What are the most expensive motorcycles in the world ?
Some motorcycle manufacturers are freed from any budgetary consideration in order – not always achieved – to introduce new technological or stylistic references. MNC draws up a non-exhaustive list of these expensive fantasy machines…
1 – Scotland Heretic Titanium Series (2007): € 220,000
As its name does not indicate, Scotland is a small American manufacturer which is distinguished by the extreme price of its motorcycles assembled by hand since 2001 in Denver (Colorado). On the program: noble materials (carbon, titanium and aircraft-grade aluminum), state-of-the-art peripherals and Harley-Davidson V-Twin "tapped" to the core.
In its luxurious "Titanium Series" finish, the Heretic model reaches new heights thanks to the extensive use of titanium: frame, swingarm and wheel axles are machined from this precious material. The tank is made of carbon, as are the rims and the rear shell. In all, this motorcycle produced in thirteen copies would require "2000 hours of work".
The fully adjustable Ohlins suspensions use the same references as in MotoGP, while the Harley engine is made lighter by replacing many steel parts with aluminum. The V-twin bored to 2409 cc is also supercharged by a compressor to achieve … between 205 and 225 hp !
Donald Atchison, founder of the brand, announces up to "ten months of delay" for this Heretic Titanium of 192 kg, displayed at the delirious price of 220 000 €. The brand no longer showing many signs of life since 2014, take the time to think it over before emptying your bank account !
2 – Honda RC213V-S (2016): € 188,000 (€ 201,000 with Sport Kit)
Ten years. This is the time taken by Honda to – finally – follow in the footsteps of Ducati and offer an approved replica of its MotoGP. Like the, the is a real Grand Prix motorcycle … with mirrors and headlights! The proof in picture below, alongside the racing prototype.
Built in around 200 units, this "Replica" would have "80% of parts in common" with the Grand Prix RCV, starting with its V4 engine and its many parts cut in the aluminum mass, including the perimeter frame, the hollowed out swing arm and fuel tank.
- MNC of June 15, 2015 :
- MNC of June 2, 2006 :
The screws are in titanium, the self-supporting saddle and the carbon fairings. The Ohlins suspensions (TTX25 at the front, TTX36 at the rear) and Brembo calipers are similar to the Marquez wheel, except for the steel discs and not carbon, because they cannot be brought to the right temperature on road.
First sport motorcycle of – small – Honda series equipped with traction control (yes, before!), The RCV213V-S delivers a disappointing power of 159 hp in its road version at 188,000 €, or barely more than " banal "750 cc yet ten times cheaper! To get the most out of it, the optional "Sport" kit at 13,000 euros is essential..
The power then climbs to 215 hp and the weight drops by 10 kg thanks to the removal of the regulatory fittings (headlight, license plate holder, horn, etc.), to stand at only 160 kg dry. The motorcycle can no longer circulate on the road in this configuration which exceeds 200,000 €, to which can be added – for good measure – the 4,000 euros requested for the HRC colors. !
At present, this exceptional motorcycle is the second most expensive homologated vehicle in the entire Honda range, including motorcycles and cars: the NSX Supercar launched the same year is putting the brakes on it with its recently revised price increase of € 192,500 !
3 – Aprilia RSV4 FW-GP (2016): 160,000 €
Aprilia launched at the end of 2016 an à la carte preparation program for its RSV4 hypersportive motorcycle, named (FW). Several configurations are available to transform the production model into a real racing bike, more or less sophisticated.
The most advanced version – the FW-GP – claims "more than 250 hp", or about fifty more than the original version! Its V4 adopts the pneumatic distribution and engine dimensions of the MotoGP prototype: its bore is increased to 81 mm, against 78 mm on the commercial RSV4.
- MNC of 23 November 2017 :
This ultimate RSV4 – technically close to the old Grand Prix "CRTs" – receives the best of the best from Ohlins and Brembo, forged rims and a simplified electronic harness. State-of-the-art electronics are present with a fully programmable control unit from a handheld computer provided with purchase.
The transformation includes "Racing" instrumentation with data acquisition and a double-acting shifter, allowing up and down gears without disengaging. The traction control, the anti-skidding and the starting assistant also receive a setting adapted to use on the track.
After cashing their check for 160,000 €, the happy owners are invited to a day on the track in the presence of Aprilia engineers to settle the RSV4 FW-GP in their own hands. They will also be "offered" a Paddock pass for a MotoGP race..
4 – Icon Sheene (2010): 160,000 euros
Icon is a confidential English brand that produces exceptional cars, as well as a very luxurious motor-home! In 2010, its founder Adrew Morris presented his first motorcycle project with the Icon Sheene, designed in collaboration with the family of the famous rider Barry Sheene.
