Want to buy a piece of rock ‘n’ roll and motorcycle history at the same time? Go down to your basement and count your rolls of pennies, because Buddy Holly’s 1958 Ariel Cyclone is for sale.
There were only around 200 Cyclones made in 1958, so the bike would have plenty of value anyway, but this machine is worth much more because of its association with the seminal rock ‘n’ roller from Lubbock, Texas. Apparently, Holly and his band (the Crickets) all went out and bought new motorcycles. Legend says they bought their machines from a Triumph dealer in Dallas because the local Harley-Davidson retailer treated them brusquely, as he didn’t figure they had enough money to buy a bike.
Holly’s father drove the bike after the musician died in a plane crash, supposedly, then the bike passed through a couple other hands until the Crickets bought it back and gave it to Waylon Jennings in 1979 for his birthday (Jennings had been Holly’s bass player at the time of his death).
Now, Waylon Jennings’ surviving family is selling the bike at auction. It’s being sold by Guernsey’s auction house on October 5, but you can bid online in advance at this website.
