Steve McQueen Motorbike To Go On Sale

The early racing motorcycle once owned by legendary Hollywood actor Steve McQueen is to be offered for sale.

The actor's bike will be sold in the International Classic MotorCycle Show at Bonham's in Stafford on April 28.

The 1914 Indian Model F is an example of a board-track racing motorcycle and is estimated to reach between £22,000 and £28,000.

These early purpose-built motorcycles lacked a clutch, throttle and brakes, and were push-started and run flat-out.

McQueen was an avid motorcycle and race car enthusiast.

When he had the opportunity to drive in a movie, he performed many of his own stunts.

Some of his most memorable sequences were the car chases in Bullitt and motorcycle escapades in The Great Escape.

McQueen played the lead in the Sturges film, which gave Hollywood's depiction of a historical mass escape from a Second World War POW camp, Stalag Luft III.

However, insurance concerns prevented the star performing the film's widely noted motorcycle leap, which was instead done by his friend and fellow cycle enthusiast Bud Ekins, who resembled McQueen from a distance.