2015 Mecum MidAmerica Motorcycle Auction
Vegas moto auctions: Part Two
Miles south of the Vegas strip, the South Point Casino and Exhibition Hall rises from the desert like a giant sandstone monolith. At first sight, just one word, despite its constant misuse and triteness, comes to mind: Awesome.
Thus it was the perfect venue for the 24th annual Las Vegas Antique Motorcycle Auction. The anniversary tag is conferred by the recent merger of the Mecum classic car vendor with MidAmerica, its motorcycle counterpart. (The Antique descriptor is no longer accurate, although the same can’t be said for some of the sellers and bidders…) The new moniker is MidAmerica Motorcycles by Mecum Auctions. Welcome to the new mastodon in the gymnasium.
More than 800 motorcycles would cross the stage, flogged by the loud, staccato, non-stop hollering of the auctioneer before the final gavel sounded. Compared to the Bonhams’ Downton Abbey style of propriety, this is the genuine down-home American livestock auction format: DO I HEAR SIX, SIX, NOW! BLAMALAMA-RAMALANGA-DINGDONG! FIVE, FIVE THOUSAND! Most of the wise veterans in the audience were wearing earplugs.
2015 Bonhams Motorcycle Auction
The top-dollar award, $132,500, went to a 1952 Vincent C Rapide. Number two was a 1918 Henderson Four at $87,500. Given the voluminous inventory, the Mecum auction stretches from Thursday afternoon through Friday and into Saturday. By Saturday morning the fatigue is apparent among both buyers and sellers. Most of the good stuff is gone, but back-lot negotiations for unsold machines are underway. There were a number of bargains among Japanese bikes and older dirt machines. Scroll down to see some of the highlights. Complete auction results are available at Mecum.com.
More by Tod Rafferty
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Thanks for the coverage. Great pix. The many no sales indicate owners think they are worth more than they are. Interesting.