OFF THE WIRE
http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/industry-news/2011/08/19/jay-leno-kenny-roberts-motorcycle-auctioneers/Jay Leno & Kenny Roberts: Motorcycle Auctioneers
The King and the king of late night auction off unique Yamaha YZF-R1 in Monterey.
By: Henny Ray Abrams
Kenny Roberts may be 28 years removed from the last of his three 500cc World Championships, but he still has a winning touch.
By lapping Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca aboard a one-of-a-kind Yamaha R1 during last month's Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, Roberts raised the value of the streetbike more than six-fold when it was put up for auction last week in Monterey. The Yamaha YZF-R1 fetched $87,000 at the Mecum's Motorcycle Auction, more than six times the $13,999 retail price, when he and fellow guest auctioneer Jay Leno brought down the gavel. Milton Verret was the lucky and generous buyer.
"That was a lot of fun hanging out with Kenny (Roberts_ and I'm excited for the kids at Bailey's Café in Brooklyn," Leno said of the auction's beneficiary. Bailey's Café is a community outreach center that emphasizes writing, cooking, music, and fine arts in the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. "That winning bid from Milton (Verret) is going to buy a lot of supplies!"
Roberts added, "I'm kinda surprised that someone would pay for a bike that I sat my butt on and worked the rear tire on pretty good. But, it was for a good cause, and Milton really came through for Bailey's Café."
Not everything the King touches turns to gold. The 2002 KR Proton MotoGP bike put up for bid by Roberts didn't sell.
