again next year...

23rd - 24th March 2019 - Save the date/s

TENTH PLACE FINISH JUST A SHOUT FROM EIGHTH

Nineteenth at the start, twelfth on the tenth lap, tenth under the chequered flag: that about sums up Aleix Espargaró's race at the Circuit of the Americas, protagonist of an extraordinary comeback, riding his Aprilia RS-GP into the battle for eighth place. It was a result that he missed by just 3 tenths of a second, when he was unable to demand any more of his tyres in the race finale, already put to a hard test.

The foundation for a good performance today was laid in the warmup session which ended with Aleix in fifth place - demonstration of the excellent analysis conducted after the complicated sessions on Friday and Saturday.

His teammate, Scott Redding, struggled to find the right feeling with the hard tyres chosen for the race, having to settle for a seventeenth place finish in the end. The tests scheduled for tomorrow on this track, where both the Aprilia riders will participate, will be useful to give Scott a chance to increase his familiarity with the RS-GP and better prepare for the arrival of the European races.


ALEIX ESPARGARO'
“We knew that this track would be one of the toughest for the RS-GP, plus yesterday we had difficulty with the setup, so my race started as an uphill battle. In spite of this, I was very focused and aggressive at the start. Already in the early laps I had overtaken a lot of other riders, beginning to make up positions. Today my bike truly worked well. The tenth place finish is not an exceptional result, but it was not simple starting from that far back. The only pity was not being able to get past the two riders ahead of me, but in the final laps, the tyre really deteriorated and I had very little traction. It was a solid race that makes us look toward the first European race with great confidence. Our level is high and we can be a surprise on more than one occasion.”

SCOTT REDDING
“Our weekend has started off well, but then I was unable to progress as much as I would have liked to. I rode the race with the hardest tyre both on the front and on the back and the situation improved in terms of the front end, but I was lacking grip at the rear. To be honest, I expected more, but I can't be disappointed: Aleix did an excellent job today and that demonstrates that the bike has good potential, I just need to keep improving and learning.”

ROMANO ALBESIANO - APRILIA RACING MANAGER
“We are very happy because today we showed our true potential, among other things on a track that is traditionally tough for us, with Aleix riding a stupendous comeback race. After the complicated qualifiers yesterday, we were the only ones who went with the hardest compound tyre on the front and the decision paid off, letting Aleix push hard for the entire distance, thereby recovering several positions. We have an outstanding bike and an outstanding team. Today's performance confirms that. Scott is still at a stage where he needs to get to know the bike better in order to be able to take full advantage of it. Tomorrow we'll be back on the track for a day of testing and we'll work hard to dial it in to his comfort, trying various changes in terms of setup.”

FAUSTO GRESINI - TEAM MANAGER
"Already after doing a good warmup session, we had the feeling that we could ride a great race and with Aleix we succeeded in doing just that. The tenth place finish after starting nineteenth and battling in the finale for eighth is definitely positive. Also taking into consideration the difficulties we have always encountered on this track, I must give everyone a round of applause. There has been clear progress. It was not an easy weekend, but it is a good starting point for us in anticipation of the races in Europe."

- Adam Swan 

On 21st and 22nd April, the largest ever Bonhams Spring Stafford Sale of classic and collectors' motorcycles will take place at the International Classic MotorCycle Show. The sale has been split in to a two-day event to accommodate the astonishing number of machines on offer. More than 300 motorcycles have been consigned - including several single-owner collections – ranging from pre-war American machines to modern Japanese superbikes.

One of them is the 1973 MV Augusta 750 Sport, considered one of the most desirable of post-war motorcycles.

We have worked closely with experts at Bonhams Auction House - the most renowned auctioneers of fine art, motorbikes, cars and jewellery. They provided us with official valuations in order to properly understand how much these motorbikes have appreciated since they came out on the market. As a result, we now have information on some of the most valuable motorbikes in recent history.

Features:

• A list of 30 motorbikes ranked by both 'current value' and 'appreciation' with a short bio
• Top 10 list of most valuable motorbikes and motorbikes that has appreciated the most in value
• Fully embeddable
• Quotes from expert 

In the existing list, we have a 1972 MV Agusta 750s that reached a selling price of £84,380 so it will be interesting to see what the final price will land on for the 1973 model that’s up for grabs on Sunday. It’s expected to land on anything between £70,000 and £90,000.

