San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
DREAM BIKES UP FOR BID
After delay, big motorcycle auction returns to Las Vegas
Isold my first motor vehicle, a ’67 Triumph TR6C 650cc scrambler, more than four decades ago without much forethought about the sale. Despite how much freedom and enjoyment it gave me, the motorcycle was not dependable enough or comfortable enough or dry enough to commute 60-mile days around my nine-hour construction job. It sold quickly through a newspaper ad, circa 1975, to a young couple in town who were happy to have it.
However, I never forgot what that bike meant to me, and I’ve looked for it ever since. But I fear (Triumph VIN# TR6C DU 57315, liveried in Mist Green over Alaskan White/last seen wearing CA tag 714922) may have met the smelter in years gone past.
The good news? It’s easy today to scratch the mechanical itch in our lives, not with the original vehicle, perhaps, but with a tribute replacement. National auctions that feature collectible vehicles can provide searchable access to vast pools of possibilities located in one place.
Over the past thirty years, Mecum Auctions has been rated No. 1 for the sale of collectible motor vehicles, including motorcycles. Their half-dozen national events sell more than 20,000 vehicles per year.
The annual Mecum Motorcycle Auction in Las Vegas is always a highly anticipated midwinter event that draws attendees eager for warm weather, camaraderie and four days for motorcycle fervor. But COVID-19 put a spin on the auction this year.
Typically occurring in January, the event was delayed until April 28-May 1, and set at a new location: the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Health concerns restricted attendance to consignees and registered buyers, each with a single guest pass, but no daily admission tickets for the usual hordes of eager, tirekicking spectators.
The bidder registration fee is $200. Pre-registration is always advised to avoid verification lines on the day of the event. Financial verification is required, both to provide bidder legitimacy and ensure earnest intentions. Bids are then accepted in person, or via telephone or Internet proxy.
Despite the difficulties, the 2021 auction reached overall sales of $17.5 million as 1,151 motorcycles changed hands in just four days. A total of 1,214 motorcycles were offered at the auction with a sell-through rate of 95 percent, a remarkable achievement for a reserve-based auction.
The online catalog is the stuff of dreams. Blue chip exotics — like Vincents, Crockers, early board-track racers, or machines with famous owner provenance — always sell for big money, well into the six figures. Many common machines hammer at less than $10,000. There is something for every financial level. If you seek a particular machine, you may need to pay up in a bidding war.
The audience is as varied as the myriad brands/ models. Big-name collectors scour the catalog for that perfect item to augment their collection, while average folks are looking for project bikes, parts bikes, or that long-lost love.
Of interest to me was Item F258, a perfect replacement for my 1967 Triumph TR6C. On-site friends texted me the VIN that showed production was two hundred away from my first bike. It hammered at $11,000 ($10,000 bid plus 10 percent buyers premium).
Jerry Kaplan, from Davis, has been a judge at the prestigious Quail Motorcycle Gathering, where the best motorcycles come to be scrutineered and evaluated. Winning “Best of Show” at the Quail is the apogee of bragging rights — bar none — so Kaplan has certifiable street cred.
“I’ve been coming to the Mecum for 14-15 years as an adviser, basically helping people with their collections. This is the first year I’ve come as a registered buyer because I wanted to bring one of my friends along, and I ended up buying something,” he laughs.
“I bought a 1951 Norton International Model 30. It was kismet. It came from the Chicago area, where I bought my first motorcycle in 1965 when I came back from Vietnam. I have connections to that particular Norton. I had to buy it.”
Q:
What’s it like to attend a large auction like Mecum?
A:
COVID put a spin on the auction this year. Mecum lost their usual January date as well as their usual venue, and it was moved to the Las Vegas Convention Center. The spaces are so vast, and most of us are still legging it around. You walk your (butt) off. I’m still recovering.
Q:
How does the bidding go?
A:
The 1951 Norton International Model 30 I bid on was not in a sweet spot; the bidding stalled at $19,000. When I put my hand up, the reserve was still on. I told the Mecum rep I would offer $20,000 — all in — including the Mecum fees, the tax fees, all the extras. They came back in ten minutes and accepted my bid.
There’s a 10 percent buyers premium for bikes with a reserve, plus any applicable sales taxes, and other fees, so figure adding an additional 15 percent over the hammer price. I got a slight reduction by lumping the auction fees in.
But that bike was meant to find me. I knew two of the previous owners as well as the mechanic who last maintained it.
Q:
The downsides of an auction?
A:
You’re buying a pigin-a-poke. You can’t start them. Mecum has zero liability: It’s “as is, where is.” I’ve heard stories of bikes being sold with no crankshaft. Sellers are supposed to stand by their bikes when the bidding occurs, but they often don’t and they may not even be present.
But, if there’s no one to tell me otherwise, I’ll pump the suspension, stick my nose in the gas tank, check the steering head bearings, or maybe kick the bike over for compression. When you’re a bidder, your heart is overwhelmed.
You think it’s the finest example you’ve ever seen. You fall in love and lose all control. If there’s two guys bidding, the sky’s the limit. Particularly if there’s a little bit of alcohol involved.
Money and COVID-19
Prices are rising for popular bikes. Five years ago, 61-inch EL “Knucklehead” Harleys began to feel the surge. Prices climbed from the $25,000-$35,000 range to $50,000-$80,000. This year, Kaplan was surprised that many were north of $100,000.
Kaplan believes stimulus money and COVID-19 have impacted the market.
“Everybody is kinda euphoric that COVID is starting to wind down and the government is supplying free money. There were a lot of people who had plenty of money to spend.”
Michaud is a San Diego-based motorcycle writer and restorer. Send email to jmichaud@san.rr.com.