Best Motorcycles of All Time

Honda CB750

The 1969 CB750 invented the modern 'superbike' template: a smooth inline-four, disc brake, and electric start in one affordable package that made British and American twins look obsolete overnight. It didn't just sell well, it rewrote what riders expected a motorcycle to be.

Year Introduced: 1969Top Speed: 125 mphEngine Size: 736 ccLegacy Rating: 10/10

added by IJRHonda CB750

Harley-Davidson Knucklehead (EL)

The 1936 Knucklehead's overhead-valve V-twin and distinctive rocker-box covers gave Harley-Davidson its performance identity and its visual signature for decades of choppers and customs to follow. It's the bike that turned Harley from a workhorse brand into a cult.

Year Introduced: 1936Top Speed: 90 mphEngine Size: 1,000 ccLegacy Rating: 8.5/10

added by IJR

Vincent Black Shadow

In 1948 this hand-built British V-twin was the fastest production motorcycle on Earth, with a 150 mph speedometer that seemed like science fiction. Rollie Free's famous nearly-naked land-speed run on a Vincent cemented its legend as the bike that proved speed could be art.

Year Introduced: 1948Top Speed: 125 mphEngine Size: 998 ccLegacy Rating: 9/10

added by IJRVincent Black Shadow

BMW R32

BMW's first motorcycle in 1923 introduced the boxer-twin, shaft-drive layout the brand still uses a century later, a rare case of a company nailing its core architecture on the very first try. Its clean engineering set BMW apart from chain-driven rivals from day one.

Year Introduced: 1923Top Speed: 60 mphEngine Size: 494 ccLegacy Rating: 8/10

added by IJRBMW R32

Triumph Bonneville T120

Named after Triumph's land-speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the T120 became the face of 1960s cool, ridden by Steve McQueen and immortalized in countless films. Its parallel-twin silhouette is still the template for every modern retro Triumph.

Year Introduced: 1959Top Speed: 110 mphEngine Size: 649 ccLegacy Rating: 8.5/10

added by IJRTriumph Bonneville T120

Kawasaki Z1

Kawasaki rushed the 900cc Z1 to market in 1972 after Honda's CB750 stole its thunder, and the result was a faster, more powerful four-cylinder that reclaimed the performance crown. It proved Japanese manufacturers could out-engineer each other as fast as they out-engineered Europ

Year Introduced: 1972Top Speed: 130 mphEngine Size: 903 ccLegacy Rating: 9/10

added by IJRKawasaki Z1

Honda Super Cub

Launched in 1958, the humble step-through Super Cub became the best-selling motor vehicle in human history, with over 100 million units putting affordable mobility into hands across the developing world. It's the quiet giant that outsold every sports bike on this list combined.

Year Introduced: 1958Top Speed: 50 mphEngine Size: 50 ccLegacy Rating: 9.5/10

added by IJRHonda Super Cub

Ducati 916

Massimo Tamburini's 1994 masterpiece married single-sided swingarm styling with a trellis frame so beautiful it hangs in design museums, while Carl Fogarty rode it to multiple World Superbike titles. The 916 made every sportbike after it look dated by comparison.

Year Introduced: 1994Top Speed: 160 mphEngine Size: 916 ccLegacy Rating: 9.5/10

added by IJRDucati 916

Suzuki Hayabusa

Named after the peregrine falcon that hunts blackbirds, the 1999 Hayabusa was engineered to beat the Honda Blackbird and briefly became the fastest production motorcycle ever built, sparking a gentleman's agreement to cap top speeds at 186 mph. It remains the benchmark for hyperb

Year Introduced: 1999Top Speed: 190 mphEngine Size: 1,299 ccLegacy Rating: 9/10

added by IJRSuzuki Hayabusa

Yamaha YZF-R1

The 1998 R1 packed a compact, mass-centralized chassis and a screaming inline-four that redefined what a literbike should feel like, sparking the modern sportbike arms race. Two decades of racetrack dominance and street cred followed.

Year Introduced: 1998Top Speed: 170 mphEngine Size: 998 ccLegacy Rating: 8.5/10

added by IJRYamaha YZF-R1

Kawasaki Ninja H2R

A supercharged, track-only missile unveiled in 2015, the H2R exists purely to obliterate speed records, reportedly touching 250 mph on closed courses. It's less a motorcycle than a statement of what's technically possible when regulations are stripped away.

Year Introduced: 2015Top Speed: 250 mphEngine Size: 998 ccLegacy Rating: 8/10

added by IJR

Norton Commando 750

Voted 'Motorcycle of the Year' in Britain for five straight years starting in 1968, the Commando's rubber-mounted 'Isolastic' frame tamed vibration that plagued rival British twins. It was the last great gasp of British engineering before Japanese bikes swept the market.

Year Introduced: 1967Top Speed: 115 mphEngine Size: 745 ccLegacy Rating: 7.5/10

added by IJR

MV Agusta F4

Designed by Massimo Tamburini after he left Ducati, the 1999 F4 brought exotic Italian sculpture and a radical underseat exhaust to the superbike class, evoking the brand's 1950s Grand Prix dominance. It's the rare bike that's as prized for its art as its speed.

Year Introduced: 1999Top Speed: 175 mphEngine Size: 749 ccLegacy Rating: 8/10

added by IJR

Ducati Monster

Miguel Galluzzi's 1993 naked bike stripped away fairings to reveal a trellis frame and V-twin engine as the design itself, inventing the modern 'naked bike' category almost single-handedly. It became Ducati's best-selling model and a gateway drug for a generation of new riders.

Year Introduced: 1993Top Speed: 130 mphEngine Size: 900 ccLegacy Rating: 8/10

added by IJRDucati Monster

Indian Chief

Introduced in 1922 and revived decades later, the Chief's deep fender skirts and flowing lines made it the visual rival to Harley for most of the 20th century, embodying classic American cruiser style. Its on-again, off-again history mirrors the turbulent story of American motorc

Year Introduced: 1922Top Speed: 85 mphEngine Size: 1,200 ccLegacy Rating: 7.5/10

added by IJR

Honda RC30 (VFR750R)

Built in 1987 as a homologation special for World Superbike racing, the RC30's V4 engine and titanium connecting rods delivered a race-bred machine sold barely disguised for the street. It won the first two World Superbike championships and remains a collector's holy grail.

Year Introduced: 1987Top Speed: 150 mphEngine Size: 748 ccLegacy Rating: 8/10

added by IJR

BSA Gold Star

Named for the gold star pin awarded to riders who lapped Brooklands at over 100 mph, the Gold Star of the late 1930s through 1960s became the definitive British café racer and desert-sled racing icon. It captured a scrappy, do-it-yourself performance ethos that predates the super

Year Introduced: 1938Top Speed: 100 mphEngine Size: 500 ccLegacy Rating: 7/10

added by IJRBSA Gold Star

Ducati Panigale V4

Ducati's 2018 flagship abandoned decades of V-twin tradition for a MotoGP-derived V4 engine, complete with desmodromic valves and aerodynamic winglets borrowed straight from the racetrack. It represents the current pinnacle of production sportbike technology, blending brutal powe

Year Introduced: 2018Top Speed: 185 mphEngine Size: 1,103 ccLegacy Rating: 8.5/10

added by IJRDucati Panigale V4