1973 MV AGUSTA 750S Registration no. CNF 113M Frame no. MV4C75 Lot 262 (22 Apr 2018, 12:00 BST)

'The 750S is still one of the most dramatic looking bikes made. This is in no small part due to the colours: crimson frame, red, blue and white tank, and white fairing with the insignia of MV Agusta emblazoned on the sides.' – Bike magazine.

Developed from its long line of highly successful multi-cylinder racers, MV Agusta's first road-going four - the 4C, a twin-carburettor, 600cc, shaft-driven tourer - appeared in 1965. But the public demanded something more exciting from many-times World Champions MV, and the Gallarate manufacturer duly obliged in 1968, upping capacity to 743cc and further boosting maximum power (to 65bhp) by fitting a quartet of Dell'Orto carburettors to the revised 750S, a high-speed symphony in red, white, and blue. Perhaps surprisingly for a sports model, the 750S retained the 4C's shaft final drive, while the frame too was virtually identical to that of its predecessor.

Hand made in limited numbers and priced accordingly, the 750S was way beyond the financial reach of the average enthusiast, selling to the kind of well-healed individual who might also own a Ferrari, Maserati, or Lamborghini. Marque specialist, the late Mick Walker got to try a mint, low mileage example in 1983, recording the event in his book 'MV Agusta Fours': 'The experience was unique; the rider was transported to a different level, and made to feel really special. There was certainly a pronounced "feel-good factor".'

Quote from expert 
Ben Walker, international director for Bonhams collectors' motorcycle department stated:

Why we selected the bikes we did
-       “When choosing which motorcycles to feature we’ve tried to select machines from across the collecting spectrum - from the early Pioneer period with the 1908 Triumph 3½hp Combination through the post-classic 1990 Honda VFR750R Type RC30.

-       These are machines that will appeal to all areas of enthusiasm – not just because of their value but also because of the nostalgia that they evoke.”

The increase in value
-       “It is fascinating to see how the values have increased since the machines were new. Knowing what we know now – the percentage increase in value and how difficult it is to acquire these machines - it would be great to step back in time and buy them when new….”

Top 10 most valuable motorbikes

1. 1951 Vincent Black Lightning - £ 657,652 
2. The ex-Hubert Chantrey, 1932 Brough Superior 800cc Model BS4 Project - £ 331,900
3. 1929 Brough Superior 968cc SS100 - £ 315,000
4. Rare 'one-of-one' Black Shadow variant in Chinese Red - 1951 Vincent White Shadow - £ 305,210
5. 1939 Vincent-HRD 998cc Series-A Rapide - £ 275,900
6. 1939 Vincent-HRD 998cc Rapide Series-A Project - £ 270,300
7. 1927 Brough Superior 981cc SS100 Alpine Grand Sport Project - £ 259,100
8. The ex-George Brough, London-Edinburgh Trial - 1939 Brough Superior 990cc SS100 - £ 253,500
9. The ex-Murray Motorcycle Museum, 1934 Brough Superior 996cc SS100 - £ 242,300
10. 1926 Brough Superior 981cc SS100 Alpine Grand Sport Project - £ 236,700

Top 10 by value appreciation (inflation adjusted appreciation value)

1. 1951 Vincent Black Lightning - 4475.23%
2. 1929 Brough Superior 968cc SS100 - 3023.07%
3. Rare 'one-of-one' Black Shadow variant in Chinese Red - 1951 Vincent White Shadow - 2789.63%
4. The ex-George Brough, London-Edinburgh Trial - 1939 Brough Superior 990cc SS100 - 2735.30%
5. The ex-Hubert Chantrey, 1932 Brough Superior 800cc Model BS4 Project - 2666.55%
6. 1927 Brough Superior 981cc SS100 Alpine Grand Sport Project - 2585.46%
7. 1926 Brough Superior 981cc SS100 Alpine Grand Sport Project - 2422.67%
8. The ex-Murray Motorcycle Museum, 1934 Brough Superior 996cc SS100 - 2164.34%
9. 1937 Matchless 1,000cc Model X - 1008.66%
10. 1939 Vincent-HRD 998cc Series-A Rapide - 981.17%

Article supplied to THE BIKER GUIDE