NEWS: Steve McQueen - Lost Motorcycle Discovered

BlipBlip! · Jan 22, 2009

http://www.pr.com/press-release/127775

Steve McQueen - Lost Motorcycle Discovered

Kingston, NY, January 22, 2009 --(PR.com)-- When Husqvarna enthusiast and specialist Rob Phillips picked up this 1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross for $1500.00 in February 2008 it was "just another bike" that he planned on restoring, but pretty soon, following the bike's paper trail, he discovered that he had in fact purchased a bike once owned by Hollywood legend and racing enthusiast Steve McQueen.

Photos and more on the story: http://www.mcqueenonline.com/lostmotorcyclediscovered.htm

Coffee · Jan 22, 2009

That is pretty cool

I was curious why $1500 for a 1970s bike, so I followed some links and found this, interesting!
http://www.huskyrestoration.com/index2.html

I provide restorations for any type of vintage motorcycle but I specialize in Husqvarna. They are sometimes called Husky. I only restore a few bikes a year so if you see something you want you better get it while you can. You could wait years. Click on restorations in the menu and see what has been sold and what is in process.

I restore and sell most of my restorations. I do this as my hobby. I have a passion for it and it is not my main source of income. It simply funds my hobby. If your interested in any of my restorations or would like your own motorcycle restored by me send me a email. The motorcycles are typically restored to collector or museum quality level. If your looking for a rider for vintage racing, I don't think you'll want my bikes. They are intended for collectors and or museums.

As you will see the 1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross is my favorite and you could say I specialize in them. Most people know that this is the type of motorcycle used in the Bruce Brown academy award nominated documentary "On Any Sunday" with celebrities Steve Mcqueen, Malcolm Smith and Mert Lawwill. The 400 Cross is the motorcycle used in the documentary by Steve and Malcom not to mention Steve McQueen and Malcom Smith raced personally. Due to this documentary the 400 Cross is a well sought after motorcycle. Since there were only approximately 700 of these bikes brought into the country by the importer Edison Dye they have become a somewhat rare bike. It is not known how many still exist.

I decided to start a 1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross Registry since this bike is probably considered one of the most significant motocross bikes. Since I own a number of them and restored and sold a few we'll have a good start on a list. If you have a 1970 400 and would like to put it on the list email me and I'll add it. Serial number, your name, city and state should be all we need for the list. If you can supply your address, email and phone number I'll keep that private. Who knows, if we get enough maybe we'll have a convention.

Coffee · Jan 22, 2009

BlipBlip!;17564 said:

Photos and more on the story: http://www.mcqueenonline.com/lostmotorcyclediscovered.htm

hmmm... not sure the bike deserved to sit outside for decades.

Tracing further through the paperwork (which included the original Husqvarna factory invoice) the pair discovered that the bike was purchased by it's second owner from a local California dealer in May 1972, who raced it for a few years in District 37 (the same district Steve raced in). The Husky then sat in the second owners backyard until Jan 2008. The bike was then sold twice that January, and finally found it's was into Rob's hands in Feb 2008, almost 38 years to the day Steve bought it.

artracing · Jan 29, 2009

The Husky was just another bike to restore. I bought it not knowing who the original owner was.

Rob

Thorton98 · Feb 4, 2009

artracing;18550 said:

The Husky was just another bike to restore. I bought it not knowing who the original owner was.

Rob

Congrats on a VERY nice find!! I'm a Steve McQueen fan (Bullitt is my favorite movie!) I've got a 67 Mustang fastback, and always intrigued with lost archives like the '68 Mustang fastbacks and Chargers in that particular movie. Hope to see that bike someday.

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