Bob Bids British

My friend Bob never does anything by halves...

Before I get into this story, a bit of background might be in order. I actually read about Bob before I first met him. A few years ago there was a story that I read on the 'net about a guy from the bay area, a total motorcycling novice, who had bid on, then won, an R60/2 located down in LA on eBay. When it looked like he was going to win, he went and got his learners permit, and when he did win, he bought a one way ticket to LA to pick up and ride it home, which he did over the course of two days, wobbling his way up PCH. A few weeks later, he actually appeared at Joe Groeger's shop on a Saturday morning, looking for information and help. This is the kind of thing one comes to expect from Bob.

I think he's only been riding for 4 or 5 years now, but he has accumulated both 100,000 miles of riding and quite a stable of bikes. Besides the /2, he has 3 other BMWs (though it does vary). And last year he bought a "fully restored" Norton, sight unseen, from a specialist company in Great Britain. (It's a '62 Dominator 88 SS, in case you're wondering.)

Bob has had his eye on the MidAmerica Las Vegas auction for several months. During the latter months of 2004, he mentioned several different bikes that interested him. Not out of character for Bob, he already had bought a number of manuals and books that covered these bikes, and perhaps a few more, in order to research his desires more thoroughly. Finally it seemed he had settled on a couple of the bikes at auction.

The apple of his eye was a 1933 Rudge Ulster. So enamored was he of this rare factory racer replica, that he also joined the Rudge Enthusiasts Club in Britain.

Bob tried to enlist my help by sending me periodic updates about the various interesting BMWs that would be going on the block as well. However, as I had already bought an old BMW in 2004 and hadn't yet even ridden it, let alone got it transported here from Germany, I didn't have the true interest. Even so, I let myself be convinced (along with a pretty cheap room rate and low Southwest fares).

When I arrived Thursday afternoon, Bob was already hard at work investigating not only the Rudge, but also a couple other bikes he thought might make good backups should the Rudge prove to be too dear, including a 1936 Norton CS1 and a 1939 Ariel Red Hunter. Among his equipement, he had a telescoping mechanics mirror and a flashlight, in order to assess the state of affairs in the less accessible parts of any bike that took his fancy.

We made a quick tour of the floor to see what was on offer. The sight was overwhelming! There were several hundred bikes for sale, and a few lots of memorabilia as well. The venue was a huge open room, with the bidding floor dividing the place in half. Bob had already registered and reserved a couple of chairs in the main pit, so we wouldn't have to put up with the bleacher seats that had been errected to handle the overflow.

The sight was overwhelming!
The hall was cavernous, and yet not the least bit empty The hall was cavernous, and yet not the least bit empty Hundreds of bikes up for bid Bob had already reserved our seats with the tags he had been given when he registered as a bidder Roll over any of the small pictures on the right to see it larger on the left; click on any image to see a full sized version.

As we walked around, there were bikes of every flavor to look at. I had to make several passes to really take it all in. Of course there were many (many!) Harleys and Indians, and lots of 60s and 70s British bikes, but so many other exotic (or simply obscure) bikes were present that it seemed impossible to look at them all in any detail.

You gotcher Harleys... and yer Indians

Britbikes Galore

Especially interesting were all the less well known bikes. It seemed like there completely unfamiliar, or merely half-heard-of brands cheek by jowl with the more famous marques. And even when the brand was well known, there were some standout designs to view. For the three days I was there, I never found myself wanting for an interesting or exciting bike to drool over.

The more Obscure Marques were prehaps more interesting

And naturally, there were a few BMWs and I did spend a lot of time looking at them.

Just a few beemers to check out
1928 R62 1928 R62 ...and from the right side 1951 R51/2, a one year model reprising the pre-WWII engine design 1928(?) R42 - odd in that these were only built in '26 and '27 Drivetrain detail

Thursday night was the first session of bidding. It was really an introduction into how business was conducted. Each bike was rolled up to the auctioneer's platform and displayed on a turntable. It took 3-5 minutes for each auction. As you have no doubt heard, the auctioneer runs the sale at a feverish pitch, with a singsong patter to keep everyone on edge and hopefully cause bidders to engage in a bidding war. It works. People get caught up in the action and don't want to let that precious bike go to someone else.

Some bikes were marked as having no reserve price. The on those bikes with one, the reserve price was not disclosed until bidding passed that price. Often as that point passed, the auctioneer's comment that "we're going to sell this bike tonight!" would increase the pace of bidding. If the bidding ran out before a reserve was met, often the auctioneer would work on the seller to lower the reserve on the spot, and perhaps get one or two bidders to meet a new, lower reserve. If that didn't work, the bike would be moved off, only to go on the block again on Saturday. Any bike that didn't sell was also available for viewing and private offers. Invariably, if a bike sold from the "No Sale" area, the auctioneer would break in to the current auction to announce it.

Depending on the perceived value of the bike, the auctioneer would try to make bidding jump in appropriate steps. A number of times I noted that small incremental bids (for example, $100 raise on a bike already commanding $20,000) were turned down. As bidding slowed, the steps would get smaller, from $1,000 to $500, $250, and then finally, perhaps, $100.

A final trick to re-energize the bidding on a bike that seemed to be flagging was when the auctioneer would stop suddenly and shift to one of his assistants who would either talk about the meticulous restoration the bike had undergone or perhaps about what a steal it was at the current price. This might be bolstered by asking some "well known" restorer how much and how long it might take to get a bike into this condition.

The action was addicting
Bikes were placed on a turntable in front of the auctioneer Bikes were placed on a turntable in front of the auctioneer (Click here to see a short Quicktime movie, ~4Mb) (Click here to see a short Quicktime movie, ~4Mb) (Click here to see a short Quicktime movie, ~4Mb) Those that didn't sell went back on the block for Saturday Not all bikes had a reserve

As you can imagine, the auctioneer talks a whole lot. In fact, there were 5 auctioneers who rotated through, changing about once every hour.

In a way, it was quite fortunate that the Rudge came up for bidding on Thursday. Later, Bob told me that his strategy was not to bid beyond what he considered to be a good price. His assumption was that the bike might not make reserve, and therefore it would be available for sale in the No Sale area, or if necessary, it would be auctioned again on Saturday. If it did reach the reserve, well... it would probably be too expensive for him anyway.

When it did come up, the bidding advanced steadily past $12,000, but slowed down not too long after. Apparently still within what Bob considered a good price, and with the increment having gotten down to $250, Bob raised his hand and bumped the price by $1,000. Everyone else fell silent, and Bob became the proud owner of a 1933 Rudge Ulster in excellent condition.

Bob and his prize
You'd think he could manage a bigger smile... You'd think he could manage a bigger smile... Over $30,000 in documented restoration costs

Even before the session ended that night, Bob had received phone messages from members of the Rudge club. They were all excited for him, and congratulated him particularly on having got a spectacularly good buy.

Nothing ever goes as smoothly as that. It actually took a couple weeks for Bob to get a bill of sale. But there was a complete set of bills documenting over $30,000 in restoration work, including a great deal of interaction with the Rudge club. By that time, the bike had been shipped directly to Ken Armann, a Britbike specialist in Campbell, and he had gone through it to ready it for the road.

Even so, it's now registered in California and sounds glorious moving down the road at a brisk pace.