Glenn/RZ500
Well-known member
It wouldn`t too surprising the number would be more. Way back in the 500GP era it was over a million bucks to lease a "B" team level bike for a season. GP=mega$$$
Ryan Wedding
- Thread starter TK4
- Start date
It's hard to assign a value to a several-years-old MotoGP bike. What it cost originally to build (or lease) is water under the bridge ... sunk cost ... irrelevant. What are you going to do with it? It's obsolete as a race bike. Can't use it as a track-day bike ... spare parts are unobtainium, and in any case, the factory bikes are usually rendered inoperable. So, then it's worth whatever someone will pay for it as a decoration or a museum-piece ... and there is no rational sense behind that!
I know of someone (collector) who bought Nicolo Bulega's last Supersport-championship-winning Ducati, and the price was a not-insignificant number, but nowhere near what it would have cost to build it. Wasn't this guy
Glenn/RZ500
Well-known member
It is wild that the amount people will pay for something they perceive as valuable. And what they just want for whatever reason. I can`t see the prices that the Mecum or Barrett Jackson auctions fetch, there`s still no shortage of people with serious coin to burn. Back in `90 or so I looked at a `69 BSA Rocket3, I figured 5 grand-ish....two other guys got it to nearly 20 grand,...see ya. Obviously any bike with a famous rider/championship pedigree will cost. I`d love one of Rainey`s 500 title winners in my living room.It's hard to assign a value to a several-years-old MotoGP bike. What it cost originally to build (or lease) is water under the bridge ... sunk cost ... irrelevant. What are you going to do with it? It's obsolete as a race bike. Can't use it as a track-day bike ... spare parts are unobtainium, and in any case, the factory bikes are usually rendered inoperable. So, then it's worth whatever someone will pay for it as a decoration or a museum-piece ... and there is no rational sense behind that!
I know of someone (collector) who bought Nicolo Bulega's last Supersport-championship-winning Ducati, and the price was a not-insignificant number, but nowhere near what it would have cost to build it. Wasn't this guy
Or Wes Cooley`s GS1000, or maybe Yvon`s or Nixon`s KR750 triple,...or Robert`s Indy Mile TZ750.......If the bounty on him is 10M but he’s earning X times that for the cartel….
He’ll be fine so long as he keeps the drugs and money flowing.
Once the flow stops, they find his head somewhere.
Priller
Well-known member
A friend of a friend owns a few Aprilia GP bikes, two and four stroke, from the last 30 years. Don't get me wrong, the guy is wealthy. But he's not megabucks wealthy. Granted, Aprilia doesn't hold the same brand cachet amongst the aspirational jet set as Ducati, but they're still proper GP bikes.It's hard to assign a value to a several-years-old MotoGP bike. What it cost originally to build (or lease) is water under the bridge ... sunk cost ... irrelevant. What are you going to do with it? It's obsolete as a race bike. Can't use it as a track-day bike ... spare parts are unobtainium, and in any case, the factory bikes are usually rendered inoperable. So, then it's worth whatever someone will pay for it as a decoration or a museum-piece ... and there is no rational sense behind that!
I know of someone (collector) who bought Nicolo Bulega's last Supersport-championship-winning Ducati, and the price was a not-insignificant number, but nowhere near what it would have cost to build it. Wasn't this guy
In a lot of ways, they're apparently kind of a pain to own. One of the Aprilias needs to have a canister of compressed air hooked to it to keep the pneumatic valves in place. There was a video 44Teeth did a while back about a guy with a few Ducatis, and apparently they'd removed the ECU software, so the bikes were unrideable. No VRRA for you!
What's more interesting is that this guy had so many. Supposedly Ducati and others are pretty selective about who they'll sell to. I guess, as always, money talks...
