Has the classic motorcycle market corrected post-Covid?

Has the classic motorcycle market levelled out and completed a values "correction", post-Covid - itself a period when, to put it frankly, prices went nuts and collectors, enthusiasts and want-something-to-do home restorers were willing to pay them?

At the Bonhams Spring Stafford Sale at the International Classic Motorcycle Show in late April, three words probably framed a recognition of the reality of the market: "Offered without reserve" was the heading alongside descriptions of a substantial proportion of the auction entries.

Most people I know go to auctions with a specific bike in mind - they'll bid until they get it - or with none of particular interest until something provokes a spark of nostalgia, or it might be a bike missing a part they have stashed in their shed, or one that simply has that mysterious effect of provoking the must-have chemistry.

Auction estimates and guide prices have put me off before now, as they have for people I know. But many sales people will tell you the same thing: sometimes, but not always, by removing the reserve, bidders' attitudes change.

Think about it: it's like eBay. You're far more likely to save to your "Watch list" something for which bids start at 99p than £1,000 or even, on occasion, £10. And sometimes you'll even suddenly find you're the high bidder at way below what you'd expect to pay.

I know, I've been there: nabbing a bike at an embarrassingly sharp price…

At Stafford there were some exceptional hammer prices. The real eye popper was a works 1965 MV Agusta 500cc Grand Prix bike, with matching frame and engine numbers (1109), and likely ridden by multiple world champions Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini.

Sale price estimate was £160,000-£200,000. It sold for £967,000…

A more recent ex-Barry Sheene Suzuki RG500 XR14, campaigned throughout his 1977 World Championship winning year, with a same £160,000-£200,000 estimate changed hands for £506,000.

There's masses of history confirming the frame and engine pairing (one of two motors rotated) were part of the championship-winning formula.

But below those sorts of values, perhaps the signs were that prices had actually dipped below what might have been predicted as "correction" levels. Yes, there were some strong five-figure prices for Vincents and Harleys, but pre-WW2 bikes - unless landmark or exceptional - seem to now appeal to a limited audience.

Barry Sheene's 1977 World Championship winner.

Unfortunately, much of the nostalgia-fuelled buyers are no longer with us and able to maintain or bolster values, and some post-war machines have also fallen off suitably-budgeted buyers radars.

In fact, at the Bonhams auction there was a veritable jam of century- and near-century-old machines in the £2,500-£5,000 band the likes of which I'm sure I'd seen at higher prices ten or 15 years ago.

A spokesperson said: "The post-Covid correction has now largely worked its way through the market. Any (limited) speculative buying we saw during that period has cooled, but what remains is a more stable and knowledgeable collector base that is still willing to pay good prices for genuinely important, fresh-to-market motorcycles with exceptional provenance.

"Pre-WW2 machines also appear to have stabilised after a softer period, although the market is now far more selective than it once was. Buyers are focusing increasingly on originality, quality, rarity and usability, but the very best machines continue to attract strong international demand - which we saw again at Stafford.

"[Our] advice is that now is probably a very good time to buy. Motorcycle values have always been cyclical and whether we are at the absolute bottom of the market, nobody can say for certain. However, there is undoubtedly an opportunity today to acquire machines at levels that would once have been out of reach for many collectors. And ultimately, these motorcycles are there to be enjoyed - life is too short to spend forever waiting for the 'perfect' moment."

All images courtesy of Bonhams