Attention Boomers with lots of disposable cash and a nostalgic fondness for 1970s pop culture. Your chance to own some really goofy … I mean unique and famous motorcycles is coming up tomorrow.
Take your pick: rocker chopper, Evel eagle, futuristic flyer, or king cool.
Hollywood Auction 74 by Profiles in History starts today, but the motorcycles go on the block tomorrow. So what are we considering, bidders?
The Sunset Tripper spent 26 years on display in a pizzeria in Denmark. It’s supposedly in “very good vintage condition,” though Profiles in History reports that the mechanicals are “untested” and the rubber grips have deteriorated. In the photos, I can see that the left highway peg’s rubber is deteriorated to the point of being missing. No word on whether there’s any residual pepperoni odor from its Danish banishment.
The Stratocycle isn’t the only bike with wings. Also on the auction block is a Flying Turbocycle from the TV show "Galactica 1980." Sadly, the bike only appears to have a turbine powerplant. Under the Hollywood fakery, this is a Yamaha MX175 (it still has the knobby tires), so don’t expect to do any real flying. At least the pneumatic system that raises and lowers the wings still works. Bidding starts at just $25,000.
Finally, we have another Triumph from TV fame: One of the motorcycles ridden by Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli in the popular 1970s sitcom "Happy Days." Are you cool enough to own the bike ridden by the Fonz? OK, Henry Winkler couldn’t actually ride a motorcycle, it seems, so it was just wheeled around, mostly.
If you can’t swing the bike, you can get one of Fonzie’s brown leather jackets, instead. Bidding starts at just $30,000.
There’s also some other junk, like a 2006 Harley-Davidson V-Rod that Dennis Hopper bought and rode a few miles before putting on display in his loft. Those Hollywood types. It’s all about the image.
The 1970s did have high points. Maybe I'll wander from Profiles in History to the less rarefied air of eBay or Craigslist. Maybe find a smokin' deal on a Kawasaki KZ1000 police special with no pedigree or a Honda CB400F. Then go ride it. That'd be cool.