Highlights you'll like at this year's Mecum motorcycle auction

These classics will be sold in Las Vegas from January 24 to 28, 2023, and most of them are offered with no reserve. This year’s crop favors the usual antique Harley-Davidsons and other domestics, but there are a few unique trends worth talking about in the catalog. Sidecars seem to be popular this year, along with bikes from the 1950s and 1960s with lots of swooping bodywork. The stranger, the better. Japanese motorcycles from the 1970s and 1980s are becoming more prevalent at high-profile auctions, too, if they are in superb original condition.

I also spotted a surprising number of motorcycles that just didn’t sell well when new but are now earning “Star” status in the listings: a 2009 Harley-Davidson XR1200 Sportster, a pair of 2006 H-D VRSXE Destroyers, two Ducati M900HEs, a 1962 Bonneville Thunderbird with “bathtub” bodywork, a 1989 Honda GB500, a 1988 Honda NT650, and a 1975 Norton Hi Rider 850.

Here are a few listings that caught my eye, in no particular order. 

Main attraction: 1908 Harley-Davidson "Strap Tank"

At nearly 115 years old, this Harley-Davidson “Strap Tank” is the bike to watch at Mecum this year. It was found in a barn in 1941 by David Uihlein, not far from Milwaukee. “Of the 450 motorcycles produced by Harley-Davidson in 1908, less than a dozen are thought to have survived,” states Medum’s listing. “Fewer still in as correct condition as this one.” The bike was restored by expert Paul Freehill in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Original parts like the “tank, wheels, engine belt pulley, seat cover and muffler sleeve” come with the bike if the buyer wants to reinstall them. The “Strap Tank” name comes from the bands securing the oil tanks and gas tanks on these models. There are very few examples of these motorcycles still around, and they routinely sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even replicas built around original engines are worth big bucks, but this is one of the few complete originals.

1950 Imme R100

This year’s auction features not one but two Imme R100s. These motorcycles were manufactured in Immenstadt, Germany by Riedel AG from 1948 to 1951. These slim, flowing motorcycles were meant for affordable postwar transportation. The R100s sold well enough, but they weren’t very profitable due to some of the innovations onboard, and issues with the engine’s design brought an early end to the model.

Both the fork and swingarm are single-sided. The wheels are even interchangeable. A 99 cc two-stroke single with beautiful egg-shaped cases provided about four and a half horsepower when new, and it is integrated into the swingarm. The exhaust is also routed through the swingarm. R100s could be optioned with almost every feature that a premium motorcycle would have, like gauges, chrome plating, a spare wheel carrier, an electric horn, and even a comfort seat. The Imme R100 is celebrated for being ahead of its time, and its striking looks propelled it to both the Guggenheim’s “Art of the Motorcycle” show and the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum’s permanent collection.

1968 Husqvarna Military 256A with snow skis

In the 1960s, Husky built a small number of special off-roaders for military use. This 250 cc example is designated “MC 256A” with full olive drab paint. Maximum cool points are awarded here for the “spring-loaded and removable skis” that give extra stability for winter missions. Only a handful of these motorcycles made it to the United States, and this one includes all of the original equipment except for the handgun that would have been in the tank bag. 

To summarize Husqvarna’s page on the history of this machine, the 256A was built for a military contract that fell apart before the expected delivery date, and an enterprising importer in the United States sold surplus bikes to customers seeking affordable European performance. Most of the U.S. imports were “Sportsman” versions without all the military hardware, but this one retains features like an extra-quiet muffler, a second “blackout” headlight, and a mounting rack for a radio for communication with your comrades.

1962 Harley-Davidson Servi-Car custom trike

This steez machine was “found in a shed inside a junkyard in northern Iowa” before heading to Mecum. It started life as an unglamorous utility trike. An unknown builder modified it with classic custom touches like stacked headlights, high-back seats, a springer fork, chrome rear wheels, and funky paint. Stash your snacks and other road trip supplies in the locking compartment under the seat. This trike is a good example of the trend towards barn finds and period customs at Mecum, instead of the emphasis on factory correctness seen in the past. 

1989 Norton Commander P52

Norton’s rotary engine era produced this rarity: a two-rotor, 588 cc law enforcement motorcycle called the P52. This was “never officially imported into the U.S.”, and includes paperwork from its days as a test bike for police forces in Dubai. This P52, with 1,152 miles on it, still wears all its original police gear like lights, sirens, and some decals. Intended as a successor to the Interpol 2 and 2A police bikes, the P52 was one of several models caught in the financial troubles and leadership failures at Norton in the 1980s. If Norton’s gamble on rotary power had paid off, the P52 and the civilian P53 might be well known today, but the Norton brand has suffered setbacks and scandals all the way to the present day.

1954 Harley-Davidson KH 

Harley-Davidson just announced the end of the air-cooled Sportster, so it’s only fitting to include this KH Model, one of the Sporty’s ancestors. Its 833 cc V-twin and four-speed transmission are unitized like a Sportster’s. The KH (and the K model before it) offered hydraulic suspension at both ends like almost all modern motorcycles. With 38 horsepower (or thereabouts) on tap, the KH is a landmark motorcycle for Harley’s efforts outside the world of Big Twins. It set the stage for how motorcycles would look and ride for decades after its release. This example was owned by a Harley-Davidson dealer. The odometer has one mile on it.

The Mecum catalog goes on for pages and pages for 2023. You can view all the listings here if you'd like to see more before the auction starts.