A FORMER prized possession of Beatle John Lennon is to be auctioned at the National Motorcycle Museum by Beacon Hill-based H&H Classics.

The ‘monkey bike’ Lennon used as a fun way of getting round his 72-acre estate near Ascot, which has had just two owners since, is estimated to sell for more than £30,000 at the auction on March 4.

Lennon rode the mini Monkey Trail bike XUC 91H around the Tittenhurst Estate, when he lived there from 1969 to 1971 and it features in several iconic photos, including this one with his son Julian.

Hook businessman Henry Graham, who owned Motor Cycle City in Farnborough, bought the motorbike from John Lennon, and sold it to the current vendor John Harington in around 1971.

Mr Harington has kept it for the past 47 years and has displayed it at various events and shows.

The Honda Z50A was introduced in the UK in 1969, where it was also known as the Mini Trail. Mini Trail had the same basic frame as the earlier model, but with front suspension and eight-inch wheels.

It has the familiar 49-cc four-stroke engine, which has powered a variety of Honda trail and street machines.

The monkey bike had a top speed of up to 25 mph.

Folding handlebars, a fuel tank air vent stopper, a positive fuel shut-off valve and carburettor float bowl drain are the Z50A’s concession to the fold-and-stow-it concept presented by Bennelli and Tecnomoto Junior in 1968.

Unfortunately, even when folded, the Z50A still weighed in at a hefty 108 pounds dry, 115 pounds wet – too heavy to heave into a station wagon tailgate, or to stow into the baggage compartment of a Cessna 172, or carry up the gangway of a power cruiser.

Mark Bryan, head of sales for H&H Classics motorcycle department, said: “Naturally we are thrilled to be entrusted with the marketing and sale of this bike, given its extraordinary provenance.”