Two-Wheeled Time Capsule: The Greenfield Honda Auction

One of the best inventions that were ever invented was the wheel. Whether it was 2 or 4 wheels, the wheel is always being re-invented.

Ivan and Clyde Frizell grew up on the farm outside Greenfield, Iowa. Clyde and Ivan worked together and helped out on the farm. Ivan went off to the Army and was stationed in Germany. While he was in Germany, he met his wife, Isolde, and he was immediately taken. For Isolde, he was an American and looked dashing in his uniform. They went back to the U.S. and were married in 1962. Ivan and Isolde lived for awhile in Kansas City, and Ivan was a car mechanic. Ivan had a longing to go back home where he was raised in Iowa. What a better partner to have but his brother Clyde, and a friend Jim Lahey. They started an implement dealership selling New Holland and New Idea Equipment and eventually added the Case Line.

Motorcycles were always popular in their area, and not a lot of people were selling them and they thought it would be a good business move. The move paid off. They started selling Honda cycles in about 1965. It took a few years for the line to catch on, but soon they were selling bikes all over the Midwest. Isolde did the books.

Ivan really caught that motorcycle bug and it just wasn’t work for him, but a passion. Ivan and his wife Isolde took trips all over the U.S. on their bike. They really loved to travel the southwestern and western United States. They rode their Honda Goldwing to many rallies in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Ivan and Isolde traveled San Francisco, Death Valley, and many other adventures. Ivan hardly ever missed a Sturgis Rally and meeting up with friends.

Soon their family expanded and they had a daughter. She wasn’t even walking and went on her first bike trip. Isolde and their daughter, Petra, would be in a side car, alongside Ivan on the Honda, hitting the road. For Isolde, motorcycles were always a fascination. She can remember the soldiers in Germany racing and jumping in and out of craters from bombs.

In 1971, Greenfield, Iowa, was a location for the movie “Cold Turkey” and actor Dick Van Dyke came over to the shop to buy a motorcycle so that he could race with the local boys at the county fairgrounds. Clyde and Ivan sold him a bike and he was flying around the track with the locals. Clyde remembers that he was just like a big kid.

Ivan was known for his New Year’s Eve rides with his buddies. No matter how cold or icy, they would get their bikes out and gear up and head to the border of Iowa for that New Year’s Eve Ride. Isolde can remember seeing him slide down the driveway on the ice and all bundled up with hippo hands.

Clyde still farmed on the family farm and worked at the shop. Clyde liked the motorcycles, but Ivan was the deep down biker. The brothers retired, but Ivan continued to work on bikes in the shop as a favor for a friend and for himself.

The business has been closed for 30 years, and when they retired, they shut the doors and it was left just as it was. It’s a virtual time capsule of a dealership in the 1960s to 1980s. Flyers still on the walls, bikes in the shop, phone numbers and notes on the counter. The parts bins are still full and just covered with dust. Ivan Frizell died a couple years ago, and his wife Isolde and his brother Clyde have decided to sell the contents of the Greenfield Honda Shop.

VanDerBrink Auctions, LLC will sell the contents of the shop at NO Reserve to the highest bidder on Sept. 6 just north of the Honda Shop on Hwy 25. There are approximately 100 motorcycles that are mostly Honda, but also have BSA and few other makes. The motorcycles are everything from a 2013 Honda Goldwing Trike with low miles, to a rare 1979 Honda CBX with less than 300 miles, and yet another with only 43 miles, along with Honda Dreams, 3 wheelers, and more. There are a variety of motorcycles from the 1960s to 1980s. There is also BSA including a 1969 BSA Rocket 3 700CC Triple and 1966 BSA Hornet 650CC.

The shop also has a comprehensive Honda parts inventory including NOS parts and NOS gas tanks in the boxes. There are signs, posters, Honda clothing, and many other pieces of Honda and motorcycle memorabilia. The auction is not just motorcycles but collector tractors and collector vehicles, including a 1970 Chevrolet Impala with Factory 454.

The auction will be conducted onsite in Greenfield, Iowa, and many lots will be online at www.proxibid.com, but the majority of the parts will be bidders at the auction. The Auction will be conducted on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 9:30 am. Be on time, the collector vehicles, and tractors will sell early. If you are into Honda and vintage motorcycles, you won’t want to miss this auction of Greenfield Honda.

For more information, video, and more auctions www.vanderbrinkauctions.com or call VanDerBrink Auctions, LLC 605-201-7005. VanDerBrink Auctions is also working with Baxter Cycle, who is working with cleaning and inventory and their expertise in invaluable,.