Auction Preview – Mecum Phoenix 2019

In two weeks, Mecum will be hosting their first-ever auction in Arizona. The plan? Auction off a bunch of cars and, more importantly, 100 bikes at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Here’s a list of all the lots (cars and bikes), and below are 5 of my favorites:

1.) 1973 Ariel Healey Square Four – estimated to sell between $65,000-$80,000. Ariel stopped producing the Square Four in 1959, and by the late 60s some spare parts were becoming harder to find. George and Tim Healey were brothers based out of Redditch, England that started building replacement parts – by ’67 it was a full time business and they decided they could create a new-and-improved Square Four motorcycle. Starting in 1971, they sourced Egli-styled frames from Roger Slater, who had UK manufacturing rights, and then built bikes which were claimed to produce 10 more horsepower (up to 50hp) and weighed 80 pounds less than the old Ariel. For more on this bike, check out this article from Greg Williams. Unfortunately, the Healey was not much of a commercial success and according to Best of British Bikes, less than 28 were built before production ended in 1977. With that said, the Mecum listing states that only 11 were built, and this is number 3. It has 2,016 miles and it’s said to be in “as new unrestored condition”.

2.) 1957 Mi-Val N55. Mi-Val (Metalmeccanica Italiana Valtrompia) was known for high quality small displacement two-strokes, but they hard to find even in the motherland. According to this Italian website, the N55 featured a 123cc 2-stroke single that put 5 horsepower through a 3-speed transmission and the bike could just barely top 50 miles per hour.

3.) 1934 Brough Superior Model 11.50 – estimated to sell between $130,000-$150,000. Between 1924 and 1940, just 3,048 Brough Superiors were built. 308 of them were the 11.50 twin. Thanks to a 1,000cc JAP side-valve motor and a 4-speed Sturmey-Archer transmission, it was a popular police rig (especially when done up with a sidecar). Paul D’Orleans completed the 2014 Cannonball (while going 2-up) on a 11.50 prepared by Revival Cycles. This specific example was restored by the former editor of Cycle, Bob Shanz.

4.) 2002 Gurney Alligator – estimated to sell between $70,000-$90,000. The brainchild of Dan Gurney (and eventually integrated into his company, All American Racers), the AAR Alligator was one of the most revolutionary ideas to ever hit motorcycle design. As a tall guy, Dan felt that the normal riding position was too high and tight – he decided to do something about it and create a bike that one sat in, rather than on. Just 36 models were released in the production run, and this one was #8. It has 823 miles and it looks to be in excellent shape. For more information, check out this comprehensive write-up from OddBike.

5.) 1970 Indian Enfield 750 – estimated to sell between $40,000-$50,000. After Indian went out of business in 1953, it lay dormant for quite a while. But in 1967, former West Coast distributor Floyd Clymer bought the rights to the Indian name and tried to bring the company back. He initially tried to partner with a couple of German companies to create the ‘new Indian’, but that never got past the prototype stage. He was eventually able to create a few bikes with Italian frames and British motors, including 122 Indian Velo 500s and just 15 examples of the Enfield 750s. Here’s the last one that was ever built, and it’s one of eight that were officially sold to the US. For a few specifications, check out this article on Motorcycle Classics.