Update 1.26.18: Now updated with sale values where available, including the RC30 which sold for $92k! Congratulations buyers and sellers! Full sale report on the Bonhams website. -dc
Bonhams also has a motorcycle auction next week in Las Vegas. The don’t have as many lots but certainly have some gorgeous bike available. In particular the RC30 and OW01 listed have unbelievably low miles.
Their auction is one day only on Thursday the 25th at the Rio. Bonhams provides estimates for their auctions which we’ve included on our selections below. Feel free to comment with your thoughts, and good luck to buyers and sellers!
dc
Tom McComas Homologation Specials
1990 Honda VFR750R RC30 14 Miles! JH2RC3007LM2000118
Bonhams Estimate: $40,000 – 50,000
SOLD $92,000
1991 Yamaha FZR750R OW01 74 Miles! 35J-002145
Bonhams Estimate: $30,000 – 35,000
SOLD $34,500
Other Select Lots
2006 Ducati Paul Smart 1000 LE ZDM1WABP56B001584
Bonhams Estimate: $12,000 – 16,000
SOLD $17,250
1987 Ducati F1 750 Laguna Seca 11,000 Miles ZDM750LS750207
Bonhams Estimate: $23,000 – 26,000
No sale?
Bonhams Estimate: $80,000 – 120,000
No sale?
Bonhams Estimate: $85,000 – 100,000
No sale?
Bonhams Estimate: 98,000 – 110,000
No sale?
1982 Laverda 1200TS Mirage 10,725 Miles ZLVMLNDA5C0000036
Bonhams Estimate: $14,000 – 18,000
No sale?
Quick correction, Thursday is the 25th not the 24th. So if you were planning on bidding you have an extra day.
Also good news if you miss out on this one the Mecum RC30 lot S148 isn’t crossing the block until Saturday the 27th.
Why is my timing always off? When I’m broke, most of these bikes could have been bought “cheap”. Now that I have a just little bit of money, everything is crazy priced. Hard to justify the prices even when you can afford it. “Hey honey, I just dropped 40k on a bike we should really only look at”. Weird.
Good looking out, now corrected.
dc
HAHAHAHAAHHA….I just had that same conversation. It’s getting crazy, 40K for an RC30, I think it’s great for those that have them but for us that are late to the party, guess we’re sh** outta luck. Maybe we can 3D print one?
LMAO… and feeling all those same emotions mentioned above… Guess I’ll have to stick to building scale models of these icons, and dream of owning one or two – someday. Not likely; but live in hope !
Interesting only one of these listings is being sold at no reserve, the 2006 Paul Smart Ducati. For a one-owner bike it would be well bought if it stays near Bonham’s estimate. Many of these have traded at or north of $20K.
I was at pro Italia here in CA last week getting some tires. I was looking at the Paul smart they had for sale for the better part of an hour. Negotiated it down to 22.5k but couldn’t pull the trigger. Just as I was waiting they had 2 calls and sure as sh**, a guy from central ca came in with a trailer and snatched it up. Definitely a popular bike but they really aren’t great to ride which puzzles me why they are so popular. Maybe I’m mistaken but weren’t they something like 15k new which wasn’t that long ago?
Motoman…. you just need to get use to paying that kind of money for bikes…. once you see what a perfect bike looks like, it’ll be easy to part with the cash ????. Besides what do you think you’re going to have to pay for the crated owo-1 and k-1? Those bonhams bikes are going to seem cheep!! Time to step up if you want to sit at the grown up table buddy… lol oh…. and don’t work too hard lol
Crazy story Motoman. Timing is everything huh? Yes the Sport Classics weren’t that expensive. The 2006 Paul Smart was $14,995 new. Corse Superbikes outside of Milwaukee still had them in 2008 and were offering thousands off to move them, along with some others in the Sport Classic line. If we only knew then.
All true. That’s why I think that 32-mile 1986 VF1000R at Mecum is the one to watch/buy. If it goes under $15K (which it likely will) it will be well bought. I’d be surprised if that one isn’t a $20K bike in 3 years. Not all of them…lots are tatty and used up. But that one is spotless and you couldn’t restore a crap one for $10K. I have a 1984 Euro model. The fit and finish of those bikes is incredible for the period. Really as close to a racer as you could get before the RC30. Honda didn’t skim on parts. While not very comfortable to ride with a long reach (and I’m 6’4′), they’re stunning to look at (with dual headlights). So that one will make iconic garage jewelry. Start it occasionally to hear the gear-driven cams whine and all is good.
