If you love vintage this is a must watch.

That's unreal. All those bikes just collecting dust. I would love to know how he came to own each bike and how much he paid for them.
 
I watched them all. It's amazing that most of the bikes started up with a little penetrating oil and fresh gas even after sitting dormant for 100 years. If the tanks were not originally drained it would have been another story.
 
This is from the auction house's website "1911 Flying Merkel Twin Belt Drive achieves top honors, selling for $201,250". Amazing.
 
The guy who owned all of this stuff ( Lee Hartung) had another auction earlier this year.
That auction also had many droolable cool toys. I would like to go there with a camera and a tape measure just to collect info. I'd rather be a buyer but can't afford that right now.

Bob C.
 
unfortunately all these beautiful artifacts are likely never to be used (unless of course purchased by J. Leno). They are SO expensive that they will live a humiliatingly pampered lives.
 
Anyone else watch the TV show "Chasing Classic Cars"? There was a recent episode and the guy went to this auction. The owner Lee had died and all his stuff was auctioned, Supposedly he had the largest license plate collection in the U.S. They showed a lot of the bikes and the guy from the show ended up buying the Merkel sidecar (if i remember correctly) and he got the "Wheels throught time" musuem guy to get it running. He planned to go for rides with his daughter in the sidecar. Very very cool!!!!!
 
At least they are still here. Very likely he got a lot of that stuff at scrap value or he may have been simply asked to haul it away. I have older acquaintances that for a lack of a better word are hoarders and got a good part of their collections for almost nothing.

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top