While six-figure results aren’t uncommon at champagne-soaked auctions that attract the cream of the world’s motorcycle collectors they inhabit a world that’s alien to the vast majority of us.
For most, placing a bid on Ebay is about as close as we come to that experience, and it’s revealing to see just how much people are prepared to pay for bikes on the site.
We’ve had a look at results from the UK version of the site since the start of 2019. By restricting our search purely to machines that are recorded as being sold by auction, we can get an idea of the models that are really attracting big money in the real world right now.
Here are the top 10 most expensive machines to have sold between January and the start of March 2019.
10: BMW R1200GS Adventure: £13,104.44 View the bike here
This R1200GS Adventure Triple Black would have set its original owner back some £17,535 when it was new, but it’s been the victim of theft and shows a few scars of the struggle that it put up against whoever made off with it. From a mere £50 starting price, a fierce bidding battle took its price up to a bit over £13k by the end of the auction, which is perilously close to the numbers achieved by examples of the same model without the permanent insurance claim on their HPI records…
9: Kawasaki Z1: £13,600 View the bike here
The first of two Z1s on this list, this is actually an earlier 1972 model, but its condition makes it cheaper. As does the fact it was located in America, to be shipped to the UK after the purchase was complete. Only 3 bidders were bold enough to take the gamble on it, although the pictures and description seem to accurately reflect its ‘barn find’ condition. A bit of fettling could make this a £20k bike.
8: Yamaha RZV500R: £15,100 View the bike here
Remember when £5k seemed steep for these? Yes, the interest in short-lived 1980s 500cc two-strokes is showing no sign of abating and prices are heading in only one direction. To be fair, this is the rarer RSV500R rather than your run-of-the-mill RD500 – so it’s got an alloy frame and various other trick bits to set it aside from the UK-spec models. The seller was brave enough to start this auction at just 99p, and after 30 bids the gamble paid off with an impressive £15,100 sale price.
7: Kawasaki Z1: £16,000 View the bike here
An original 1973 Kawasaki Z1 is a bone fide classic however you look at it, and while this one only attracted two bids, it still reached an impressive £16k in early March. The price falls into the usual auction category – a little less than you might see a dealer asking via a classified advert, where early Z1s are pushing the £20k mark.
6: Ducati 916 SP3: £17,500 View the bike here
Ducati’s 916 has long been a mainstay in any list of ‘future classics’ and as the model has hit its quarter-century now it’s probably safe to take the ‘future’ away from that tag. This one is among the most desirable versions; a 1997 SP3 homologation special. With similar bikes in classifieds at the £20k mark, the £17,500 it was taken to after 19 bids from a £10,000 start price seems reasonable but something appears to have gone wrong with the sale as it’s been relisted as a classified for £18,995.
Top ten continues on page two >>>
