R68 on eBay

[808Airhead]

More than 61K! lol!

[R68]

...a thumbs up to Richard, the owner who preserved the bike all these years, and the new owner who bought himself a fine "machine"!...

[Glassman]

What makes this Bike so valuable???

[iagins]

Jeff Dean's Web site makes the following statement:

"Only 1,453 R68s were manufactured, making it the rarest post-war BMW motorcycle. That, and its sporting power, make it the most desirable postwar BMW motorcycle."

And besides, it has a really cool aux hand gear shift.

Ira Agins
Santa Fe, NM

[R.D.Green]

Amazing.

Why anyone bids on eBay beforehand is beyond me. I really don't understand the value of bidding any time but the last few seconds. Why give anyone time to ponder a counter?

-Chris

Exactly. The people who bid an item up repeatedly long before the auction ends are the ones I really don't understand at all.

[schrader7032]

The people who bid an item up repeatedly long before the auction ends are the ones I really don't understand at all.

I've only bid for one item on ebay...my R25/2...and won. So, I don't really know the situation. But don't you need to find out who's interested and not...I know people will sit and bit at the last moment (which I did) and will even use the sniping tools. These tools totally defeat the idea of bidding as we know it, like in the face-to-face auctions where hands go up and the auctioneer ratchets the price.

In my case, I think I found that I had one guy I was bidding against...at least it turned out that way. With seconds to go, I threw down a ridiculous number...'cause I really wanted it. I guess that's what won it for me. Dunno...

[Darryl.Richman]

eBay is not the same thing as a regular auction, because it has a fixed ending time. It also allows you to bid a top value in secret, and eBay will bid for you up to that value only as needed. These change the strategy for bidding.

The goal of sniping is to outbid everyone else and not give them a chance to reply to your bid, because it comes in at the very last second.

The only thing that can out bid you is if someone has already placed a bid higher than your bid.

So your goal should be to bid as high as you are comfortable paying, at the very last moment. If your bid exceeds the other bids out there, you win. If it doesn't, then the item was too rich for your blood and you saved your wallet. You don't suffer the equivalent of the frog that slowly gets boiled to death as the bidding ever so gradually inches up.

At least, this is the way I see it.

[tbounds02]

I realize this bike was perfect and very rare so is a R50s I don't see where it could worth that kind of money. The R50S has about the same production numbers. I think someone just got carried away on bidding

[Darryl.Richman]

I realize this bike was perfect and very rare so is a R50s I don't see where it could worth that kind of money. The R50S has about the same production numbers. I think someone just got carried away on bidding
Maybe. But remember, it takes at least two to tango on eBay, and if you looked at the bidding history of the auction, there were about 5 bidders in there.

Maybe $60k is way over the top, but clearly, a very nice R68 is worth well over $30k. I wouldn't have said that before the auction.

[jeff dean]

I have said this for years, but once more won't hurt. I go to the MidAmerica and Bonhams auctions in Vegas in January. There I see vintage British and American iron often go for $100,000 or more. In comparison, vintage BMWs are a bargain.

I was not surprised to see the 1953 R68 on ebay go for over $60,000. In fact, I say hurray! It is about time that collectors of vintage motorcycle begin to comprehend the value of vintage BMW motorcycles. I would love to see a perfect 1923-24 R32 at auction. I think it would surely exceed $100,000, perhaps it might even reach $200.000.

I suspect that vintage BMWs are undervalued in part because they are always black with white pinstripes, whereas vintage British and American bikes are often colorful, gaudy, and full of chrome. They may be more eye catching and variable than the generally uniform BMW style. You have to know BMWs to appreciate and understand them.

I predict that it will not be long before a perfect BMW R68 reaches $100,000 at auction.

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P.S. There was a beautiful Riviera Blue never-ridden R60US (photo below) up for auction last January in Vegas. It did not sell because its owner set the reserve at $48,000. I thought that was too much. I called him and offered less, but he was not interested. But if he comes back next year or later, he may get his reserve. In fact, he may even deserve it.