THE SPOKES MAN THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY I’ve mentioned this before, but the truth is that for many of us motorcycling enthusiasts, the possibility of owning more than one motorcycle at a time just isn’t realistic. At least, not when we first get started. The circumstances that eventually unfold allowing us, or requiring us, to get a second bike vary. GREG ARNOLD A lifetime motorcycle-collecting hobbyist, Greg purchased his first motorbike at 11 years old from a neighbor in 1965 for $10. With his career background primarily rooted in the construction industry, Greg initially joined the Mecum team in 2011 to help remodel and expand Mecum Auctions’ Headquarters. In 2014, he put his passion for motorcycles to good use joining the Mecum motorcycle division as auction manager. Greg has two grown children, Ben and Violet, and lives with his wife, Cindy, in Mecum’s original hometown of Marengo, Illinois. Perhaps a formerly favorite bike becomes a little too familiar, as the grass is always greener on the other side of the proverbial fence, after all; this notion tends to occur more often in our younger years, of course. Sometimes a bike suffers a premature death, either from involvement in an accident or due to an unexplained catastrophic engine failure that surely couldn’t have been the fault of its owner. In the worst of cases, it’s upon leaving the tavern that we discover our trusty ride has been illegally claimed by another and has disappeared into the ether—not an uncommon occurrence with motorcycles. Whatever the reason for moving on to the next one, most of our pasts eventually become lined with what are now some exceptionally desirable machines that we would love to get back. Maybe you ride a contemporary motorcycle and miss your vintage cruiser, or perhaps you fell victim to the living death of having no motorcycle at all, a circumstance that can unfortunately befall anyone due to varying life circumstances or some misguided notions about maturity and whatnot. Thinking about a favorite bike we used to have often turns into the desire to recapture a bit of our youth by finding and buying one just like it or close. That desire typically leads us to start looking around to discover there are a lot of other people doing the same, as classic motorcycle collecting is a very robust hobby with widespread enthusiasm across the globe. Now, are you going to buy a restored machine, a like-new original or restore one yourself? In any case, a lot has changed about the prices that favorite bikes are commanding. Let’s say you’re looking at a 1970 Honda CB750 and learn it’s going to take $10,000 to $12,000 to buy a decent one. You might think, “Holy cow! I only paid $1,495 MSRP when I bought mine new!” It’s important to remember that $1,495 adjusted for yearly inflation comes out to more than $11,000 now, so it’s not all that steep of an increase when you think about it in those terms. For contrast, the 2022 Honda CB1100 EX, the modern version of the bike we’re talking about, is around $12,000. So, all things considered, the real deal isn’t really that overpriced. Not matter what kind of classic motorcycle you had in the past that you’d like to find again, chances are good that it may just turn up at a Mecum auction, so don’t waste another minute. Hop on to Mecum.com and start looking. 80 // MECUM.COM
