FB Mondial is one of those motorcycle manufacturers bathed in myth and legend, dominating grand prix racing during the early and mid 1950s.
Created by a band of brothers named Boselli (the FB stands for Fratelli Boselli) in Milan in 1929, they produced advanced and successful racing bikes winning five rider and constructor world championships.
Mondial also made road bikes and continued in production until 1979, and has had a couple of revivals since then. FB Mondial is still a revered brand after all.
But it’s the earlier motorcycles which are the subject here with 38 of the bikes from the eclectic collection of US architect John Goldman coming up for sale at the giant Mecum auction in Las Vegas from 24-27 January 2024. It’s the biggest motorcycle auction in the world, setting the pace for the year to come.
According to Paul d’Orléans (of The Vintagent), Goldman’s passion for Italian machinery was stoked by Mick Walker’s Classic Italian Motorcycles.
“I went through the book and identified every Italian motorcycle I thought was beautiful and made a list of the bikes I’d like to own one day,” Goldman said. “The second Italian bike I got was a 1974 Laverda 750 SFC, which was my first restoration.”
The motorcycles coming up for sale:
- Twenty (20) FB Mondials, among them three Grand Prix racers (a 1951 125 Bialbero, the World Championship bike, a 1952 125 Monoalbero GP and an ultra-rare 1957 250 Bialbero)
- Three Benellis
- 1964 Bianchi GLS
- Pair of Yamahas and Moto Guzzis
- Four important Ducatis, including a 1957 175 Gran Sport and a 2002 MH900e
- Moto Morini Settebello 175
- 1974 Laverda 750 SFC
- Rumi flat-twin two-stroke sports races from the 1950s.
“Capping it all off is an odd man out, a 1955 Vincent Black Knight, the last of the Vincent models and a design object far ahead of its time, with fully enclosed, futuristically medieval bodywork, all in black on black on black,” said Paul.
Read Paul’s full story here
