Go to an auction and leave with a bargain not a rusty wreck
‘At £6500 the hammer drops as does my jaw’ Hands up if you like the idea of bidding on a bike?
Entering a motorcycle auction room is a risky business, especially if you are weak-willed and suscept’. Temptation is all too real and it is extremely easy to get swept up in the moment and find your arm in the air when the hammer drops. And suddenly you are the proud owner of some pile of crap after you refused to back down in a bidding war. But by the same token they are fantastic events to attend, as long as you are able to show some restraint. And this is my problem. I am the person who scans the isles of Tesco searching for that yellow reduced sticker, piling loaves of bread I don’t need into the trolley “because they’re only 15p”. My wife knows I’m weak, which is why I’ve never been allowed to attend an auction (aside from a brief appearance on BBC1’s Bargain Hunt). However, like an alcoholic invited to a whisky tasting session, I now find myself at a motorcycle auction with a bid number in my hand and a catalogue of temptations to read. This could end badly for my marriage. With my wife’s words of encouragement (“you are in deep sh** if you buy anything”) ringing in my ears, I walk around the room. Before an auction the lots are on display and you are generally allowed to poke and prod them. Auctions are ‘sold as seen’ so other than the guide in the catalogue or online, you need to do your own research. Usually you can’t start a vehicle, but asking the auctioneers if they have seen them run, bouncing the suspension, checking engine and frame numbers and inspecting the bikes is perfectly OK. I see lots of people getting quite intimate with the lots, especially a rust-bucket of a Lambretta scooter, which I see has a guide price of £800-£1200 despite a seized engine and an increasing pile of rust beneath it. After the viewing time, the auction proper starts and that’s when it gets very serious indeed. Warming up the crowd with some memorabilia before the vehicles are sold, the auctioneer rattles through the lots at
‘I try to avoid scratching my now suddenly very itchy head’
breakneck speed, spotting bid numbers in the room like an eagle and also playing them off against the internet. I’m amazed to hear a 1925 speedo go for £800 to Finland
and what looks to me like a rusty speedo drive head to Holland for £480. But to someone somewhere that rusty piece may be the bit they are desperate for to finish their project, and thanks to the internet they now have it.
It takes about 30 seconds per lot and is relentless as bidders battle. I do my best to avoid scratching my now inextricably itchy head and ending up with a seized Triumph Dolomite engine as a result. This genuinely was a worry, but much to my relief it seems like eye contact is required for the auctioneer to accept your bid and not just a nervous twitch. Onto the bikes and that rusty Lambretta pops up for sale. The auctioneer announces he has ‘commission bids,’ which are bids from people not in the room, and it starts at £3800! As it turns out a Lambretta SX200, irrespective of its condition, is very sought after and £6500 later the hammer drops. Alongside my jaw. Other bikes are sold and I’m starting to notice familiar faces winning the bids. Some are collectors, some I reckon dealers, but there is definitely a hardcore group buying the majority of the vehicles. However, alongside that are people who have obviously turned up with one target bike and I can see genuine fear in their eyes, mixed with a tinge of excitement, as they raise their bid number and commit to thousands of pounds. Thankfully, I’m yet to join them, but temptation has just arrived in the shape of a 1975 Honda C70. I know how much trouble I’ll be in if I arrive home with another bike, but when bidding starts at £400 my resolve breaks and I start to raise my hand. Thankfully, just as I do someone else gets in there first and with the bids spiraling up to £900 in about ten seconds the reality of a messy divorce strikes and I slink quietly into a corner of the room for the rest of the auction. Going to a motorcycle auction is a great day out and very interesting to view. Provided you know what you are buying there are bargains to be had (a Triumph Daytona 900 went for £800), but it is all too easy to get swept up in the excitement and end up with a £6500 scooter with a seized motor…