Hunting Down Barn Finds

Barn Finds are perhaps the holy grail for most motorcyclists. That chance encounter which leads you to discover the Yamaha RD400 you lusted over 40 years ago.

Or perhaps it is an original BSA Gold Star or Puch 200 from 1937 – they were only made for a year – that crammed out a whole 5.8HP (5 point 8, not 58) and claimed to reach the dizzy heights of 43mph with a passenger.

Whatever your secret desire, the chance of finding one is rare, and yet we all secretly hope – just a little – that we will be the lucky one that discovers that mystical farm building.

Then again, you could be Jeremy Curzon, who visits barns and other buildings across the country looking for forgotten, loved and occasionally truly worshipped motorcycles for Cheffins Auctioneers.

We sat down over an electronic mug of tea, and I asked him about his average day …

Is there such a thing as a normal day?

Not really. On the run-up to an auction, the days are hectic. The job is never done until the hammer falls and a motorcycle is safely with its new owner.

I consider myself a great recycler, and as such, rummaging in houses, barns, and sheds is what I do, so today’s first phone call was to confirm a visit later in the day to see what the seller described as “that nasty pile of rubbish in the barn”.

But before that visit, I need to press on with getting the next sale organised, printers, staff and caterers and help with the phone calls and emails that come into the office.

How do you uncover barn finds?

Cheffins are well known as auctioneers, and we are proud to represent collectors who have decided to re-home their collections.

We also get calls from passionate owners and collectors who have a host of different items they wish to sell. These can range from a collection of magazines to a (reportedly) complete motorcycle they took apart and stored many years ago.

They are all important calls, but I must admit it is the call that starts “I’ve got some old stuff in the workshop …” that gets my pulse up. It could be nothing. It could be something I just never know, and there is only one way to find out.

How has this week gone?

I can never dismiss any lead. One day a rambling call will bear fruit, and on other occasions, I need to impart the sad news that what they have is really just a collection of old stuff, someone never disposed of.

The first call this week was one of those. A lovely lady, but her interest in the Moto Guzzi I’d arrived on, suggested perhaps that secretly she knew the limited value of what she had but wanted to check just in case.

Turning up on a motorbike can often prove to be a real ice breaker and a great talking point, very helpful when breaking the news that the workshop contents are realistically landfill material or at best suitable for melting down.

The second visit this week, though, was delightful. Forty miles of twisting country roads later (always a pleasure), and after a little bit of searching, a suitably faded farmhouse and barns came into view.

A delightful but much-flustered lady had been left the unenviable task of sorting her late Uncle’s estate.

The Uncle was clearly a hoarder of some taste. Between two rather fine late 1940s Field Marshall tractors, which I collected the details of for another division of Cheffins, I spot a good number of rather fine motorcycle themed enamel advertising signs nailed to various beams.

And then, yes, under the compulsory canvas covered in half an inch of dust, I find an original Triumph Speed Twin. A classic barn find if ever there was one.

What was it worth?

Ah. The inevitable question, to which the answer is, “I don’t know”, and that is the difference auctioneers bring in these situations.

When someone doesn’t know what they have, it could be nothing, or it could be something. If I know I’m looking at a rare motorcycle, I can tell the owner they have something of value and advise them to not accept any … let’s call them speculative … offers from dealers.

An auctioneer represents the interests of the current owner and connects them with potential buyers. Yes, we take a commission for this service, but what something is worth is decided on auction day.

We can give you an indicative range, and you can set a reserve price, but the important fact is that we are not going to lowball you an offer and hope you don’t know its real worth.

Third call of the week

As I arrived at my third call, my hopes were high, as houses with large outbuildings or sheds always offer great possibilities, but this one is off the scale.

Inside one of the buildings was a collection of Norton singles that had not seen the light of day since the 1970s and all wonderfully cared for. About as far from a “barn find” as it is possible to get.