1923 Douglas B23 600cc 4hp twin – $40,000
Vintage Douglas motorcycle for sale
SELLER SAYS: I have owned this bike for 30 years and restored it with the original colour and nickel plating. New pistons and liners, wheels are respoked with stainless steel spokes. There are a few original parts that will go with the bike. The bike has won numerous trophies. It is a three-speed with a foot-operated clutch and it rides beautifully. (I am now too old to safely ride the bike). The asking price of $40,000 includes the fold-up trailer (see pics). Contact Wilf on 0407 410 792 (Forde – Canberra, Australian Capital Territory).
EDITOR TERLICK SAYS: English manufacturer Douglas was a hugely successful manufacturer before, during and after World War 1. Success on the race track was a key part of the company’s marketing, and it became a major supplier to the war effort, supplying tens of thousands of bikes to Britain and its allies. The military-specification 350cc flat-twin saw service across the world, including Gallipoli and the Western Front. Famous for being robust and reliable – as you’d want, bouncing across the Western Front – Douglas came out of the Great War with a head of optimism. But it all went bad. By the early 1930s, Douglas was apparently trying to make too many different models. Stretched financially, the family-owned company stumbled. And then – Vespa happened! Douglas was contracted to build the little Italian scooters for Britain. The Vespa project proved way more profitable than its own products, and the writing was on the wall. This marvellous flat-tanker dates back to Douglas’ glory years, and presents in stunning condition. Wilf tells me the bike is very well known among the vintage bike crowd, being a frequent trophy winner.
And here’s a fun fact – in 1920, BMW built its first flat twin because it’s designer, engineer Martin Stolle, owned a Douglas at the time and thought the boxer layout was the bee’s knees. The Douglas ran the cylinders along the frame, rather than across it, as did the original 1920 BMW motor. Three years later, BMW rotated the layout to create the cylinder-out-the-sides we all know today.
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