Going from Bonhams to Mecum is a little like taking the transatlantic Queen Mary II from Southampton and getting off in downtown Brooklyn. The distinguished English gentleman guides you through 128 auctions on Thursday, but Mecum has a squad of rapid-fire auctioneers who literally run through double that number each day Tuesday through Saturday.
The 1993 Ducati Supermono was a sportbike high at $115,000
The stadium atmosphere at Mecum where this 1925 BMW R37 fetched $220,000
If a lot doesn’t meet the reserve, Bonhams encourages further negotiation.
Neither the 2012 EBR 1190S nor Metrakit GP125 racebikes hit the reserve.
The 1987 Bimota DB1 SR went for $11,500, but no sale for the 1982 Honda CX500 Turbo. Mecum’s CX with no reserve brought $6,600
The 1990 Magni-Guzzi Arturo sold for $10,925 at Bonhams, no Magnis at Mecum
The 1974 Laverda 750 SFC brought $30,000 at Bonhams, and a ’75 fetched $88,000 at Mecum.
Pretty hard to compare apples to apples when considering the two auctioneers. Special models, choice years, condition, and provenance all have their say. Bonhams had a few ex-Steve McQueen bikes, and a 1938 Triumph 5T Speed Twin went for many multiples of the very comparable non-McQueen example. A mysterious lady bidder was intent on winning several of the choice sportbikes at Mecum, leading to a 1992 Honda NR750 which brought $181,500, and a never-started 1988 Honda RC30 which went to $121,000. At both venues, the bona fide antiques did the really heavy lifting, showing that sportbikes are downright affordable, and most of the time you can actually ride them…
-donn
I watched the tv coverage and all the bikes I saw including the CX500 Turbo were all no reserve.
Did I miss summat???
hi Jason, Mecum had a CX500 Turbo which was no reserve and brought $6,600, I’ll add that above.