How expensive do you think motorcycles can get? $100,000? Maybe $500,000 at most? You are right, and wrong at the same time. Because motorcycles run the gamut when it comes to cost – you can get a good one for less than $50,000 but also get an exclusive one for more than a million. You can get a superfast one, or a plush gold-plated one as well – depending on taste, choice and how deep your pockets are. Or rather, how much you can afford to spend on a two-wheeled widow maker. Here are ten street motorcycles that can make your jaw drop – primarily because of their price tag rather than their features.
10 Jaw-Dropping $11 Mil: Neiman Marcus Limited Edition Fighter
Heard of Neiman Marcus? You may even have shopped there, but not for a motorcycle. A rather plush department store, Neiman Marcus is also bike maker extraordinaire and by that we mean it made its very own street-legal motorcycle and sold it for a whopping price of $11 million. To give them credit, they made the motorcycle and put a reasonable $110,000 price tag before setting it up for auction. The rather innovative “clock-and-cog” design got a bidding war going on, and it went all the way up to $11 mil. Neiman Marcus knows its motorcycles pretty well it seems.
9 Less than $200,000: Y2K MTT Turbine
Let’s drop down to something a little more affordable. And by that, we still mean $175,000. Yeah, not all that affordable now, is it? But it is still a lot lesser than $11 mil, so there. Anyhow, the Y2K MTT Turbine sounds just about as deadly as it is and looks futuristic enough to be Terminator’s pet.
At its release, it set a Guinness World Record for being the world’s most powerful and most expensive street-legal production motorcycle. At 320 horses, 425 ft-lb torque and 227 mph top speeds, this is a thing of beauty and intent.
8 Yo-Yoing Back Up To Millions: Yamaha BMS Chopper
Now, this is not a production bike, but is street legal – simply because with this kind of a low, road-hugging contour – it isn’t going to go anywhere fast. And in fact, it doesn’t go all that fast. A chopper by nature, the USP for this is the ultra-strange design and the equally psychotic print. Of course, the $3 million price tag doesn’t just come from the design or the motor. It comes from the fact that this Yamaha BMS Chopper is completely gold plated, complete with a plush red velvet seat and a really strange seating posture very reminiscent of Samurai Jack. Spoiled much?
7 Let’s Go A Little Affordable: Suzuki AEM Carbon Fiber Hayabusa
We’re being a bit tricky with this list, simply because this isn’t a list of the world’s most affordable street legal bikes. This is a list of the world’s most expensive street-legal motorcycles – and in it rolls in the Suzuki Hayabusa, in its AEM Carbon fiber avatar. At 188mph, the Hayabusa is one of the world’s fastest production motorcycles, and it is rather affordable at about $15,000.
It’s only when it comes in carbon fiber, that the price jumps up to a massive $200,000. With superior styling, amazing ride quality and superb reliability – the Hayabusa, which means falcon in Japanese, is one amazing motorbike.
6 A Million+: Harley Davidson Cosmic Starship
Now people are willing to pay an arm and a leg for a Harley Davidson. But have you heard about the $1.5 million price tag of one of these bikes? The Cosmic Starship, in essence, is a V-Rod, and V-Rods don’t cost you millions. They come with a standard price tag of approximately $18,000. So what makes the Cosmic Starship so expensive? It isn’t any added tech or a super engine. The Cosmic Starship is a hand-painted V-Rod by artist Jack Armstrong. Armstrong’s paintings can go as dear as $3million, so the $1.5 million V-Rod seems like a steal, right? Especially as it's street legal.
5 More Than $100K: MV Agusta F4CC
With a limited edition run of just 100 motorcycles, the $120,000 price tag of the MV Agusta F4CC seems justified. This is a motorcycle that jets 200 horses with ease and has engine valves from Ferrari in it. A superior beast, it clocks speeds of 195 mph and runs with the best of quality and reliability. The motorcycle is hand-built, piece by piece and part by part – and yet it works far better than any assembly line model from any motorcycle brand. Known to be a superior motorcycle manufacturer, MV Agusta motorcycles are known the world over for their superior performance and power. No surprises at the price tag then.
4 Only 13 Units Made: Ecosse FE Ti XX
Ecosse Moto Works is known for making amazing motorcycles, and a rather exclusive unit at that. One of their latest and most expensive offerings is the FE Ti XX – so powered by a 2.4-liter billet aluminum power plant that sends 228 horses straight to the rear wheel. Rev up and the motorcycle and it is raring to go since a carbon fiber build keeps weight low. The seat is Berluti, which is as Italian leather as you can, and it has grade 9 titanium exhausts. Only 13 of these will be made, and so the pricey tag of $300,000 is well justified for this exclusive limited edition.
3 Almost $250K: Ducati Desmosedici D16RR NCR M16
The name itself sounds complicated enough to justify the price tag. The simple Ducati Desmosedici RR in itself costs some $72,000 – and it’s a Ducati so one cannot argue much with that. Then there is the Ducati Desmosedici D16RR NCR M16, which gets a carbon fiber treatment just about everywhere: the fenders, swing arm and other load-bearing parts as well.
Then they add titanium, aluminum and avionic as well, still, managing to keep the weight under 319 pounds. More than 200 horses power this up, along with MotoGP suspension to stop it from achieving escape velocity. Thus the price tag of a whopping $232,000.
2 Still Above $100K: Icon Sheene
Motorcycle racer Barry Sheene lived for 52 years, and so only 52 units of the Icon Sheene are being made. Each motorcycle pays homage to one year of Barry Sheene’s life, with a 1.4-liter engine punching out 250 horses. Fully road legal, each motorcycle will also have one playing card printed on the fascia – so each motorcycle will come replete with a different card to provide even more exclusivity to the same. At about $170,000 for each motorcycle, this is a fitting homage to the legacy of Sheene – a fast but street-legal motorcycle with each of the 52 units different from the others.
1 Finally Dipping Below $100K: Confederate B120 Wraith
The Confederate B120 Wraith marries the beauty of a retro motorcycle with everything modern technology has to offer for a safer and superior ride. Of course, with a price tag of $92,500, this cannot be everyone’s cup of Joe. Aircraft-grade billet aluminum makes the engine, and the carbon fiber body parts keep it light on the road. 125 horses zip it like an unstoppable bullet, coupled with 131 ft-lb torque. A beauty in its own right, this neo-classic motorcycle may not appeal to everyone and can be afforded by even fewer. For those who can afford it, and love it as well – it's an unforgettable treat.