MidAmerica’s 23rd annual Las Vegas Vintage Motorcycle Auction hosted by Mecum Auctions was held last weekend at the South Point Hotel. The auction made history as it was the highest grossing auction on record with total sales for the event reaching $7,475,155. A total of 537 motorcycles went under the gavel with 441 selling for a sell-through rate of 82 percent.
The auction drew more than 1,100 registered bidders and additional spectators from 48 states and more than 30 different countries to form the largest group of registered bidders and enthusiasts that the auction has seen in its 23-year run.
As auction headliner, The George Pardos Collection – dubbed “The Evolution of the Harley-Davidson” – saw 18 of the 20 motorcycles hammer sold with five of them landing in the top 10 sales. Pardos’ 1911 Harley-Davidson 7D Twin gaveled at $260,000 claiming its predicted spot as the highest dollar sale of the three-day auction. His 1936 Harley-Davidson EL “Knucklehead” came in as the third top sale with an unprecedented $165,000 hammer price.
Other significant sales from The Pardos Collection included his 1914 Harley-Davidson 10F Twin which sold for $105,000, as well as his 1928 JDH Twin and 1915 11F Twin, which sold for $100,000 and $91,000, respectively.
The auction’s second-highest sale went to a 1925 BMW R37 racer that grabbed a $200,000 bid as one of the rarest BMW Production Racing bikes in existence. The top 10 was rounded out with a 1955 Vincent Black Prince that hammered for $125,000 and a 1972 Triumph/BSA TRX 7502 that brought $97,000.
The complete top 10 sales list from the Las Vegas auction includes (all individual sales reflect hammer prices):
1911 Harley-Davidson 7D Twin (Lot 471) at $260,000
1925 BMW R37 (Lot 436) at $200,000
1936 Harley-Davidson EL (Lot 483) at $165,000
1955 Vincent Black Prince (Lot 499) at $125,000
1914 Harley-Davidson 10F Twin (Lot 474) at $105,000
1928 Harley-Davidson JDH Twin (Lot 480) at $100,000
1972 Triumph/BSA TRX 7502 (Lot 491) at $97,000
1909 Harley-Davidson 5 C Single (Lot 187) at $95,000
1938 Brough Superior SS80 (Lot 498) at $95,000
1915 Harley-Davidson 11F Twin (Lot 475) at $91,000
