1966 Honda RC173 Ex-Mike Hailwood (works 350cc)

Most “ex-works” motorcycles at auction are replicas, customer racers, or bikes that once shared a paddock with a famous name. The RC173 is none of those. Honda built the 349 cc DOHC four specifically for Mike Hailwood’s 1966 assault on the 350 cc World Championship — the same season he was also racing factory Hondas in other classes. Contemporary and specialist coverage of the forthcoming Iconic Auctioneers NEC offering agree on the scarcity claim that matters most: this is described as the only example in existence. That is a sole survivor with a championship attached, not a numbered homologation special.

The season record is public GP grammar. Hailwood took six Grand Prix wins on the RC173 in 1966 — West Germany, France, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Ulster — and beat Giacomo Agostini’s MV Agusta to the 350 title, with Renzo Pasolini’s Benelli third. He kept the bike after the season, ran selected invitation events in 1967, then the machine entered the Wheatcroft Donington Collection before the Hailwood family sold it at Coys in 1997. Later Motegi Honda Collection Hall work returned it to running presentation while retaining the original identity — frame and engine numbers cited in secondary press as RC173F / RC173E. Those are the diligence points; they are not a Rare Machines inspection.

A Honda works World Championship bike is the opposite of another Italian superbike limited edition. Score 95 — Ultra-rare. Production/survival at the ceiling; specification is factory GP, not a street conversion; provenance is the title year plus continuous famous custody; documentation is deep in independent literature; market appearances of sole-survivor WC machines are exceptional; condition points tempered by Motegi rebuild (identity strong, not an unrestored barn find).

Auction: Iconic Motorcycle Sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show, Sunday 15 November 2026, 10:30 local. The link below goes to the Iconic lot page for this motorcycle.

Honda RC173 specifications

As described in the Iconic Auctioneers catalog listing for this motorcycle:

• Model: Honda RC173, factory (works) race bike
• Year: 1966
• Engine: 349 cc four-cylinder (“RC173 350 Honda 4”)
• Class: 350 cc World Championship, 1966
• 1966 record: six race wins; World Champion ahead of Giacomo Agostini
• Rider: Mike Hailwood
• Condition: restored by Honda to original condition; presented in running order, with a large history file
• Sale: Iconic Motorcycle Sale, NEC Classic Motor Show, Birmingham, Sunday 15 November 2026, 10:30 local time
• Buyer’s premium: 15% plus VAT (18% including VAT)

Watcher’s checklist

1. Confirm frame RC173F / engine RC173E against papers and Motegi display materials.
2. Separate 1966 WC race record from later invitation / historic display life.
3. Read buyer’s premium and UK export rules — estimate is not hammer.
4. Re-check Iconic catalog status before you act.

See our guide to the Iconic NEC Motorcycle Sale, 15 November 2026 for the other rare lots in this sale.