Description
This motorcycle is Lot 136 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 136
The Connoisseurs Collection, Part III
c. 1952 Asahi 250cc Golden Beam FA
Registration no. not registered
Frame no. 5FA-2-2523
Engine no. FA. 14800.
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.
Asahi motorcycles were manufactured by Miyata, originally a general engineering company that could trace its roots back to the early 19th Century. Miyata produced weapons for the Japanese Army and built its first prototype bicycle in 1890. Forced out of the armaments business by cheap imports, Miyata concentrated on bicycle manufacture exclusively from 1900 under the Asahi brand name. The company began experimenting with powered transport around 1907 before launching the Asahi car in 1910. In 1913 Miyata produced the first all-Japanese motorcycle. That first Asahi was based on a British Triumph design, but it was not a success and production was discontinued in 1916.
Miyata returned to motorcycle production in 1933 with the Asahi AA, Japan's first mass-produced motorcycle. Asahi motorcycle production was discontinued during WW2. Through the 1950s the company released the HA (OHV) and Golden Beam FA (sidevalve) models, both with 250cc single-cylinder engines, as well as a 344cc single and various twin-cylinder two-strokes. Increasingly fierce domestic competition saw many Japanese motorcycle enterprises fail in the 1960s, Miyata's being one of them. The last Asahi motorcycles were manufactured in 1964. Production of bicycles, though, continues to this day, albeit under the Miyata brand name rather than Asahi.
This example of a Japanese motorcycle rarely seen in the UK is presented in restored condition (the engine turns over). The odometer reading is 24 kilometres, which may well be the distance covered since the rebuild.
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, 200 - 1, 800
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.
