Year-on-year, classic or vintage motorcycles have been increasing in value almost exponentially. With all of these bikes and their parts always getting more rare and hard to find, it is understandable that prices are going up, especially for good examples.
What is more perplexing is just how much the prices have gone up, for some bikes it is an exponential increase over the past decade or so, making a few lucky collectors very rich. Some bikes aren’t running, others aren’t even complete, but people are still willing to lay down six figures for them.
8 Vincent-HRD 998cc Rapide: $350,000
Less than 80 of these V-twins were made in the late 30s, they were unusually large displacement motorcycles for the time and were both fast and powerful, making 45 horsepower and able to reach 100 mph.
Anyone brave enough to ride one of these bikes at 100 mph deserves a medal, or a bed in an institution, we are not sure which. Even in rough shape, these bikes are worth well over $300,000 at auction.
7 Vincent White Shadow: $420,000
Pretty much any Vincent motorcycle is worth something these days, but only around 15 Black Shadow bikes were left without their engine casings painted black.
These became known as White Shadows, their scarcity has given them ridiculous value. Although pretty hefty, weighing in at around 500 lbs, these bikes were capable of 120 mph in their day.
6 Brough Superior BS4: $450,000
Arguably the weirdest motorcycle on this list is the three wheeled BS4, not only did it make use of a small displacement car engine, it used the transmission too.
The driveshaft necessitated the third wheel, which they didn’t see as an issue because they envisioned this as a sidecar motorcycle. Obviously something this peculiar didn’t exactly take off, so only 10 were made, and now they are worth a mint.
5 Brough Superior SS100: $550,000
For those brave enough, the bike got its name from the fact that it was guaranteed to do 100 mph. It was an incredible machine for the time and has become one of the most sought after British motorcycles.
Even in pieces, these bikes are worth more than some houses. We suspect that these bikes won’t ever be ridden again if you consider how their value, even in a dilapidated state, has gone up. Just in the last decade, their value has increased by $100,000!
4 Crocker “Big Tank”: $600,000
After so many British/made bikes, it is almost a pleasant surprise to find an American machine that is even more valuable. These bikes are worth even more in the right condition, or if they actually run.
These bikes were hand built, Crocker were only able to make around 10 a year, and like most handcrafted machines, they had several issues with reliability, so not many have actually survived.
3 Harley-Davidson “Strap Tank”: $700,000
Original motorcycles were very much like the electric bicycles of today, a simple small engine mounted in a bicycle frame. Mercifully, most collectors seem to recognize just how rudimentary these designs were and bikes from the era are not worth quite as much as the more advanced machines from the 30s and 40s.
Except for the “Strap Tank” because this is the original Harley, made from 1905, these bikes were used and abused so finding even the remnants of one is hard today.
2 Crocker “Small Tank”: $800,000
These handcrafted machines were pretty advanced for their time, with OHV V-twins in a time of side-valves/flatheads this was something revolutionary.
They were competing against the cheaper mass-produced Harleys, who also made their first OHV engines shortly after Crocker, but the handmade bikes were faster. These bikes are really a piece of engineering history, but it is still scarcely believable that they are worth almost $1 million.
1 Vincent Black Lightning: $900,000*
Black Shadows have been going up in value, but they are not nearly as rare as these Black Lightning bikes. This one is definitely going up in value a whole lot more than any other motorcycle, thanks to one with historical significance getting sold for almost $1 million.
It is hard to say how much the value has risen, as they were until very recently valued at around the $350,000 mark, but demand is somehow, even during a pandemic, outstripping the supply. So for sure $900,000 is the high watermark, but these bikes that were already expensive have now pretty much doubled in value.