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A 1931 Harley-Davidson VL that once belonged to Steve McQueen sold on Bring a Trailer for $75,000 on June 27, 2026, closing as Lot #249,795 after drawing more than 31,000 views, over 2,200 watchers, and 111 comments during its run at no reserve. The bike was sold by New Jersey dealer Dean_Laumbach to a buyer listed as Zippie, and it's one of the more compelling entries yet in BaT's long run of McQueen-linked machinery.
The VL's paper trail is almost as interesting as the motorcycle itself. McQueen owned the bike and had it awaiting restoration at his private Ventura County, California, hangar and garage when he died in 1980. It passed through the actor's November 1984 estate auction in Las Vegas before eventually landing with McQueen memorabilia collector Mike Eisenberg in the 2000s, who handled a cosmetic refresh that left the bike in the black, red, and gold livery it wears today. A dealer acquired it in May 2026 and sent it to auction at no reserve, backed by a framed McQueen Certificate of Authenticity, a bill of sale, bidder card and ID, an odometer statement, a show placard, and a period 1931 California license plate.
Mechanically, this VL is a period-correct time capsule rather than a rider. The 74ci flathead V-twin wears a Linkert M51 carburetor and a two-into-one exhaust with a fishtail muffler, but the engine is currently non-running, with rust visible on the pushrod tubes and assorted fasteners. Power, when the bike did run, was sent through a three-speed hand-shifted transmission and a multi-plate dry clutch. A leading-link springer fork provides the only suspension, and the bike rides on black-finished wire-spoke wheels with drum brakes and Dunlop Gold Seal K70 tires that already show sidewall cracking. There's no odometer, so true mileage isn't known.
That non-running condition makes the sale price even more notable once it's stacked up against other Big-Twin Flathead Harleys BaT has sold in recent years. A 1933 VC with a sidecar brought $35,250 in June 2025, a 1934 VD sold for $32,000 in late 2020, and a 1932 VL with a sidecar made $25,000 that same year. Several similar bikes, including a 1930 Model V and a 1941 UL, failed to sell at all, with high bids landing between roughly $18,750 and $26,500. In other words, a running, rideable Big-Twin Flathead from this era typically tops out somewhere in the $25,000 to $35,000 range on BaT, even with extra equipment like a sidecar factored in. McQueen's VL, despite needing an engine rebuild, sold for more than double the next-best comparable result.
That gap is hard to explain with parts and condition alone, and it lines up with a pattern seen across McQueen's cars, watches, and memorabilia: his name tends to move the number regardless of a vehicle's mechanical state. The certificate of authenticity from the 1984 estate sale, signed by McQueen's children Terry and Chad, effectively transformed a non-running project bike into a documented piece of Hollywood history, and bidders paid accordingly. It's a good reminder that with celebrity-owned vehicles, condition reports and comparable sales only tell part of the story.
The full listing, additional photos, and bidding history remain viewable on Bring a Trailer.
