James May and Richard Hammond aren't destitute. Bored? Sure. But poor? Hardly. So don't read anything into the fact that both former Top Gear presenters are sending some of their motorcycles up for auction this month.
On the block are 12 bikes – eight from May and four from Hammond – primarily vintage stuff from the 70s. The most expensive lot comes from May, who is auctioning off his 2010 Yamaha SR400 that's been worked over by Deus Ex Machina, but honestly, it's the least interesting of the bunch.
Hammond's Triton 500cc cafe racer (top) is what we'd drop our coin on. With a Dominator 88 Featherbed frame from 1956 and a Tiger 100 engine pulled from a '54, Bonhams is expecting it to go for between $9,600 and $13,000.
From the May Collection it's a split between this slick little '74 49cc Yamaha FS1-E, which James only put around 50 miles on after buying from Hammond, or his '71 Kawasaki 250cc Samurai A1 (above). The former should go for well over $4k and the latter right around his $8,900 asking price.
As if to reassure people that neither host is clearing out their garages after Top Gear's shuttering, both May and Hammond told the Telegraph that the auction was planned months in advance.
"I was going to sell these bikes anyway. And those paintings, and my collection of Scalextric cars," says May. "Honest."
Contact the author at damon@jalopnik.com.
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