Description
This motorcycle is Lot 57 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 57
From the Bunny Leaf Rudge Collection
1939 Rudge 499cc Ulster
Registration no. TRO 12
Frame no. 65296
Engine no. U3151
Rudge were pioneers of various aspects of motorcycle design later, sometimes, much later, to be taken up by the rest of the industry. They were early adopters of 4 speed gearboxes when most of the competition fitted 3 speed boxes, larger than normal brakes, and perhaps most famously, 4 valve cylinder heads. Graham Walker rode his Rudge to victory in the 1928 Ulster GP, then the world's fastest road race, at a new record speed of over 80 mph, and in a clever piece of marketing the Sports model was renamed the Ulster for the 1929 season. The Ulster was to remain in the range, updated through the years, for as long as Rudges were built. The factory's rapidly improving race results of the late 1920s reached their peak on the Isle of Man in 1930 when they achieved 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the Junior TT, and 1st and 2nd in the Senior. However, the cost of developing these all-conquering machines must have been immense, and very soon the world was spiralling into the Great Depression. The consequence was that the anticipated boost in sales didn't happen, and the company was never to recover from this financial hit. Rudge was sold to His Master's Voice in 1936, and production moved from Coventry to Hayes two years later, but Rudge motorcycle production did not resume after the war.
Bernard (Bunny) Leaf bought his first Rudge in 1951 and thereafter remained a committed Rudge man. He bought this 1939 Ulster in 1960. After Bunny's tragically early passing in 1982, his old friend Brian Bartholomew, a British ex-pat by then living in Los Angeles, sent an appreciation/ obituary of Bunny to Colin Chapple, an official of The Rudge Enthusiasts Club, probably for publication in the Rudge Journal. We have this and the bike's first buff logbook to thank for enabling us to unravel TRO12's back story. Here is an edited extract from the obituary:
"...... My purpose in writing is to let the membership know that my friend, Bunny Leaf, one of the first members of this club, died earlier this year. His death occurred too young, and he is much missed by his wife Eve, and four children. Bunny and I both attended Hornsey College of Art where we met and became fast friends. We both became motorcycle nuts, and after briefly flirting with lesser makes, we became devotees of the Rudge marque. This was during the period just after the 2nd world war, and our choice was somewhat dictated by the slimness of the student purse, and the ability of the Rudge to outperform the early post war machinery......... In his own meticulous way Bunny was a member of that great band of motorcyclists who do not have to perform on a track for the average bystander to see how a two-wheeler should be ridden and maintained. He was a model rider of everyday roads......... Bunny left two Rudge Ulsters, one of which happens to be from the last batch made. It is unique in as much as it was stored by the dealer throughout the war years and was sold new after that conflict..... Bunny purchased it from the 1st owner......"
The accompanying buff logbook confirms Brian's story. It records that TRO12 was first registered on 1st January 1955 to William Alexander Newall of St Albans, and later to Bunny, its second owner, on 1st December 1960. Like many others, the registration number was lost as a result of the creation of the DVLA in Swansea, and there are various letters (supplied) which relate to the reclaiming of the original number, which was eventually achieved. In one of these letters, John Clayton, then club registrar, confirms that both the engine and frame were manufactured in May 1939, and that the registration number was first issued in Hertfordshire in December 1954. Two V5 registration documents are also supplied.
TRO12 has been lovingly dry stored by Bunny's family over the 43 years since his death. It is believed to have been started only once in that time, about 10 years ago, and is in beautifully patinated time warp condition. Please note that despite this lack of use, the engine does turn over. A 1972 tax disc is affixed, and this is probably the last time it was used on a regular basis. A 1970 MOT certificate shows the mileage as 26, 766. Today the odometer of the 120mph chronometric speedo shows 28, 918, and this may well be the total mileage from new. Recommissioning and/ or restoration to a greater or lesser extent will obviously be required following a long period of storage. Prospective bidders should satisfy themselves as to the motorcycle's completeness and mechanical condition prior to bidding. We noted that the battery carrier is incomplete and only cable tied in place. Sold strictly as viewed. No key required. This is a possibly unique opportunity to acquire a late, low mileage, and effectively two owner Rudge Ulster...........
Please also see Lot 106 in the Spares and Memorabilia section of this sale for Bunny's cache of Rudge spares.
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.
