BACK ON THE ROAD
In the world of antiques, originality and authenticity are paramount. If a piece has been “skinned” (its original finish or patina has been destroyed) it may lose much of its value. But if the item has been “made” (recently manufactured) to look like an antique, how can you tell?
With the emergence at auction of $200,000 green frame Ducati 750SSs and million-dollar Crockers, there’s plenty of incentive to produce a fake. And while there are antiques whizzes called “divvies” who are supposed to have an intuitive skill in separating the genuine article from the copies, it’s tough to take instinct to the bank.
That’s where provenance comes in. If you can trace the ownership of your antique back to the original owner — and especially if there’s corroborating evidence — you’re probably on a safe bet. Lyle Whitter has owned “Old Blue,” his 1960 BSA 650cc A10 Golden Flash for more than 20 years, and bought it from the original owner!
Flash and The Man
Though Bert Hopwood is generally credited with the design of BSA’s A10 engine, just about every important British motorcycle engineer had a hand in it. Hopwood’s final engine layout for the 1950 Golden Flash was really the culmination of 15 years of experiment, development and experience. Not surprisingly, Hopwood’s final effort is sometimes considered