The engine base is a 1400 cc Suzuki in-line 4-cylinder – that of the GSX-1400 – copiously modified and lightened. For good measure, Icon gave it a turbo to achieve "250 hp at the rear wheel"! The frame is homemade in hand-polished aluminum tubes, for a very aesthetic result.
"Each bike is handcrafted and configured to your specifications," says the Nottingham brand, which has limited its production to 52 units. At 160,000 € each, MNC would still be curious to know if all the stock has sold out….
5 – Midual Type 1 (2014): 140,000 €
Midual began its comeback in 2014 with an ultra luxurious roadster powered by an original 1036 cc flat-twin placed in a longitudinal position: the. Its creators, the brothers Olivier and François Midy, spent fifteen years refining this ambitious project initiated in 1999 with the first Midual 900.
If the performance of the transverse crankshaft twin seems limited (110 hp and 100 Nm) in view of its indecent price, the extreme attention to detail helps to pass the pill. The clever monohull aluminum frame – which acts as a tank – is a real piece of goldsmith’s work, handmade in a "French aeronautical foundry".
- MNC of August 19, 2014 :
The Australian oak dashboard (!) Receives a luxurious leather trim. Damping is based on a classy FGRT fork and Ohlins TTX36 monoshock, while Brembo takes care of braking with 4-piston radial calipers. Seriousness, just like the turntables cut in the mass.
Midual has started production with the aim of reaching 35 units initially, all of which will be delivered "directly to its owner by a technician". The least of things for a motorcycle at 140,000 €, or even much more depending on the choice of customization selected !
6 – MTT Y2K Turbine Superbike and Street Fighter (2001 and 2006): between € 122,600 and € 143,000
The Y2 Turbine Superbike is a crazy motorcycle as only Americans can imagine. For what reasons ? Simple: its propulsion is based on nothing less than a Rolls Royces Allison engine originally intended for … helicopters! This turbine fueled with kerosene reaches the incredible speed of 52,000 rpm and would develop up to 320 hp for 576 Nm of torque !
Its manufacturer, the company Marine Turbine Technologies (MTT) chaired by Ted McIntyre, slipped this huge two-speed block using forceps into an aluminum frame cut in the mass, then installed a large 34-liter tank to satisfy its gluttony. Despite these characteristics and its record wheelbase of 1700 mm, the weight would remain relatively reasonable: 227 kg.
The equipment is of high quality with carbon rims and specific Ohlins suspensions: the front is articulated around an imposing 55 mm fork, while an oleopneumatic mono-shock absorber is responsible for ensuring a minimum of comfort. and traction on this motorcycle briefly seen in the movie "Torque" (an authentic turnip, by the way).
Small detail that kills: the YK2 does not have mirrors because it is a camera in its rear light which returns the image to the instrumentation! Marketed at a price of 150,000 dollars in 2001 (around 122,600 €), this "motorcycle" has long remained the most expensive, the most powerful but also the fastest in the world, with a peak recorded at 402 km / h.
In 2006, the Louisiana-based company presented an even more radical version of its Y2K: the MTT "Street Fighter", which would reach 420 hp and 175,000 dollars (approximately 143,000 euros). Its evolutions also concern the aerodynamics of the carbon fairing, as well as the enlargement of the swingarm to avoid overturning. !
In 2015, Marine Turbine Technologies announced that this motorcycle would be the basis for its next creation, the 402R, before revealing its first photomontages above….
7 – Midalu 2500 FGR V6 (2013): 120,000 euros
The Midalu FGR V6 is "the work" of an eccentric Czech engineer, Miroslav Felgr, who took it into his head in 2001 to build the motorcycle of all superlatives: powered by a 2442 cc (2.4 liter !), this imposing roadster would develop some 240 hp and "more than 200 Nm" of torque !
The frame is a tubular steel trellis onto which is grafted an enormous aluminum swingarm cut in the mass. Damping and braking are entrusted to top-of-the-range Ohlins and Brembo sets: it takes that to stop its 270 kg dry !
- MNC of June 26, 2012 : The Midalu 2500 V6 soon on our roads
And to think that carbon fiber is however widely used to contain its weight, in particular at the level of the tank, the trim and the headlight support…
After presenting – in static – its 6-cylinder in 2008, Midalu planned to sell the first six units in 2013. The manufacturing process having been delayed, the marketing was postponed while its price went from 80,000 to 120,000 € in five years !
8 – Confederate P51 Combat Fighter G2 (2015): between € 101,000 and € 106,000
Exclusive and out of the ordinary motorcycles, from Confederate Motorcycles, it’s pretty usual. But the radical craftsman from Birmingham (Alabama) goes really far in excess in 2015 with the, worthy descendant of the Combat launched in 1999 !
