Henderson

Actor Steve McQueen may have died 40 years ago, but his brand value remains as authentic and strong as ever, as was proven during the 2021 Monterey Car Week auctions.

Motorcycle auctions have always been somewhat of a sideshow during Monterey Car Week, but just the same, some delectable machinery is scattered between the four-wheeled lots and this year saw quite a few remarkable two-wheeled offerings.

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.

Mecum's two-day Las Vegas motorcycle sale this weekend offered an opportunity to take the pulse of the marketplace. A weak market meant many anticipated top-sellers didn't and ​most bikes went for very reasonable prices.​ We have included "no sales" to show what's exciting and still 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

The 2017 Las Vegas motorcycle auctions combined Mecum's four-day auction (Jan 25-28) with Bonhams' January 26 event to give the year a kickstart. Almost 1000 collectible motorcycles changed hands, offering enough data to identify a few trends that portend what will happen over the coming year.

Vincent motorcycles dominated the Las Vegas Motorcycle auctions, with six of the top seven most expensive bikes, and a new world record for the marque of $434,000 for a Vincent White Shadow. While the tier 1 bikes were almost all passed in without meeting reserve, numerous world records were broken.

Bonhams Stafford Spring sale has been responsible for more sales of elite motorcycles than any other single sale anywhere in the world, rivaling even the combined January Las Vegas sales. Not surprisingly, there are a number of very rare and valuable motorcycles going under the hammer on April 26.