For the last three days I’ve been trying to buy an Indian. No, not a person; not a carving, but one of the best motorcycles ever made. I’m always talking about the fun and the excitement of auctions, whether it’s online or live, and how I tend to get caught up in them. Well, just the this week I got caught up again.
This particular online auction had something I’ve always wanted: A 1911 Indian Motorcycle.
Indians aren’t just any motorcycle. They’re known for their speed and the number of races they’ve won. For any motorcycle collector to say he owns an Indian, it’s like saying you won a gold medal at the Olympics. Unfortunately for me, my day at the Olympics passed me by, and so did the Indian I wanted so badly.
As I was bidding on this beautiful motorcycle, it seemed that a lot of others thought it was a great deal as well. The competition was stiff. This didn’t suprise me, however, since Indian Motorcycles can go for anywhere from $7,500 in poor condition to $175,000 in great condition. This particular one was a single cam and in better than average condition, but it had a few other problems I wasn’t quite able to identify just from the photos. As the auction went on, the bidding got too fast and I forced myself to drop out at about $42,000. In the end, the Indian went for a little over $43,000 – not much higher than I had already offered. But as I say in all my teachings, if you don’t know everything about what you’re bidding on and aren’t sure you can make a profit, you need to walk away. In this case, I wasn’t completely familiar with or comfortable with all of the problems the bike had. So with this auction, while I wish I could have ridden away, I instead had to take my index finger off the bidding button and walk away. It just wasn’t my day for a date with the world’s fastest Indian.
Happy hunting!
Aaron
To learn more about Aaron LaPedis, visit www.thegaragesalemillionaire.com or email him at [email protected].