Description
This motorcycle is Lot 98 of Bonhams Motorcycles Online – The Summer Sale; open for bidding 5-15th June 2026. This Lot is available for public view and eventual collection from Bonhams Motorcycle Department, Milton Keynes.
Please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Auction Timings:
Bidding on all Lots commences Friday 5 June, 12:00 noon.
Bidding closes Monday 15 June, 12:00 noon, starting with Lot 1
Each subsequent Lot will then close one minute apart unless bidding remains active.
Public Viewing (BY APPOINTMENT ONLY):
All Lots:
Wednesday 10 June, 9am - 5pm
Thursday 11 June, 9am - 5pm
Please email using the button below with your availability to schedule an appointment.
Lot 98
The Connoisseurs Collection, Part III
1961 Harley-Davidson 165cc AH Topper
Registration no. not registered
Frame no. not visible
Engine no. not visible
This Lot has arrived in the UK from overseas under Temporary Admission. Shippio Ltd must complete all post-sale customs clearance administration, for import or export, on behalf of the purchaser. A compulsory fee of £195 + VAT will be added to the buyer's invoice for this service. This Lot may not be collected from the auction venue by the purchaser or any third-party transporter until Shippio Ltd has confirmed that this Lot has cleared customs.
If this Lot is to remain in the UK, or is not exported within 90 days of the sale, Import VAT at 5% of the hammer price will be payable.
When Harley-Davidson wanted to add a range of lightweight motorcycles to its line-up of traditional heavyweight twins, it simply went out and bought the Italian Aermacchi concern. But when it came to adding a scooter to the range, H-D eschewed the large-wheeled Aermacchi designs in favour of one of its own: the Topper, though at 12" in diameter the Topper's wheels were larger than those of many scooters. The Topper was powered by a pull-started 165cc air-cooled two-stroke engine, which drove via an 'infinitely variable' automatic transmission. Its frame was tubular and there was an Earles-type leading-link fork up front, while the slab-sided glassfibre bodywork was available in two-tone livery. Two versions were available initially: 'A' (9. 5bhp) and 'AU' (5bhp), the former changing to 'AH' in 1961. Elvis Presley was one of the Topper's better known owners. Unfortunately for H-D, by the time of the Topper's arrival in 1960 the post-war scooter boom was subsiding and sales were disappointing. The Topper was last catalogued in 1965.
This Topper's frame number has not been located but our vendor refers to '61AH3273'. Purchased at a US auction in September 2001, the machine is offered for recommissioning or possibly more extensive restoration and thus is sold strictly as viewed (the engine turns over). Rubber components are in fair condition and the odometer reading is 5, 414 (whether miles or kilometres remains unknown). Offered with auction purchase paperwork.
Following a period of inactivity, this motorcycle will require recommissioning and/ or restoration to a greater or lesser extent before returning to the road and thus is sold strictly as viewed. Prospective purchasers should satisfy themselves with regard to this motorcycle's completeness, history, authenticity, originality and mechanical condition prior to bidding.
£1, 500 - 3, 000
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.
