Paley Sells Griffon for $23,000 in Bonhams Auction

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Will Paley has sold his 1906 Griffon. The Cornwall collector put the French-made motorcycle with the Swiss motor in a Bonhams auction in Las Vegas yesterday and it sold for $23,000.

The Griffon was brought to the U.S. in 1910 by a man in Salisbury who sold yacht engines.  He soon died and the bike was acquired by a 12-year-old kid who rode it once before putting it away. It sat for 85 years until Paley bought it.

Back in August, RIDE-CT.com went along when Paley took the 493cc twin for a exhilarating spin on Route 43 near his home.

Despite being 106 years old, the Griffon moved right along as Paley got it up to 40 miles per hour.

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Victory plans to use the opening day of the Progressive International Motorcycle Show In New York next Friday to debut a limited edition 15th anniversary model. No word on what it might be.

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With the weather set to warm up over the weekend, and the prospect of actually riding rising, a reminder that RIDE-CT.com’s regular Sunday haunt of Toymaker’s Cafe in Falls Village is still closed. Chief cook Greg Bidou remains sidelined and house-bound following knee replacement surgery. But his recovery is going well.

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More to read (and view):

– Five dirt bikes valued at more than $30,000 were stolen from Reva Motorsports in Miami early Wednesday morning. Five masked men drove a stolen Ford F-250 pickup through the front of the dealership and then tossed the bikes in the back. WTVJ-Channel 6 has the surveillance video.