Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Burchett to sell off his old bikes

One of the mayor's bikes to be sold
(UPDATE: The mayor just called back to say that there are other bikes that aren't his that also will be up for sale, so that's why there was some confusion about how many bikes were up for auction.)

Well, here’s sort of weird one.

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, a well-known hoarder, has given Powell Auction the go-ahead to sell off some of his motorcycles, most of which are really just half-motorcycles. Or whatever.

Anyhoo, the company says it has between “60 to 75 of them” from the 1950s and 1960s. The auction is set for 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Now, when I called the mayor, he got all cagey about it, and then said he wasn’t sure how many he put up. “Half a dozen or so,” he said. You sure it’s not more like 60?

“I don’t know.”

Strange.

When asked again, he said:  “I started buying them when I was 16. Some I paid $50 for and others $100. They’re not even running. A lot are what I call boat anchors.”

He then said “I’ve got too many toys.”

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” he added. “I was going to wait until the economy turns around, but who knows when that will be. But really, what the heck am I doing with all of them? I need to liquidate them. I’ve got too much stuff.”

No kidding.

The mayor added that “punks” still break into his old warehouse on Amherst Road where he stores the bikes and parts, so that’s a problem, too.

(On a side note: Remember back in November 2006, when the then-state senator caught a couple of the #**^@ers breaking in? Heh. He exercised his Second Amendment rights, held them at bay – and fed them cookies – until the deputies showed up. Course it's still not as cool as the time he sold the tank. But I digress.)

Anyway, let the conspiracy theories begin.

Why is he selling the bikes?

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