Excelsior

The Monterey car auctions will see more than a third of a billion dollars spent in three days this year, but the volume of well-heeled individuals in town ensures that among the cars are a smattering of bikes vendors hope will appeal to the hyper-monied audience.

The motorcycle auction marketplace evolved rapidly at the year-defining Las Vegas auctions this year, both on a macro and micro level. Mecum's five day sale was the largest motorcycle auction ever held, while Bonhams set a new world record by fetching $979,000 for a 1951 Vincent Black Lightning.

This year the Autumn Stafford Sale seemed more eccentric than normal, with some extraordinary motorcycles selling for not very much, and at the other end of the scale, several of the most expensive two-stroke motorcycles ever sold at auction.

One of the legendary American motorcycle marques will go to auction in January 2018 when the Excelsior-Henderson brand name, trademarks, web domains, frame and engine designs and expired patents will be sold as one lot.

Monterey Car Week is all about cars but the auctions have always tended to include an array of the best motorcycles. This year with the car market well down and many motorcycles sold with no reserve, bargains were plentiful.

There are two big motorcycle auctions that will be part of Monterey Car Week this year, one at Mecum, which acquired the world's largest motorcycle auction house, Mid-America, a few years back, and the other through Worldwide Auctioneers. We've put together the most interesting bikes available.

An unprecedented 1000 motorcycles sold in Las Vegas this year and the strength of the marketplace was clearly evident by the top 150 sales, arranged here for easy browsing

This is not a normal auction report in that we've included a number of significant bikes that didn't sell, and we've listed them with their high bid. That means opportunity for motorcycle enthusiasts.