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
RC30 0 miles never started!
Posted by Rare SportBikes For Sale on Friday, January 25, 2019
Wow NR750!
Posted by Rare SportBikes For Sale on Friday, January 25, 2019
Friday
Posted by Rare SportBikes For Sale on Friday, January 25, 2019
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.