This story appears in the March 1, 2015 issue of Forbes. Subscribe
When your daily sled is the bulletproof Popemobile, you don't have much use for a motorcycle, let alone a pair of them. But that hasn't stopped Harley-Davidson from giving the Vatican a hog now and then. In 2013 Willie G. Davidson, a retired Harley designer and grandson of the company's founder, presented Pope Francis with a 110th-anniversary Dyna Super Glide, which was auctioned last year (along with a motorcycle jacket signed by His Holiness) at Bonhams in Paris.
This Harley-Davidson motorcycle, given to Pope Francis by designer Willie G. Davidson (and... [+]
This February the auction house put a second Harley up for bid: a Softail Classic that Davidson gave to Pope Benedict XVI, which ended up in Francis' garage (near the Pirelli calendar) after Benedict abdicated in early 2013. The proceeds from each sale went to charity—Heaven's Angels indeed.
Photoshot/Newscom
FRANCIS
THE HOG
2013 Harley-Davidson FXDC Dyna Super Glide
THE ENGINE
1,584cc air-cooled Twin Cam 96B
SIGNED?
"Francesco"
BLESSED?
No
DIVINE JUDGMENT
PRESALE ESTIMATE
$16,000-$22,000
AUCTION PRICE
$327,000
SALES VERDICT
Holy smoke!
Photoshot/Newscom
BENEDICT XVI
THE HOG
2013 Harley-Davidson FLSTC Softail Classic
THE ENGINE
1,687cc air-cooled Twin Cam 103B
SIGNED?
"Benedictus PP XVI"; also by Willie G. Davidson
BLESSED?
Yes, by Benedict himself
DIVINE JUDGMENT
PRESALE ESTIMATE
$18,000-$31,000
AUCTION PRICE
$52,000
SALES VERDICT
Blessed ... but beaten
