Roll with the King of Rock & Roll Upon His Electra Glide
Hitting the auction block in August, Electra Glide was Elvis Presley’s last motorcycle prior to his passing in 1977.
Just over four decades ago, “The King of Rock & Roll,” Elvis Aron Presley, left the building forever in a manner nowhere near befitting the legend he would become upon passing. Since then, his estate has made a boatload of cash off of his legacy, from new greatest hits albums every now and again, to tons of merchandise and plenty of tours of his home, Graceland.
And the money train will keep on a-rollin’ in August. According to the New York Post, Kruse GWS Auctions in Beverly Hills, California will auction off three of Presley’s rides, including a 1976 FLH 1200 Electra Glide.
According to the New York Post, the auction house says Presley’s Electra Glide was the last motorcycle “The King” ever bought, and was sent to Graceland from California. Ninety days before his death on August 16, 1977, he sold the motorcycle to an unnamed customer. It would eventually land in the possession of the Pioneer Auto Show in Murdo, South Dakota — a small town of 488 some two hours east of Rapid City — where it had remained since the late 1980s.
Other items that may or may not be of interest to Elvis fans who also happen to be Harley riders include his white-on-white ’73 Lincoln Continental with TV, and completely restored GMC pickup originally purchased for use on Presley’s Circle G Ranch in Mississippi in 1967. The auction house says the truck, along with two others, were sold back in 1969 to the same dealership by his father, Vernon Presley.
The Electra Glide and Presley’s other rides are part of GWS Auctions’ ‘Artifacts of Hollywood’ auction, scheduled for August 31. The auction house recently sold a few of his other items in their ‘Archives of Hollywood & Music’ auction, like his Smith & Wesson .38 Special, and the contract to purchase the land Graceland would be built upon.
Photos: New York Post and Pioneer Auto Museum/Facebook
