Change a 2000cc Volkswagen with a horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine, drop in a modified Nineteen Sixties BMW motorbike chassis and you’ve got a captivating customized construct. Regardless of its itemizing, the 1953 Webley-Vickers VW2000 motorbike was made by Doug Whitson within the Nineteen Seventies, and there is an fascinating story behind all of it. Rodger Willis developed the instruments and components for this VW/BMW merger and bought all of it to Whitson. Working with the ideas, Whitson created Webley-Vickers to promote conversion kits and completed bikes.Not content material to easily copy Willis’ work, Whitson used CAD and CAM applied sciences to create a brand new aluminum bell housing that improves BMW transmission coupling. As time progressed, improvement continued. Whitson got here with a brand new electrical starter, oil-filled consumption manifold, clutch lever, generator meeting, and rear exhaust manifolds. This instance of the Webley-Vickers VW2000 was a take a look at mattress bike personally owned by Whitson and geared up with a double S&S. carburetors, customized transmission ratios and lots of different handcrafted components. A basic purse design, this VW2000 options exhausting panniers, mini monkeys, a spring seat and twin disc brakes on the entrance. As a customized construct, Whitson selected 1953, the yr of beginning, for this one-of-a-kind motorbike.The present proprietor is John Landstrom. Blue Moon Cycle– A Ural and Zero seller in Norcross, Georgia that additionally sells classic bikes and classic BMW motorbike components. Landstrom bought this motorbike immediately from Whitson 5 years in the past, with the California title. The hammer lands on a 1953 Webley-Vickers VW2000 at Mecum Auctions’ thirty second Annual Classic Vintage Motorbike Public sale. Las Vegas 2023 version, January 24-28 South Point Hotel, Casino, and Spa South of Harry Reid Worldwide Airport, on Las Vegas Boulevard. Greater than 2,000 bikes might be auctioned through the five-day run, which features a Street Artwork public sale.

1953 Webley-Vickers VW2000 Photograph Gallery

picture courtesy of Mecum Auctions