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| Bonhams' Malcolm Barber discusses the 'Shadowized' Vincent Rapide which sold for $47k inclusive of fees |
The Las Vegas collector motorcycle auctions every January are the biggest vintage bike sale anywhere, with 1000 bikes going under the hammer this year. Yet with this huge spread of machinery on offer, some of it at no reserve, I muse on why there aren't more 'ordinary bikers' attending these auctions - this year's event was a strangely mixed bag, with the Thursday Bonhams auction very successful for high-end collectors, while the 3-day Mecum auction was a benefit for dealers who'd come from around the globe.
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| Ron Christensen, who sold his MidAmerica Auctions to Mecum, was still touting the herd as it crossed the podium |
In past years, some of these dealers have gone home empty handed, but they reaped a haul at Mecum, with '60s Triumphs going for $5-8k, Harley Panheads for $13-18k, and lots else going cheap or not selling at all. Several familiar dealers from the USA and Europe looked pleased as cats with tweety bellies, having scored dozens of nice old bikes, which are currently en route to their respective salerooms.
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| Bench and Loom's Jared Zaugg aboard the Brough Superior SS100 with sold, then didn't, at $285k... |
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| The Herb Harris collection of fascinating cutaway engine included this ex-factory BSA Gold Star from the 1955 Earls Court show |
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| Cool stuff at Mecum - a Norton Model 50 Featherbed in original paint, and a Harley KRTT |
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| Alan Stulberg of Revival Cycles with the -unwashed- '33 Brough Superior 11-50 we rode in the 2014 Cannonball, on the Sinless Cycles display of Broughs and Vincents. Good company! |
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| No sale today...the 'Bigsby Special' replica Crocker at Mecum, cataloged with a story that was indeed a crocker something... |
Bonhams starts off the week, and as in years past, there are buyers who go to one auction or the other, but not both. Bonhams attracts the bankroll boys, and really knocked it outta the park this year, with a $4.2M total, and four world record prices set. A 1950 Vincent 'White Shadow' sold at over $200k, and another 7 hit the century mark. Records were set for a Matchless-Brough SS80 ($115k), Vincent models 'white' Shadow ($224k) and Rapide ($126k), and Matchless G50 ($115k). Even with an approx. 75% sale rate, their total sales figure was remarkable, and the high rollers really made the auction.
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| Artist Jeff Decker shared the Sinless booth, and showed off his white-pencil technique for drawing Sprouts Elder |
As usual, Malcolm Barber, now Co-Chairman of Bonhams, used his dry wit to keep things rolling, nudging indecisive bidders by making fun of them with good humor. A huge selection of Herb Harris' 'cutaway' motors and even a full cutaway BSA Gold Star mostly failed to sell, with very high reserves; in the case of the Goldie, something like 10 times the value of the complete machine! Clearly, it's passed into the realm of art, but art collectors aren't ready for a cutaway.
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| A fully race-kitted '53 Triumph Tiger 100 was truly mouthwatering at only $16k |
It's hard to imagine a greater contrast to Bonhams than the Mecum auction, which is very fast-paced, averaging only 90 seconds per bike...understandable with 750 bikes to push through. There's little 'color' at the auction (a job I used to do for MidAmerica), and the sheer volume of the event, in all senses, can be overwhelming, and challenging to sit through for more than a few hours. Still, the results at the Mecum auction were astounding - 83% sold, with a total $7.3M changing hands. That makes a total sale for the weekend around $10.5M...which ain't chicken feed! The visiting crowd at Mecum must have numbered over 3000, and people milled around the bike lineups, getting a close look at the bikes; it's a terrific social scene, and a great place to hang out with friends from across the country or around the globe.
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| Hanging out at the AMCA booth - it's only fair I post them, as they made me the poster boy for membership renewals! |
For whatever reason, the
Mecum auction didn't draw out the high bidders, and the top price realized was $132k for an original-paint 1952 Vincent 'Touring' Rapide in rare Chinese Red, surely one of the finest original paint Vincents to be found anywhere, with an exquisite patina, which knocked off the Bonhams world-record mark for Rapides set two only days prior. That's the auction biz! Clearly, Vincents in original paint, or Shadows, are very hot again, although a lovely Rapide in 'riding' condition, with full documentation and history, went for only $43k at Bonhams. Choose the Vincent you like - the same model can be had for $100k more if you prefer! With over 11,000 postwar Vincents produced, the very top prices are clearly collector-driven, and not about rarity
per se...
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| A super-rare machine with a great back story; in 1925, Indian bought a new Velocette K OHC bike, and set about copying it in its entirety! The chassis and gearbox is nearly identical, and the engine is pretty close too, but Indian-style. This 1 of 6 motor was installed in a SV Prince chassis. |
Mecum has the benefit of TV coverage via NBC Sports Network, and full disclosure – while I recently resigned as a consultant for Bonhams, I enjoyed sitting in with the NBCSN ‘car guys’ as a commentator for the show this year, their first motorcycle auction broadcast.
Hopefully they'll continue to cover the motorcycle auction scene, as it's long overdue.