I hear ya K3. I have two qualities working against me. I’m poor and I’m cheap. I’ll just keep buying fixer uppers like the 91 zx7R I bought for 6300 a few months ago and fix them up myself. I like the projects and have to hurry before the “rough” nc35 shows up this week :). It’s ok…I’ll just keep playing in the novice league. My 6’4” frame looks like an ape on all these newly acquired 400’s but gotta say,.they are fun as hell and affordable!
Reminds me of a recent trip to look at an 89 GSXR750 RR. Always wanted one and have been looking seriously for 2 years.
Seller was asking 25K. The bike was not in great shape. I was bummed out. My wife, who saw the bike, immediately went to wait in the car, knowing it was a no go.
I was ready to step up, but it wasn’t worth it. Paying high retail just because ” only 500 built, never imported” etc doesn’t make sense to me.
If you find a bike you love, buy it.
Congrats to all us RC30 owners, ha ha. The worm has turned, Jap homologation stuff is now on par with Euro stuff!
I wonder how much my 700KM GSXR 750 RK is worth. It’s a export model Germany France unrestricted model.
Is that RC30 price for real??? I’ve got 2 of them tucked away. One with 17K miles and one with 3K. At those prices we should all be sending our older bikes to auction. Anyone interested in an RC45, 998R, 916SPS (rare 1997 variety), GSXR750RK, 888 SPO???
Yes and no. That has simply narrowed the buying population considerably. RC45 owners went through a similar situation in the mid 2000’s.
A few RC45s had sold in the teens in the late 1990’s. Then they climbed to the about 20’s in the early very 2000s and then a bike sold in the 30k range in the mid 2000’s.
That was great except for 1 thing – in the late 2000s the pool of buyers for 30k bikes was very thin, only the biggest egos where pissing away that kind of money on bikes – remember the ridiculous chopper builds?
Great on paper, but it meant my bike sat for sale, for 4 years until my ask came down to the markets buy. I needed the cash so the bike was sold.
High prices are only realized when the item is sold. IMO, paying $92,000 for an RC30 is an ego purchase.
I have a CBR1000RR SP2 on order, hopefully I keep this one longer than the RC45 LOL
Hey Kevin, if you’re serious, drop me a note. I’m looking for an RC30, RC45 and a GSXR750RK. I picked up that zero mile ZX7R at auction and a few other bikes lately so I’ll be selling a few of my others soon (the zx7r that I’ve been restoring for example). I have a line in on the GSXR RK and an RC30 as we speak but I’m waiting to get more info.
And PS. I love to trade so I’m going to get a little more “focused” on my choices and sell off (ideally trade) some of the extra stuff.
Looking at the Mecum results prices are all over the place. Some great deals especially earlier in the week, and some crazy high prices that I just can’t explain. Good luck if you’re going after that RC30 today Motoman.
RC45 I don’t understand your logic. Prices go up considerably and I agree the pool of buyers gets smaller. but if you price your bike at a similar price to what you paid prior to the price surge, it’s a super quick sale. You ask the “new normal” price of 2x your original investment (or whatever) and yes, you need to wait to find the right buyer. How is this anything but good for the guys who already have the bikes?
Thanks Billy, I’m on that RC but have another I’m working on if it goes nuts. Very aware of the amount my ZX7R ran up to but first off…As crazy as it sounds, the ZX7R is my first dream bike as a broke ass kid. I maxed out my first CC, even used my mervyns card to return stuff for cash :). Sold my GSXR to buy a ZX7 (J model) and build it as close to the R as I could. Had a guy named RCAL racing put muzzy cams in, fox shock, flatslides, you name it as I was really into racing at the time (would of been cheaper to buy the R…HAHA…stupid kid). Funded my obsession with waiting tables, washing dishes and working on the dock at Yellow Freight at night. This R for me is my dream bike and still is 25 years later, I had to have it! Besides all that, rebuilding this 91 R that I’ve been working on for 3 months, do you have any idea what parts cost? The new old stock fuel tank alone was $1800, then a stock exhaust and a gigantic box of old stock parts I found in Europe…it hasn’t been cheap.
