Can't buy me love

Ex-Ducati racer Carlo Saltarelli's motorcycle collection threw up a few surprises now that the prices are on view via RM auctions Monaco results. Smaller bikes made less than you might think (585 Euros for a 500 Desmo Sport, and the same for a four stroke 125 Cadet, though like all prices there's a further 17% buyer's premium which is subject to VAT ) probably reflecting the cost and hassle of getting the bikes from Monaco to wherever you call home. But 2340 Euros for a 600 Monster looked plenty, as did 6-9000 Euros for 450 Scramblers. But against 13,000 Euros for a 350 Desmo maybe they're cheap.


Surprises were the 750 bevels; a nice GT (estimate 12-15E) made a whopping 38,000E, and a square case 750SS (estimate 15-20E) went for 32,000E. Someone clearly has mislaid the Ian Falloon/Mick Walker section of their library. Some of the race bikes, despite great provenance, failed to match those figures proving that collectors still value original mass produced bikes above bikes with genuine history. Sorry, but they're idiots. Even more bizarre was the 30,000E paid for the 450 racer (above) that appears in all the Ducati books. That's more than a genuine SCR factory racer. Luckily I don't have the money to worry about such things, but I will point out (again!) that two years ago I was telling anyone with the cash to buy 750F1s, then readily available for £5-7,000. And now North Leicester Motorcycles want £18k for the one below, having already achieved £15k for a lesser bike.