• Year of manufacture 
    1980
  • Motorcycle type 
    Street
  • Lot number 
    29
  • Condition 
    Used
  • Colour  
    Other
  • Location
    Belgium

Description

Formerly the property of motorsport photographer Bernard Cahier
1980 Honda ST70 Dax
Frame no. 6115106

• Believed given to Bernard Cahier by Honda
• Used by Cahier as paddock transport
• Purchased directly from Cahier by the current vendor
• Never restored but always well cared-for
• Only 1,360 km from new
• Registered in Germany

This Honda Dax was first owned by the late Bernard Cahier (1927-2008), the famous French motor sports photographer and journalist, whose career spanned four decades (1950s-1980s). Bernard Cahier was one of the founders of the International Racing Press Association (IRPA) which began the process of organising the media in Formula 1. He acted as a Public Relations advisor for Goodyear and assisted director John Frankenheimer in making the movie Grand Prix (1966), in which he played himself. He also appeared in several Michel Vaillant comic books. No mere observer of the sport, Cahier was also a capable driver, winning his class in the 1967 Targa Florio with a Porsche 911S.
It is believed that Cahier received the Dax during the period he was doing PR work for the Honda racing teams. He used the machine sparingly as pit transport at racing events, and it had only 250km on the odometer when he sold it to the current owner, a close friend and amateur motor sport historian, who had worked with Cahier on his photographic archive.
After regular use when based in the Alsace region of France, the Dax has been used only sparingly since moving to Germany, hence the reluctant sale. Even now it has only 1,360 kilometres on the odometer. The Honda has been regularly serviced, receiving a new battery and tyres at 1,246 kilometres, and is said to run very well. It is described by our vendor as in excellent condition apart from a scratched headlamp rim and cracked headlamp lens (not serious enough for the German TüV to insist it be replaced). The Dax is said to be totally original: paint, seat, everything but the tyres, battery and other mechanical essentials. It has never been restored but has always been well looked after. Accompanying documents include a handwritten Bill of Sale from Bernard Cahier; service and operating manuals; service history; and German registration papers.


Bonhams 1793
101 New Bond Street
London
W1S 1SR
United Kingdom
Contact Person Kontaktperson
First name 
Bonhams Collectors’ Car department

Phone 
+44-2074685801
Fax 
+44-2074477401