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Good time to buy
Auction advice
We're currently
experiencing a bumpy ride in the auction market
by Guy 'Guido' Allen,
16 March 2026
We've recently been
involved in a motorcycle auction, in Australia, both
as an observer and vendor and the results were a big
surprise. At a rough estimate, the local market for
low- to mid-value bikes (up to around Au$30,000) has
dropped by 20 per cent in the last two months.
There is an exception,
and that's for premium examples of desirable models.
Weirdly, project bikes are also holding up well. It's
the solid and use-able stuff that has suffered.
You could argue most of
the fall has happened in the last couple of weeks,
since the latest middle east war erupted and sent fuel
prices skyrocketing. Keep in mind those drops are
coming off an already big fall since the
wildly-inflated Covid bubble burst a few years ago.
That means there will be
some bargains out there and this is the time to buy
rather than sell.
Over the medium term,
we've also seen evidence of a two-speed market. That
means the highly desirable offerings
such as Vincents or high-end Ducatis with good
provenance are still getting strong results in this
country.
Run-of-the-mill
offerings, not so much.
This may well turn out
to be short-term issue, and I wouldn't yet
characterise it as a generational question.
Something that is
arguably generational is what we see as desirable. A
Lamborghini Ducati? Sure, why not? A rare variant of a
sixties Triumph twin, not so much.
In the case of the
Ducati, one
never-ridden example recently changed hands in
Australia for $78,600 (US$55,150, GB£41,6400,
€48,260). So what's the catch? It was originally sold
for Au$92,000 (US$65,000, GB£48,600, €56,300).
That said, the
classic car market is showing strong growth in
well-presented hero 1930s models – for which there
is zero direct generation connection. We're now
talking about style.
Our tip is the bike
market may well follow that trend, given car
collectors and motorcycle collectors often turn
out to be the same or suspiciously similar
people...
See the
Ducati 916 in our shed
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