Description
This motorcycle is Lot 2 to be auctioned by Bonhams at the Timed-Online June Sale, please see the Bonhams website for full details. The timed online auction runs between June 6th through June 16th, with lots closing from midday June 16th 2025.
Public Viewing:
Available 11th & 12th June 2025 from 09:00 until 17:00, by appointment only at Bonhams Milton Keynes.
Lot 2
The Chris Skellern Collection
1971 Honda SL350 K1 Motosport
Registration no. OEY 626J
Frame no. SLthe details below
Engine no. SL350E-2045986
Scrambler-style motorcycles have always been a favourite of American riders. In 1968, Honda followed up their popular CL77 Street Scrambler with the CL350, powered by a new 325cc twin-cylinder engine also used for the CB350 sports roadster. With the addition of an off-road SL350 variant for 1969, the Honda 350s soon became the best-selling bikes in the USA, with the total produced numbering some 625, 000. This was a time when many 'dirt bikes' were thinly disguised roadsters, many of them too heavy to be of any real use off road. The first SL350 Motosport having been criticised for its excess weight, Honda put the model on a diet, the resulting K1 of 1970 being around 50lb lighter than its predecessor, although still fully equipped and road legal. The SL350 remained a fixture of the range for the next few years, only disappearing when the new '360' models were introduced for 1974.
A Honda model rarely seen outside the USA, this SL350 K1 was purchased from Direct Classic Imports Ltd of Worcestershire in June 2015 and first registered in the UK on 1st March 2016. The vendor advises that only some 600 miles have been covered since the engine was rebuilt which included new piston rings, cam chain and tensioners, seals and gaskets and was completed by the lead technician of the vendors workshop; carburettors ultrasonically cleaned; genuine exhausts have been fitted: right original, left new-old-stock, both ceramic coated. Note the Hagon shock absorbers. Accompanying paperwork consists of the 2015 purchase invoice; two MoTs (most recent expired May 2019); a V5C Registration Certificate; DVLA correspondence; and a quantity of invoices for parts and services.
All lots are sold 'as is/ where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding. Visit the Bonhams Motorcycles website for all pertinent auction information.
