There are about 450 different motorcycle models at your pleasure in dealerships right now, in a variety of styles and at a level of excellence that makes it pretty easy to be a new-bike owner
I'll fill in more details later, but when I visited the preview and auction of the Bonhams Petersen Museum sale, I had a feeling that canny buyers would be walking away with bargains, as quite a few bikes present were for sale with 'no reserve', and the hall was not full.
I also wanted to downgrade my estimate on the Blue Bike to $320,000 - which is below low estimate. I haven't heard the high bid yet, as I didn't stay for the auction (other business!), and I've only just arrived home, so will post the last bid when I speak with spectators. I do see that it failed to sell... so my notes on 'just who will be bidding?' have proved prescient at least. I note that two other Vincent twins in the auction failed to sell... either their reserves were too high, or given the current climate, the Vincent bubble has just hit the ceiling. I watched this happen in 1990, when Vincent values were approaching the $80k mark for real Black Shadows, then dropped way back down to $30k by '92. If I wanted to buy a Vincent twin, I would wait a few months. If I wanted to sell a Vincent, I'd wait a few years!
Someone walked away with a restored '58 Harley Panhead for $9,600 - which is half price by any reckoning. A shocking number of the bikes and cars simply failed to sell.
One bike which did sell was this '49 Triumph Tiger 100, which I had imported from Australia in 2001, and sold for $9500 that year, with a sidecar. The Tiger solo, 7 years later, sold for $10,530.
Fred Lange's beautiful Indian 8-valve replica sold for $64,350, which is more than the 'Art of the Motorcycle' 8-valve which was also in the sale ($57,330). The catalog wasn't clear that the Guggenheim bike had cylinder heads from Fred's shop! But of course, any prospective buyer would have done their due diligence before bidding.
The knock-on effect of all this? I would assume the Rollie Free Bike will not come up for auction this year, as has been rumored. Also, given the dramatic rise of the dollar this week, foreign buyers were priced out of the high estimates... perhaps they should have used £s in the catalog! When you're talking a 20% rise in the dollar since the catalog was published, at a $400,000 price tag, that's a lot of money tacked on if you're paying in euros.
More analysis tomorrow...
Good ideas attract people, and Pete Young's notion to follow the 'tourist route' (marked with '49 Mile Drive' signs) with a gang of Vintage motorcycles has grown larger every year.
The total number of motorcycles was over 205 - that's a lot of funky old bikes to filter through city traffic. Pete and Kim have enlisted the help of the Yerba Buena Antique M/C for catering and directing traffic, making for an extra-smooth ride this year
The route circles the perimeter of the City via the Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, Presidio, Seacliff, and Ocean Beach, then plunges into the heart via Golden Gate Park, Twin Peaks, the Mission, and finally our start/finish point, the Bayview Boat Club (emphatically NOT the 'yacht club', as Bayview is hardly the sort of place one would park an expensive boat - all the brass would be gone in a matter of hours!).
Almost all of the motorcycles were pre-'75, as requested; the only interlopers this year seemed to be Harleys, and the common excuse was 'My Shovelhead (or insert vintage H-D motor here) isn't running'. C'mon, guys, if we can keep our fragile Sunbeams and Ariels going...
I rode my '25 Sunbeam Longstroke, which is actually the longest ride yet on this machine (about 60 miles total, including the cross-town ride to get to Bayview). The lubrication remains a bit of a mystery to me, and it isn't sorted out yet, but the bike ran very well, and winds out beautifully in the gears. It surprised a fellow from LA riding a mildly tuned Lambretta Li175, who couldn't keep up with the 80-year-old hotrod.... well what do you expect! It's the Cloris Leachman of motorcycles (no, I've never seen 'Dancing with the Stars').
More Kustoms were ridden this year, with a variety of power plants; this Triumph T100 bobber caught me eye. It has brakes too!
All bikes bright and beautiful, all bikes big and small, the Vintagent did love them all... this Cushman was pretty cool.
We stopped to gather at Fort Point underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, which has a secluded parking lot and supportive Park Service staff (some of them ride, and look forward to our visit). Nobody jumped off the bridge this year, so we had plenty of time to chat.
My Sunbeam leaking slowly next to Charlie Taylor's Matchless Model X, which is a really fine machine to ride. The variety of motorcycles present was impressive.
Of course, the term 'motorcycle' was pushing it occasionally. All rectangles are squares, and all two-wheelers with engines are motorcycles, even if they're Mustangs, or scooters.
Fort Point is an impressive old lump, which can't be seen from the bridge at all, but the understructure of the Bridge adds great character to the locale, as does the fog.
And yes, although it was sunny on the East side of town, it was pretty soupy on the Ocean side, which is where I live, so I was overdressed for the sun, but quite cozy in the fog.
Fashionistas were out in force this year. Winner of the Women's Best Dressed category.
Winner of the Men's Best Dressed - is this 1948 or 2008?
It must be 2008, as Mods and Rockers rode harmoniously down Haight Street, avoiding the panhandling homeless people and drug peddlers.
This was my personal favorite machine of the day, but I'm biased as I unearthed it from a long slumber. This BSA A7 had 3000 miles on the clock, and is completely original, although Gus says the old tires finally wore out. The engine is amazingly quiet, and it runs like a clock. Even the dealer's sticker is still on the toolbox (and it's a beauty; see below)
Twin Peaks has a fantastic view of downtown SF, especially on a totally clear Autumn day. The parking lot if always full of tourists and tour buses, who thread their way gingerly through our parked machines, wary of starting an avalanche.
Another totally original machine; a Harley 45cu" civilian model, complete with 'buddy' seat. Nice.
Oldest bike of the day was this 1913 Excelsior, which is featured on some of my Pre-16 Ride posts; it's been seriously upgraded and produces twice the original horsepower. He even keeps a small bottle of NO2 for a boost!
Three little Guzzis; actually I think there were several more. Italian lightweights are becoming more popular in the SF area, due to the MotoGiro. Now that there are TWO Giro inspired rides in CA, more 175cc MVs, Benellis, Guzzis, Ducatis, etc, seem to show up at every ride.
For once, Sunbeams outnumbered Velocettes on a ride. But you'd have to count a postwar S7 with the two Vintage machines...
Thanks again to Pete especially for organizing the fine weather!
These photos come from a few websites, including Max Schaaf's terrific 4QConditioning (which specializes in vintage Americana, bikers, and skating - Max and posse are in photo #2), plus the Picasa/Flickr pages of other riders; ie, people with real cameras (Craig Howell and 'Diamante').
I had my hands full of Sunbeam! While it's an incredibly simple motorcycle, it's not simple to ride - not only am I constantly playing with the lever throttle and timing levers, I have to keep a keen eye out for potholes (minimal suspension - probably 1.5" on those Druid forks) and braking 'opportunities' - ie the bike has no brakes to speak of...
Paul Zell brought his Indian bobber, which looks very rideable, with high ground clearance and real brakes up front. Everything the original 'bob-jobs' were... light and functional, stripped down for performance.
On the opposite end of the 'modified' spectrum, this extended-fork Harley chopper was certainly the most radical machine, along with the '13 Excelsior! The 'Black Widow' certainly cut a stylish figure...it's all about those pointed boots....enjoy the rest of the photos!
Good ideas attract people, and Pete Young's notion to follow the 'tourist route' (marked with '49 Mile Drive' signs) with a gang of Vintage motorcycles has grown larger every year. 
