A 1915 Cyclone V-twin just smoked the record books in Las Vegas, where bidders pushed the restored century-old racer to a staggering $1.32 million at Mecum’s motorcycle sale. The hammer price set a new public-auction high for motorcycles and underlined how rare prewar machines can still trigger jaw-dropping bidding wars, as reported by Mecum Auctions.
The sale, recorded at a $1,320,000 hammer, was cataloged as Lot S106.2 by Mecum Auctions. The listing included a full photo gallery and restoration notes. The result has been reported as the first motorcycle to top $1 million at a public auction, a milestone highlighted by Popular Science.
The Cyclone’s 61-cubic-inch (996cc) 45-degree SOHC V-twin was cutting-edge in 1915, producing roughly 45 horsepower and using bevel-driven overhead cams. That made it a ferocious board-track specialist, but also mechanically fragile. Production was short-lived and limited: Joerns Motor Manufacturing of St. Paul, Minnesota, built Cyclones only in the 1910s, and survivor estimates are very small, according to coverage and historical records. Those technical and production details are summarized in specialist reporting and historical entries such as Wikipedia.
This particular machine came from the Urban S. Hirsch III collection and, per the lot description, underwent a comprehensive restoration by expert restorer Stephen Wright. Coverage compiling auction results notes the Cyclone was consigned from Hirsch’s holdings and reportedly sold to a private American collector who will keep it for museum-style display rather than everyday use, according to Popular Science.
Why collectors paid seven figures
The Las Vegas event itself set broader records. The four-day Mecum motorcycle sale totaled about $27.2 million and produced several new auction highs, with early-20th-century machines dominating the top results. Industry coverage from Motorsport America and others noted the Cyclone led a rush of prewar interest that also pushed a 1938 Crocker Twin into six-figure territory.
Collectors and catalogers point to a short production run, documented racing pedigree, and top-flight restoration as the main price drivers. As one auction catalog entry put it, “to encounter a Cyclone available for sale is the holy grail for many collectors,” language echoed in post-sale analysis. Hemmings highlights how rarity plus provenance often outpace mechanical condition in the value equation for machines this old.
What to watch next
Watch Mecum’s upcoming calendar and the 2026 auction season to see whether other prewar lots follow the Cyclone into seven-figure territory. Previews and schedules at trade outlets like Rider Magazine show that more rare American racers are headed back to the block, giving collectors fresh benchmarks to test where the market goes next.
The Cyclone’s seven-figure sale resurfaced in the headlines this week after a local roundup on Dec. 14, 2025, and it remains a touchstone for discussions about provenance, restoration, and the limits of the collector market for two-wheel rarities. For now, the 1915 Cyclone sits squarely in the space between mechanical marvel and museum artifact, the kind of object that turns auctions into history lessons and headlines into debates about value.
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