Provenance. If Jay Leno buys something it automatically goes up in value because it was once owned by Jay Leno.It is wild that the amount people will pay for something they perceive as valuable. And what they just want for whatever reason. I can`t see the prices that the Mecum or Barrett Jackson auctions fetch, there`s still no shortage of people with serious coin to burn. Back in `90 or so I looked at a `69 BSA Rocket3, I figured 5 grand-ish....two other guys got it to nearly 20 grand,...see ya. Obviously any bike with a famous rider/championship pedigree will cost. I`d love one of Rainey`s 500 title winners in my living room.
Money laundering. Buy a vehicle for $$$, restore it paying in dirty cash and sell it for $$$$ clean money because the market improved.
Two bidders at an auction, both with lust for a particular item, and market prices mean nothing. $20K for a $5K bike is a $15K loss but so is a $15K vacation. Whatever puts a smile on your face.
If they're buying, restoring and selling motorcycles it's more like money shrinking, so your equation is wrong. Buying for $$$$ then selling for $ equals
, and if those frowny faces are attached to blood thirsty madmen....yikes.I think his collection of racing motorcycles is more a representation of, "I have more money than I know what to do with so what the hell!" Kind of like a fellow I know who has decided he should collect watches. He landed a high paying tech/software sales gig and immediately went out and bought a Porsche Macan. The cranky old purist in me wanted to say, "That's not a Porsche; that's an SUV.", but I restrained myself.
I know nothing about the drug trade or how it works. If Wedding has a unique system or set of connections they would be his bulletproof vest.
Triple digit millions buys a lot of smoke and mirrors to hide behind but I don't think organized crime has a set retirement policy other than death.
Life will always be on the edge.
Buying stuff and restoring it just to sell is for fools or people that get things for a dime on the dollar. Business minds say let someone else buy it and you charge them $XXX an hour to do the restoration.If they're buying, restoring and selling motorcycles it's more like money shrinking, so your equation is wrong. Buying for $$$$ then selling for $ equals
I think his collection of racing motorcycles is more a representation of, "I have more money than I know what to do with so what the hell!" Kind of like a fellow I know who has decided he should collect watches. He landed a high paying tech/software sales gig and immediately went out and bought a Porsche Macan. The cranky old purist in me wanted to say, "That's not a Porsche; that's an SUV.", but I restrained myself.
As far as the waste of $15,000 goes, what would you rather do? Stand around looking at an interesting over priced bike or look at a bunch of vacation pictures on someone's cell phone. About a minute of "Here's me sipping a pina colada on the beach" has me faking an illness to escape.
Money laundering: I did a small repair on the restoration of a modest house and asked the guy I was working under why the owner was putting so much money into a mediocre house.
Answer: The owner had a couple of shady businesses and had to hide money. He had the place listed as his principal residence and it flew under the radar as he paid the trades cash. Sell it in a year or two and it's tax free clean money.
DaveTheSave
Active member
One of the associated businesses (and proprietors) named on the U.S. Justice dept. website is this place;
www.stileitaliano.com
Lots of eye candy and you may even spot a few of those bikes on the home page or in the gallery.
I'll just wait for the email from Mecum's;
"Las Vegas 2027 - the Snowboarder collection..."
Stile Italiano, non solo moto
harley davidson, moto usate, automobili usate, abano terme, padova
www.stileitaliano.com
Lots of eye candy and you may even spot a few of those bikes on the home page or in the gallery.
I'll just wait for the email from Mecum's;
"Las Vegas 2027 - the Snowboarder collection..."
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Glenn/RZ500
Well-known member
The gallery page on Stile Italiano is amazing, something for any gearhead 2 or 4 wheels.One of the associated businesses (and proprietors) named on the U.S. Justice dept. website is this place;
Stile Italiano, non solo moto
harley davidson, moto usate, automobili usate, abano terme, padova
Lots of eye candy and you may even spot a few of those bikes on the home page or in the gallery.
I'll just wait for the email from Mecum's;
"Las Vegas 2027 - the Snowboarder collection..."
