It seems police have always had high-powered pursuit bikes with this 100mph (160km/h) Coventry-Eagle Flying-8 dating back to the 1930s.
It was designed to pursue villains on the fastest bike of the day, the Brough Superior.
On Sunday (April 22, 2018), it will feature at the Bonham’s Spring Stafford Sale where it is expected to fetch as much as £50,000 ($A91,240).
UPDATE: The bike sold for sold for £68,700 ($A125,364).
It may have kept pace in seed, but it’s a long way back in value with a rusted 1932 Brough Superior 800cc Model BS4 Project motorcycle selling at the 2016 Bonham’s Spring Stafford Sale for £331,900 ($A623,946/$US480,196), setting a new world auction record for the brand.
Pursuit bike
This pursuit bike is believed to have been supplied in 1930 to the Victoria State Police.
Coventry-Eagle’s Flying-8 was the fastest and most luxurious motorcycle produced by the marque.
It not only kept pace with the Brough for a high-speed pursuit, but also looked a lot like it.
The similarity was no mistake as Brough founder George Brough and Coventry-Eagle founder Percy Mayo spent some time together towards the end of World War 1, discussed their ideas for high-performance motorcycles and shared similar tastes.
The Flying-8 was offered with two JAP (J.A. Prestwich Industries) engine options which were also used in the Brough Superior SS80 and SS100 which were named for their top speeds of 80mph (128km/h) and 100mph
The old Victorian police pursuit bike is the F150 Flying-8 Police with the high-performance JAP 8/30hp 4-cam sidevalve engine.
It also features a Sturmey Archer 3-speed gearbox, a Webb centre-spring front fork and Royal Enfield front and rear drum brakes.
History lesson
The Flying-8 was restored more than 30 years ago and was used on Australian Vintage runs up to 2012.
The Australian owner exported the bike to the UK where it was given an age-related registration in 2014. It completed an 80-mile VMCC run in 2015.
The machine has been stored in a heated garage since then and recently completed a 100-mile test run.
A weak electrical charge is the only fault notified. 
It comes with a dating certificate, NOVA declaration, and a V5C Registration Certificate.
Coventry-Eagle was established in Victorian times as a bicycle manufacturer. The company stopped making the Flying-8 during the Great Depression and concentrated on cheap lightweight, smaller-capacity two stroke motorcycles.
The last motorcycles were built in 1940.