Motoman, I think you did fine on that ZX7 – zero mile bikes will always be the pointy end of the price spectrum and a solid investment. My problem is you can’t ride it! Yes I’m well aware of parts costs – I’ve restored 2 slab side Gixxers – even on those, look what nice NOS bodywork costs if you can find it. Just finishing up a refresh of an 87 FZR750R – fortunately it shares a ton of parts with the 1000 or I would have been screwed on that one. And I’m now freshening up my RC30… all I can say is good god damn… fortunately I have a complete set of race bodywork including tank, so if I bin it at a track day I’ll at least not be too upset about ruining stock bits. And yes, if you show up at Putnam or Mid-Ohio for a track day, you’re likely to see the RC and FZR being ridden. OK a lot slower than when I was trying to prove something back in the day, but still, these bikes will get exercised.
You mighta shoulda jumped on whatever RC30 you had a line on prior to these auction prices hitting the street
Today’s will be interesting – that RC isn’t cherry but how much will the silly $92k from earlier in the week inflate it? My guess is it rolls across around $27-32k, which is too much in my opinion. Also interesting: the much more rare zero mile OW01 only brought about a third the $92k of the RC. These bikes are contemporaries, the OW much more exclusive and just as trick. I guess it just goes to show the RC has a seriously strong following.
Thanks Billy…with you on all points. I’m watching that RC for sure but the one at the other auction was an anomaly. That OW today sold for 17000!!!! What the heck!!! Someone stole that thing! Funny story….I was completely my online bidding thing as there are a couple bikes I still like and couldn’t stay in vegas any longer. I accidentally bought a damn bike and I was just trying to register!!!! HAHAHAHA…what a moron! Figure I’ll sell myself out before the rumors get out there. So, guess I have a NSR250 I need to sell now on ebay, gonna lose some $ but you have to laugh. Expensive day in learning how to online bid!
Back to your point. Hope to see you on the track one day. If I don’t sell my ZX7R that I’m building I’ll use it for the track. If not, seriously thinking about taking my older NC35 and tracking it. I’m way too tall for 400’s but alot cheaper if I have an issue. I’m in CA so doubt I’ll hit an OH track day but one day maybe
On freakin Ebay it asks you to confirm bid…it went grey instantly as in I wasn’t the high bidder at 7000…then it said, 7500…then it said 8000 and then I won at 7K. Could be worse, at least I didn’t learn on that Desmo yesterday, I would have to sell a kidney today if that would of happened!
Motoman, I feel your pain on the mis-bid! I ran a salvage moto shop for a while on the side, to “support my habit” and all. Anyways I bought hundreds of bikes at online salvage sales. And I’ll admit, I bought a handful of them that were total mistakes. Several times I would bid on things just to move the damn auctions along, you know, the “Let’s just get this thing where its going” bids, and several of those I’d end up high bidder and be like “Shit, I don’t want this thing.” At least you ended up mis-bidding on something cool – you could be stuck with a custom choppuh abortion.
Good point! Thanks for that. I just wanted to make sure it worked so I could bid on the RC30…well….it worked. It’s ok, I bought a different RC30 this morning and committed before the auction. Hopefully he holds to the deal as I paid less but fact is, after 10% buyer fee, 10% seller fee and 500-1000 for just listing it and transport, the auction isn’t a great place to sell stuff unless of course you get 92K for a zero mile one. My head is still spinning on that one…. I’ll put the bike at $1 on ebay once I get it and see what it does. It will make for an exciting day anyway. Thanks again Billy, don’t feel so bad now.
Motorcycle values especially sport bikes have arrived. Just watched 1750 bikes sell and was shocked by prices of the rare models… good for the sellers and good for us that are sitting on a bunch of stock in our garages… motoman needs to change his name to “bagged the bike four” lol inside joke ????
HAHAHAAHAHAA! I’ll let you know on that last sentence tomorrow as I’m working on the “bike four”…granted, my four is a little different as I’m not a slab side kinda guy. Don’t forget, I’m sending you this Fila 999R and this 2 stroke I bought by mistake…just pay me later and make room!