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"The
Era is gone forever...
fortunately the
motorcycle remains." |
That's
the slogan MidAmericas 15th Annual Vintage Motorcycle
Auction
kicks off with in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 12th
through to the 14th
2006.As I walked into the auction room I was greeted
with a rainbow of
colors and chrome with every major manufacture I
could think of being
represented with
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some of their
past models. Bikes as
early as a 1907 Indian twin racer to today's limited
production sport bikes were up for auction. Some
are beautiful and fast, basic and sophis-ticated,
each bike has a story to tell, the words probably
being less important than
how they looked. |
I
sat down with Director of Operations
Ron Christenson before the auction
started and asked him a few questions
on the future of Vintage motorcycles
and his auction.
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This
is MidAmerica Vintage Motorcycles
Auction 18th year, our 15th
year here in Las Vegas. We
have 3 annual auctions one
in Texas one in St. Paul
Minnesota and
one here in Las Vegas. This
auction will have a total
of 425 bikes auctioned off
in 3 days with some coming
from as far as New Zealand,
Australia, Italy, Canada,
USA, Hawaii, Japan, Germany
and the UK. We have found
that motorcycle collecting
has been growing in recent
years with collec-tors that
usually collect classic cars
are venturing into the classic
motorcycle market. The price
of classic cars weather they
are foreign cars or Muscle
cars |
|
|
Vincent
HRD, 1948 Norton Manx SOHC
and
a 1916 Thor Model U |
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have grown so much in
the last few year with some muscle cars reaching
more than 3 or 4 hundred thousand dollars, so spending
ten or twenty thousand dollars on a classic motorcycle
is a real bargain to these collectors. |
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1974
MV Agusta 750 America 750cc (red) sold for
$40,500. 1970 MV Agusta Roadster Four sold
for $27,000 |
|
Q: I asked Ron what are the rarest
bikes in this auction?
"We have quite a few rare ones this year,
there is a 1974 MV Agusta 750 America with serial
number 0001 and the younger brother of that the
1970 MV Augsta 600
4 cylinder roadster model that has never been started with NO miles on it. |
Another
one I'm excited about is
an original (except for the updated seat)
1952 Vincent Comet with it's original paint
in light blue, Vincent only built 5 of them
in this color and were built as a test for
the US market. When and they arrived in the
US and the people at Vincent took a look at
them, they decided
to stop production immediately
because they thought no one would buy |
these light blue
colored bikes in the US.Most
Vincent's were painted black, some were red. I
talked to the president of the Vincent owners club
of America and he only saw 1 other light blue Vincent
about 20 years ago and he has lost track of that
one. This one is authentic, we ran the serial number
for confirmation and found that
this bike was one of the five bikes manufactured in |
|
|
1952
Vincent Comet 1 of
5 built in blue
sold for $19,250. Behind 1966 Scott Flying
Squirrel 600cc sold for $10,000
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Britain
and sent to
the US. It would need a restoration but I would
say $20,000 would be a bargain for that bike as it sits now, maybe
$50,000 to $75,000 when restored". We also have a few famous bikes up for
grabs this year. |
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An
Indian
and a Triumph waiting for their turn on the block. |
|
Steve
Mc Queen's" On Any Sunday" 1972 Husquarna also seen on the cover of
Sports Illustrated Aug. 23 1971 issue. Dan Gurney "All American Racers" 1970
Yamaha 750 Factory Racer and first Japanese motorcycle to win an AMA Grand National
flat track race September 25, 1970. The Harley Powered 1990 Land Speed Streamliner
that was raced by Dave Campo's and Don Vesco. Records were set by Kent Riches.The
bike still holds two world records on the Bonneville Salt Flats were all up for
sale.
Q: Are their any bikes you would not accepted
in the Auction?
|
A: If
its a late model street bike that you can find
in your local newspaperon
a daily basis, if the serial numbers have been
altered in
any way or if
a bike is overpriced I wouldn't accept it. People don't travel all
this way
to buy a 2 or |
3
year old street bike, they just don't so it's just
a waste of time.
Q: Will there be any changes
for next years auction?
A: Yes
we are moving to a new larger facility next year
here in Las
Vegas.We will be auctioning 2 bikes at the same time 30 or 40 feet
apart. We found that a
|
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Plenty
of bikes with no reserve |
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faster auction will keep the bidders
from wondering off into the
casinos and
miss their auction. A good customer of mine that has bought about
$500,000
of bike from us over the years and explained what happened to him at
last years
auction. |
|
1969
Honda CB750KO Sandcast
sold for $12,000 |
|
He had a couple of hours
before the bike he wanted came up for auction so
he wondered into the casino for an hour or so and
when he came back the bike he wanted was auct-ioned
off. He had to have this bike in his collection so
he approached the new owner and make him an offer,
they came to an agreement and sold him the
bike for $9,000.00 |
more that what he just paid. So a quicker paced
auction will hopefully keep
bidders from wondering off and missing the bikes they want to bid on.
|
Q: What
do i need to know if I want to bring a bike into
Canada?
A: If
your coming down from Canada to buy a US registered
street bike or two a very important detail to remember
is to make sure it has a "US Certificate of Title" issued
from the individual State it's coming from, it doesn't |
|
1974
Ducati 750 Sport sold for $11,000 |
|
matter
if the bike is 10, 20 or 30
years old you will
need it for a street bike to cross customs hassle free. If
it's an off road
bike, motocross or race bike you
|
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1915 Harley
Davidson Board Track Racer
sold for $39,000 |
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don't need a State Issued Title to bring it across the border. If the
bike is coming from the UK or elsewhere
in Europe make sure the bike has a "current" registration that's what
you'll need when you bring it into Canada. About 90% of the bike here
have this title clearly stated on the bikes description tag.
Transporting
your bike is another issue you have to |
address.
We have a transporter here
that will transport your bike to any port or boarder
crossing you
want, they
will ship your bike or bikes to the closest US |
border warehouse. Prices
for this service
range from $300 to $700 depending on the distance
From
their
you could get
a licensed Canadian transporter to pick the bike up and
bring it
across the border or you could go over with your truck or trailer and
retrieve
it yourself. You will need to pay whatever duty you pay at the
|
|
1951
Indian Dispatch Tow sold for $35,500 |
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customs border crossing. So
know what your getting into before you bid on it.
I would be hard pressed to buy that "certain
bike" with the amount of
|
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1960
CZ Cezeta sold for $7,700 |
|
quality bikes available
to overwhelm my senses. As the new owner of a
1960 CZ Cezeta explained to me
"I came here to buy a Triumph couldn't resist buying the Cezeta, I can
always buy a Triumph
but their are only 3 Cezeta's known to exist in
the US and am very excited with my purchase.
|
These
motorcycles, beyond being prod-ucts up for auction
are rolling
manifestos on the past, as pretty as any precious art hanging on a wall (and
more fun to ride).
Is this capitalism at its core? Is this a bad thing? we
all have our opinion but i can tell you I'm glad to see these motorcycles be
it restored or not still with us to enjoy. |
|
1937 Brough Superior
SS80 1000cc
sold for $40,000 |
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Article & Photo's © The
Canadian Classic Bike Exchange
Sales
results from MidAmerica Auctions held on January
12 -14, 2006
in Las Vegas can
be seen on: |
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The
Canadian Classic Bike Exchange
Entire contents Copyright © 2005-2006 All rights reserved.
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