The Las Vegas Auctions A couple of our friends in the local BMW club, Helene and Ralph, had attended the motorcycle auctions in Las Vegas last year. Susanna and I decided to share the drive there and back with them this year. On the way out, we detoured a bit and spent the night at the Lodge at Zion National Park. Early January is clearly in the middle of the off season. The Park was probably running at 10 percent of what it is like during the summer time. It was beautiful. The first auction, Bonham’s, was a one-day affair at Ballys Hotel and
Casino, in the middle of The Strip. It tended more toward high-end offerings. A couple of Ariel Square Fours, a half-dozen Vincents, two BMWs from the 1920s and 30s, and a Brough Superior were some of the bikes. There were also a number of regular bikes, including a 2014 R 1200 GS. This event had free admission for the public. The three-day MECUM auction was at the South Pointe Hotel/
Casino, where we stayed. This was quite a ways from The Strip and the many hotels/casinos that one thinks of when discussing Las Vegas. The MECUM auction had its share of high-end motorcycles but tended more towards more common marques. There were dozens and dozens of Triumphs, Harleys, various Japanese bikes and assorted others of all vintages. One fellow stated that the event was like “a party in a motor- cycle museum.” A number of the bikes had the owners nearby or at least a card with the phone number of the owner so that you could ask questions before the bike went up on the bidding stage. The bikes were numbered, which allowed some indication as to when they would be brought up on the stage. The proceedings are also televised online at the auction house websites. There was a fee associated with attending. Both auction companies have extensive websites to preview bikes and inform viewers on the details.
Top to bottom: This was listed as a "1983 /5"! In reality, it was a combination of parts from several years of airheads. In the lobby of our hotel, admiring one of the 1,000 shaft drive Harleys made for the US Army. It sold at auction for $30,000. Two nice airheads at Bonhams. The RS went for $12,000 or so, and the Slash Five, which could have come right off a showroom floor (except for the NGK spark plug caps), sold for $8,000.
March 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS 51
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