1934 Harley R-Solo: A Tale of Two Legends
How Do You Make the World’s Coolest Motorcycle Even Cooler? Sell It to the ‘King of Cool’
“Cool” is probably one of the most overused words in the English language over the past several decades. But some things are undeniably cool: things like Harley-Davidson and Steve McQueen. Put the two together, and you might have the coolest combination of things imaginable. And if you have the cash, you could own such a thing. Because Steve McQueen’s Harley was recently up for auction on eBay.
It goes without saying that McQueen’s 1934 Harley-Davidson R-Solo is more than worthy of being this week’s “Wicked Cool Web Find,” especially when you consider the R’s inherent rarity. Only 450 of the bikes were produced by H-D. It’s a gorgeous motorcycle fresh off a full mechanical and cosmetic restoration.
The R-Solo was originally sold directly from McQueen’s 1984 estate sale at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Las Vegas. The current owner still has the bidder paddle, original odometer reading statement, and bill of sale from that auction. There’s also plenty of other documentation, including a certificate of authenticity, to back up the bike’s lineage.
You really wouldn’t expect “The King of Cool” to ride anything less, would you? The late Hollywood screen icon was considered to be the “anti-hero” actor of his time and was famously combative with producers and directors. That rebellious persona makes McQueen a natural fit with a brand like Harley-Davidson. Both legendary names — one made famous by being an outlaw, the other famous for being ridden by them.
And as you can imagine, good things like that don’t come cheap. Bidding was already just short of $80,000 as of this writing, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the R-Solo break six figures. After all, this level of cool doesn’t come cheap.
