Lot Ended
Description
From a deceased estate; in single-family ownership from 1948 - 2022;
veteran of many Pioneer Runs; original number plate; vast and complex
history file; come and see it!
This Douglas comes with a vast
history file extending back to the late 1920s which will take the next owner
many happy hours to digest.
A buff logbook records the
date of registration as 1914 and states that it was originally registered to the
War Department. By 1926 it was owned by a Charles Byrne of London, being
acquired by a Mr Nigel Harrison of Bromley in 1948 and remaining in his family
until 2022 (a period of 74 years).
From 1951 – 1975 it completed
the London-to-Brighton Pioneer Run virtually every year, a prestigious event for
pre-1915 machines. It was then laid up for 20 years as ‘worn out’ before being
returned to roadworthy condition by Mr Harrison’s son who had inherited the bike
in 1997 and was also a regular London-to-Brighton
competitor.
In January 1999 he tried to
enter the rejuvenated Douglas in that year’s Pioneer Run but unfortunately, when
it was re-appraised by The Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club, they adjudged that the
frame actually dated from 1915 and the engine from 1916 so it wasn’t eligible.
However, because XK 7182 had completed the event so many times
before, they gave Mr Harrison Jnr a special dispensation to continue to use it
on the Pioneer Run “while the machine remains in your possession”, adding the
proviso: “If however it were to change hands, the position would have to be
reviewed”.
The current owner acquired XK
7182 from Mr Harrison in January 2022 and continued to use it regularly,
although whether it would still be allowed to take part in the Pioneer Run isn’t
clear. During his ownership it certainly attended the Brooklands Sunbeam 100
event in March 2024 and the 60th Annual Graham Walker Memorial Run in
August 2022, an event which it seems to have taken part in on several occasions.
As previously mentioned, this bike comes with a bewilderingly vast
history file and bidders are advised to come and study it for themselves. Aside
from all the invoices, event programmes, old logbooks, MOTs and tax discs, there
is also a large amount of technical literature and
correspondence.
As you can see in the photos,
it looks to be in very good order and has clearly been well-maintained and used
regularly (there are 15 old MOTs from 1997 – 2013). It retains its original
London-issue number plate, XK 7182, which is transferable according to the
V5C.
On offer here from a deceased
estate, it comes from the same stable as the other Douglas, the Auto-Wheel and
the Royal Enfield elsewhere in this catalogue (Lots 201; 207; 208), all being
sold at no reserve.
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com