Estimated Price: £25,000 - £35,000

• Few motorcycles can claim a name, let alone a legend, and fewer still can trace their lives so vividly across more than half a century. Known affectionately as 'Schmaltz' for over 55 years, this 1955 Vincent Black Knight is one such machine, its story inseparable from the characters who rode, raced, modified, cherished, sold, lost, and ultimately rediscovered it
• Built in October 1954, it is believed that 'Schmaltz' appeared on the Vincent stand at the British Motorcycle Show the following month. First registered in January 1955 by respected Vincent agents Lawton & Wilson of Southampton, it was soon purchased by Peter Walsh of Andover, a rider with a taste for fast machinery. Whether factory influence resulted in particularly strong performance is unproven, but the bike was used hard and visibly, undertaking rapid road miles and Travelling Marshal duties at race meetings. Walsh’s ownership was short-lived, coinciding with his commissioning of one of the earliest British Norvins.
• Around eighteen months after first sale, the Black Knight passed to George Breach of Stonor, Oxfordshire — a committed Vincent racer who gave the machine its enduring nickname, adding 'Schmaltz' in gold script to the engine side panels. Actively campaigned in high-speed trials, clubmans races and sprints, the bike collected silverware and received competition-oriented changes, including substitution of an Avon nose fairing for ease of transport. Breach entrusted tuning to the legendary Jim Smith of Pegsdon, resulting in what contemporaries described as a very special 'Lightning Schmaltz', fitted with Mk II cams, large Monobloc carburettors and period tuning modifications said to yield an extra 10–15mph
• Breach retired from competition in 1959 due to hip trouble and sold 'Schmaltz' in 1960 to Richard Lonsdale, himself a competition rider. Lonsdale used the Vincent extensively throughout the 1960s, both on road and track, before selling it in 1968 via Comerfords of Thames Ditton. After passing through Coburn & Hughes of North London, the bike was acquired in 1969 by Dr Hugh Davidson of Forres, Moray — fulfilling a long-held ambition to own an enclosed Series D. Davidson rode the machine on long-distance journeys, often referring to it by its registration NOW 650 rather than its nickname, before reluctantly selling it in 1980 to Frank Leighton of Bushey Heath, who famously rode it 600 miles home in near-gale conditions.
• Ownership passed in 1992 to Paul Wood, who undertook restoration work and reconnected with George Breach, prompting the memorable comment: 'Fancy you having what was the light of my life… What a machine'.''Schmaltz' returned to the auction stage in 1998 as Lot 599 at the Brooks Stafford sale, where fate intervened: Richard Lonsdale, nearly 30 years after selling the bike, rediscovered it and successfully bid to bring 'Schmaltz' home once more. It remained with him thereafter, used sparingly, receiving a modest engine rebuild in 2005, and thereafter enjoyed more sympathetic use
• The Vincent is offered today with a Vincent Certificate of Authenticity confirming matching numbers. It should be noted that during Lonsdale’s ownership the engine number was stamped onto the UFM on the advice of his MOT station — a detail fully known to and well documented with the Vincent Owners Club. The machine was purchased by Robin Haigh in October 2018 and has formed part of his significant private collection since. Unused for the past couple of years, it will require recommissioning prior to active use
• Accompanied by a substantial history file containing correspondence, auction records, technical material, period documentation and ownership history, this is a motorcycle whose provenance is as compelling as the machine itself. Viewing the file is essential to fully appreciate the depth of history behind 'Schmaltz' — a Vincent not merely owned, but lived with, raced, toured, remembered, and ultimately preserved