XH Motorcycles Forum
General Communications Forums => General Discussion Similar to Facebook => Topic started by: Junker on January 28, 2023, 12:02:08 PM
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Did anyone see what the Super X in the crate sold for at the 2023 Mecum motorcycle auction in Las Vegas?
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$9,000 was the final bid. After all the fees the final value shown on the website is $9,900. I think they should have kept it in the museum.
After leaving the auction, I made my way over to Euro Cycles in Vegas. They have the perpetually-listed 2000 black for sale. That poor bike needs some love. Its certainly at the right dealer for it. It’s a very nice shop. I hope she finds a home.
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Thank you.
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I keep hoping someone will sell one on bringatrailer.com
upper scale sales.
It appears bikes sell just a bit better than market on this site. And I've never seen an X on there. Old or new. There are some bikes on there, not too pretty, or highly collectible, that have sold for some surprising money.
I'm not in this for collectible value of my X. But after so many years of X's selling so cheap.... just getting tire of it. I feel they have inched up a bit in the past few years, but geez, our bikes are 20 years old now. I'd think the edsel/orphan mindset would diminish.
Its great for new owners though.
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I walked the entire auction floor at least twice. Some sections got strolled three or more times. I drove 250 miles just to look at bikes and be around like-minded people for the day. Some random thoughts:
There were roughly a thousand motorcycles there. Everything got bid on. Some owners had reserves but, if I'm being honest, the lowest prices were probably not far off of what the bikes were actually worth on any other venue (Craigslist, Bookface Marketplace, etc.). What I'm saying is there were no screaming bargains and everything had a chance to sell. That was the minimum baseline. It was Craigslist pricing or much higher. Some bikes fetched stupid money.
The age of the crowd was a little concerning. Lots of limping old guys. Very few seemed to be under 50. The post boomer generations have not yet embraced motorcycles the way so many did in the 1960s through the '90s. Beautiful 1960s and 1970s Triumphs and BSAs could be bought in the mid to high four-figure range. Honestly, that's what they seem to ask on the open market. How long will the supply of loaded old guys last? I don't know. As a first year Gen Xer, I'll probably sell everything too late and lose my butt. Such is life. At least I have them now. ;D
This all gets to the point I wanted to make: an awful lot of the variance in pricing seemed to reflect how well the motorcycles presented. There were soooo many bikes that needed a good bath and a few hours of metal polish and wax. They looked like they were rolled out of an estate sale garage, loaded on a truck and taken straight to the auction. If a buyer sees that, they're likely to also assume the bike is going to need work to get it running. No guarantees, no test rides, as-is, where-is, etc. Plenty of poor restorations. Lots of stuff you can't see in the pictures. You get it.
I think it's probably the right venue to sell a Super X but, to get top dollar, the bike needs to be freshly detailed and look like it. If I'm being honest, the condition of the crate bike was a little disappointing. If you consider what a bike would look like parked on static display, collecting dust and dirt, unwashed for 23 years, that's what it was. Everyone knows it's new but, it didn't look new. The pop of a brand new toy was missing. Would detailing it inside the box have been appropriate? I think so.
And someone still reached into their checkbook for $9,900 and now owns a giant wooden crate to move around, store and display.
As I walked the floor and pondered all the pain it takes to sell oddball motorcycles of any type, it became obvious that for the 10% seller premium, an auction like that is probably the best option for selling motorcycles like mine. For many owners, the next problem becomes getting the motorcycles to Las Vegas. Looking at the other Mecum auctions, I guess this is the big one. Arizona and Florida only list 100 motorcycles so far.
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I watched much of the auction online and caught myself looking for that big beautiful springer front end every time the camera scanned the bike parking area. Never saw one.
Had the same thoughts about the age of the crowd that you did and wrote it off as older guys = big money and young guys = just starting out so they have a higher debt ratio and less money.
Did you see the Indian Chief with no paint on the tank sell for $7k? When that crossed the block I looked at my wife and said "If I were there I would be bidding right now and I would not have even asked". There were a few deals there, but I agree with you that for the most part it was a bit of a free for all.
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I don't remember that specific Indian but, it may have been rough or incomplete or something not immediately obvious. I've always been surprised at how low Indians seem to go vs similar year Harleys. That may have been why it didn't stand out to me.
There was the Indian sidecar rig that had a Honda VT750 engine shoehorned into the frame. They honestly did a good job of integrating it. I'm not saying you didn't notice but, it was like a Ural with a '70s BMW drivetrain stuffed in there: reliable enough to actually ride. That bike didn't break $10K. I would have guessed that Honda engine or not, the chassis, other parts and the sidecar would have made it worth more than that. Then again: who is going to want it and how hard would that have been to sell on CL?
I was coincidentally only there on Thursday, which was the day the Super X went. It spent at least that day, if not the entire auction, parked on the left side of the stage, behind the ramp. Here she is as the bidding started:
(https://xhmotorcycles.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1321.0;attach=919;image)
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I do recall seeing that Honda powered Indian. Thought it looked nice and figured someone picked it up to ride and not really too worried about resale.
It reminded me of a Chicago Police HD Servicar I saw running around O'Hare airport many, many years ago with a Honda V twin in it. My initial reaction was sadness, but then I realized it was just a piece of equipment to them. Then I cried. ;-)
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LOL Frank.... LOL