Oktoberfest

October kicks off the fall fundraising season here at srdorsey auctioneering! Instead of the bevy of beer and bratwurst that defines Oktoberfest, our month is chockerblock full of benefits and galas, special appeals and fundraising auctions.

This year, we are back at the World of Speed Museum. We are working again with Chad Brown and his Soul River Foundation in Portland, then onto San Francisco for the Wild Salmon Center 25th anniversary celebration at the end of the month. We will likely raise over a million dollars at these three auctions alone. Very exciting stuff.

On the car side of things; I worked a collector car auction with my old boss Mitch Silver, over the weekend. We'll be meeting up again in Southern California and Las Vegas. Check back in with us at the end of the month to see how we made out!

Summertime

I hope everyone is having a great summer and getting a chance to enjoy the great outdoors!

I have been busy working and traveling this summer. Last week I took my bi-monthly trip from Riverside to Las Vegas. Driving across the Mojave Desert made me really wonder how people can live in that kind of heat. When we went through Baker, California; it was an extremely balmy 112 degrees. I know it's a dry heat, but that's still too hot for me!

Last weekend, I hopped on my motorcycle and took a 500-mile roundtrip through Central Oregon. I came across some beautiful country. I hadn't been to the upper part of the John Day River, nor Painted Hills, and the Fossil Beds. It was a super fun trip. I saw lots of other riders traveling on the same roads, where I believe are some of the best parts of our state. I would highly suggest anyone's getting out and about this summer to enjoy some of what Oregon's got to offer. She's a beauty.

#SummertimeandtheRidingIsEasy

Traveling Man

Last week was my busiest travel so far this year. I covered a lot of miles in a very short amount of time.

It started here in Portland after my weekly Wednesday Crosspoint auction gig. From there, I headed to the airport for my 3pm flight to California; a quick stop in Oakland and by 930pm, I had landed in Ontario. An early get-up Thursday morning to catch my shuttle ride to Riverside got me to the Highline Sale. From there, I caught a ride with my friend Rod for the four-hour drive to Vegas. I happened to be staying at the same hotel where the Mecum Motorcycle Auction was held, so I caught a glimpse of that. As luck would have it; three of the best professional motorcycle racers from the 70's and 80's, Gene Romero, Jay Springsteen, and Don Castroon were all on-hand for a VIP Q&A session. It. Was. Awesome!

I was up early again Friday morning to work the Manheim Nevada auction. My lane started at 9am sharp. I had 150 Kia's to sell. I sold 100% of them. By 1045am, I was jumping back on the airport shuttle to McCarran Airport, where I caught the 1230pm departure back to Portland. My plane touched down at 230pm; from there, I headed home to do a quick repack. My next stop was Rosalia, Washington; where I am a judge for my long-time friend, Jay's annual hot rod bash. So I took off from Portland again and did the six-hour drive up to Spokane, Washington. I made it to my parents' house at 10pm and pretty much, went straight to bed. An early get-up Saturday morning, so I could join my parents for their weekly breakfast meet-up at Denny's. I took the long way around Spokane to Rosalia, driving the old highway which winds through the Palouse. Once in Rosalia, I judged 70 cars to come up with the best in the bunch. It sure was hard to pick a winner. After the show and a quick bit of socializing, I headed back to Spokane to have a visit with my parents and to spend the night. I was up very early Sunday morning for my six-hour drive back to Portland.

What a whirlwind of a week - 4 states in 72 hours!

Back On the Run

Within the first week of January, I have already been to Canada, California, and Las Vegas. It's good to be busy!

While the fundraising part of the auction business doesn't get rolling until February, January is chock-a-block full of collector car and vintage motorcycle auctions.

First up is Scottsdale, where a week-long collector car feast made up of seven auction companies competing for the business of car enthusiasts world-wide. It also happens to be a multi-million dollar week! Barrett-Jackson alone, is expecting to sell in excess of $100 million in cars; with the rest of the auction houses coming close to match that same amount too. You're playing with the big boys here.

Next up in the week immediately following, the focus shifts from cars to motorcycles in Las Vegas; where hundreds of motorcycles will cross the combined auction blocks of Mecum and Bonhams auction companies. At Bonhams (www.bonhams.com), a rare Crocker motorcycle is expected to go for $500 to $600 thousand. Over at Mecum (www.mecum.com), it is offering a fantastic selection of motorcycles at no-reserve. It's sure to be an excitement-filled week. I'll be there, so I hope to run into some of you. Drop me a line on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter; or just swing by to say hello.

Happy New Year everyone and happy bidding and browsing to those of you heading down to Arizona and Nevada!

Las Vegas Motorcyle Auction

This year I had the chance to attend Mecum's Annual Motorcycle Auction in Las Vegas. I happened to be working in Vegas anyway, so I met a bunch of friends a day earlier to catch up over a few bikes and beers.

It was Mecum's 25th anniversary event and they had an awesome selection of bikes this year; over seven hundred to be exact. Whatever kind of bike you were looking for or interested in, it was there.
The bikes that I'm most into are the ones that were produced from the mid-seventies up through until the early eighties. I have always felt that the bikes built in this period offer riders style and power; best of all appreciation in value.

One of the bikes that caught my attention was a 1983 Kawasaki GPZ750. I owned one of these bikes back in 1984. At the time, motorcycles were making the transition from bikes with just a straight-line speed and quick acceleration to what has now evolved into today's modern sport bike. The GPZ had uni-track suspension, ventilated front disc brakes, and a powerful 92hp motor. So is the second generation Kawasaki GPZ poised to take off in value? I think if you could find one for less than $4,000, it would still be considered a good buy. The one which sold at the Mecum auction, while not perfect, still went for $4,250.