Preston Evans, of Newnan, owns 75 motorcycles, but he never rides them. He just buys them and sells them. He claims that he used to ride, in South Dakota, where the land is spread out and there's nobody else on the road. His friends have their doubts.
“I don’t think he’s a rider; I think he’s more of a hoarder,” said Evans’ friend Allen Doughty.
Doughty, who fixes the motorcycles that Evans buys, says he’s never seen Evans on a bike. But he’s had a great time with the rare gems that Evans brings him for repairs.
There’s a Yale from 1910, a 1912 Excelsior, a 1915 Pope, a bunch of Indians and Vincents. Doughty is a little reluctant to ride them, himself, even when he’s testing them out, because some of them are worth $50,000 and more. He’d hate to wrap one around a tree.
Doughty will help out next month when Evans auctions off all 75 bikes. Doughty will crank up a few to get the juices in the audience going. “They have their own little sound, each motorcycle, especially the early ones, with the total loss oil systems,” said Doughty. “They clink and clatter. You can see the push rods going up and down, and so forth. They are loud and exciting.”
Evans, a lifetime collector (and seller) of cars, motorcycles, jukeboxes, slot machines and other peculiar antiques, is selling his whole accumulation at auction May 27-29, at several warehouses just off the square in Newnan. The AJC wrote about Evans' collecting life in the Personal Journey section of the March 27 issue, and you can read more about him here.
About the Author
