2012 Auctions America Motorcycle Auction
The weekend of Jan. 12-14, Auction America by RM made its debut in Las Vegas, placing 490 vintage motorcycles and a range of memorabilia on the block.
By week’s end at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, 82 percent of the lots were sold, garnering an impressive $4.1 million in sales. Bidders represented 35 stages and 10 countries, with buyers arriving from as far away as Australia, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
The top seller of the show was a beautifully restored 1910 Flying Merkel, the bright-orange machine bringing in an impressive $86,800. Next up was a high-quality 1926 Cleveland Fowler fetched $76,160.
In addition, the sale also featured Criss Angel’s BeLIEve/MINDFREAK custom chopper selling for $19,040 as the magician watched from the podium. All proceeds from Angel’s "Charity Chopper" sale – including auction commissions – went to his BeLIEVE Anything Is Possible foundation to help children in need.
Donnie Gould (Auctions America President) says: "We are extremely pleased by the response and outcome of the sale. It exceeded our expectations for a first-time event, and we received nothing but positive feedback from the buyers, sellers and attendees on the quality and diversity of the offering, event presentation and our dedicated client service."
Auctions America reports it has become an auction house of choice for collections of estate and private vehicles – a status confirmed by the appearance at the Las Vegas sale of eight private motorcycle collections. A highlight of the offering was the Christiansen Collection, featuring eight motorcycles at no reserve.
Arle Christiansen says: "I was very happy with the way everything was handled. I was sorry to see my late husband’s bikes go, but Auctions America had a very nice event and took excellent care of them and me."
Participants enjoyed an interactive educational element during the debut Las Vegas sale. The exclusive motorcycle seminar was moderated by SPEED Channel’s Dave Despain. Experts Mark Hoyer (editor, Cycle World), Buzz Walneck (founder, Walneck’s Classic Cycle Trader), Doug Mitchel (motorcycle author) and Joe Bortz (motorcycle collector) discussed several aspects of the collector motorcycle industry and took questions from the audience, Auctions America reports.
Full results from Auction America’s Las Vegas Premier Motorcycle Auction are posted online at auctionsamerica.com. Auctions America continues its 2012 auction calendar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 16-18.