In his lifetime, Ray Lamb had amassed an extraordinarily large pile of motorcycles.
When the Calgary motorcycle collector died early in 2010, he had a stash of close to 400 motorcycles in various states of repair – from original to restored to parts bikes.
Lamb’s obsession with motorcycles was a consuming affair. He had three Calgary properties, and while the houses were rented out, the garages, sheds and yards were crammed with his machines. In fact, his own home garage was so packed he began wheeling motorcycles into his house where he worked on them in his dining room.
I wrote a column about Lamb and his estate three years ago.
At that time, in early November 2011, Lamb’s sister Chris Irving and a few of his friends had been attempting to liquidate the numerous motorcycles and cars that had been collected. Bikes and cars were being sold piecemeal. The task, however, became even more daunting when all of the used and new-old stock parts, and the shelves full of repair manuals, were figured into the equation.
Enter Don Fergin and the crew at Universal Cycle Services in northeast Calgary.
They began rounding up the remaining motorcycles. These were mostly Japanese brands such as Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha, and were from the 1960s and 1970s. Fergin then listed these on the Universal Cycle Services website in a silent auction format.
“When we got involved I figured it would have taken Chris a lifetime trying to sell one or two bikes at a time,” Fergin says of the estate.
The first 50 machines sold, and then Fergin listed the rest of the bikes with a reserve bid. Most of them have gone to new homes.
“We had buyers coming from everywhere, “ Fergin says. “We even had one come from England who filled a shipping container full of old bikes. We sent them to California, Nevada and Quebec.
“They went to B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but I’d have to say the majority of them stayed right here in Calgary.”
Parts and manuals were listed on eBay, and Fergin would load bikes and parts and head to the Red Deer Swap Meet every spring and fall (the next Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group – Central Alberta Section — Red Deer meet is Sunday, Oct. 26 at the Stockmans Pavilion from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
For Lamb’s estate, there’s now an end in sight. Only a only a handful of vintage machines is left to sell, and Fergin has decided to wrap it all up with a live, unreserved auction.
Motorcycles to be sold include a 1959-60 Honda CB92 125 Benly, a pair of 1966-67 Suzuki K11Ps, and, as fate would have it, a pair of early 1960s Honda C105 55 Trail machines (Lot Nos. 45A and 45B) that I sold Lamb at least nine years ago. No, I won’t be bidding — I don’t want them back.
The auction will be held on Saturday, Oct. 25 in conjunction with Universal Cycle Service’s 30 th anniversary celebration. The shop will be open at 10 a.m., and bidders must register before noon. The auction gets underway at 1 p.m.
There will be door prizes and special discounts throughout the day. Festivities wind up around 4 p.m. The shop will be supporting the Veteran’s Food Bank, and donations will be accepted.
“We’ve sold well over 100 of Ray’s motorcycles,” Fergin says, and adds, “more than $100,000 has been raised. Every penny of the money has gone into an education fund for Ray’s daughters, Rayleen and Brittany.”
Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have an auto related item to share for the column or What’s Next? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or gregwilliams@shaw.ca. Visit his website at gregwilliams.ca