As usual, the look and the technologies of the P51 Combat Fighter (called "G2", for "second generation") do not go by half measures: parallelogram front axle, huge S&S V-twin enclosed in a chassis "king size", 240 mm rear tire, carbon rims, minimalist rear section, saddle as "placed" on the rear cylinder…
- MNC of September 10, 2015:
The 2163 cc engine would deliver "more than 200 hp" and 255 Nm of torque, which augurs well for manly acceleration despite the announced 277 kg. Hand-built in 61 units, the P51 Combat Fighter G2 is available in silver or black, from € 101,400 to € 106,300.
This motorcycle is one of the last manufactured under the Confederate name: aware of the bad image associated with this name which smacks of secessionist war, the small American manufacturer changed its identity – and economic model – in 2017.
- MNC of August 30, 2017 :
Renamed Curtiss Motorcycles, the company is now developing motorcycles with electric propulsion, but always with the aim of designing two-wheelers as unusual, radical and expensive as its previous "thermal" creations..
9 – Suter MMX 500 (2015): € 110,000
Suter Racing has won its letters of nobility thanks to its excellent perimeter frames developed in Moto2 Grands Prix. In 2015, on the strength of the world title won with Marc Marquez three years earlier, its founder Eskil Suter realized an old dream: to build his own 2-stroke motor racing motorcycle, in tribute to the GP500.
His project was born in 2015 with the, a marvel of technology produced in only 99 units at a price of … € 110,000 (CHF 120,000)! The package is up to this high-end price with in particular a 195 hp V4, more than enough in view of its advertised weight of only 127 kg dry !
- MNC of June 1, 2016 :
This 576 cc 2-stroke 4-cylinder features a direct injection system to contain its pollutant emissions and consumption, like the latest generation of KTM enduro or the appetizing – another sports bike 2 -time built in Italy, which gives pride of place to carbon up to its frame and swingarm.
The MMX 500 opts for a classic aluminum chassis, coupled with efficient Ohlins suspensions adjustable in all directions. Braking is entrusted to one-piece Brembo radially mounted calipers, while the rims are made of magnesium. The fairing and the tank are made of carbon fibers.
A year before the launch of this MMX 500, the German manufacturer Ronax had presented its own replica of a GP500: the, which claims 160 hp for 145 kg dry. This motorcycle modeled aesthetically on the Honda NSR500 of Valentino Rossi also uses a V4 equipped with injection and advanced peripherals.
And like its Swiss rival Suter, the Ronax 500 is exchanged for a very large check: 100,000 € !
10 – MV Agusta F4 1080 CC (2007): 100,000 €
MV Agusta is a past master in the art of declining its motorcycles in expensive limited editions, such as the F4 1000 Tamburini at € 45,000 in 2005. Two years later, the Varese brand has doubled the stakes: its brand new F4 1080 CC – for "Claudio Castiglioni", the former manager of MV – claims the trifle of € 100,000 !
Hand-built with MV Agusta’s racing department, this bike claims 198 hp for 187 kg dry and is said to be capable of reaching 315 km / h. Its 4-cylinder engine differs from that of the standard F4 by its displacement increased from 998 to 1078 cc, its titanium valves and its four titanium exhaust "flutes"..
- MNC test : MV Agusta F4 2013, prestige of the senses
The fairings are carbon fiber, while magnesium is invited on the housings and the shock absorber to contain the weight. Like all prestige motorcycles, the MV Agusta F4 CC also receives a battery of parts cut in the mass (swingarm, plates, etc.).
At the time, the press secretary MV Agusta explained to MNC that the 100 motorcycles built had been delivered in special containers, kept under vacuum … Its lucky – and rich – buyers were also offered a Trussardi leather jacket and a Girard-Perregaux watch !
11- Honda NR750 RC40 (1992): € 80,437 in constant euros (375,000 francs)
The RC213V-S is not Honda’s first "madness": 24 years before Marc Marquez’s Replica was launched the NR750, also called RC40. This motorcycle – 322 units built at a rate of three per day! – remains the most daring ever designed by the winged crest, mainly thanks to its engine: a 747.7 cc 90 ° V4, each cylinder of which contains eight valves, two spark plugs and two injectors !
Impossible ? With conventional mechanics, indeed. But the Tokyo engine manufacturers had developed a new 4-stroke oval piston engine, whose oblong shape allows the number of valves to be doubled. The distribution of the 4-cylinder of the NR750 is therefore based on 32 valves (!), While each piston is connected to two connecting rods. A stroke of genius !
Thanks to this trick, the mechanics benefit in theory from excellent filling and can reach very high speeds. In practice, the NR750 was limited to 130 hp and 15,000 rpm for the sake of reliability: despite heavy investments in the oval piston engine, Honda struggled to make it as efficient and solid as a traditional engine….
The HRC (racing service of the Japanese manufacturer) had however been planking it since 1979, with its attempt to impose in Grand Prix its NR500 with oval pistons, a motorcycle nicknamed "Never Ready" (never ready) because of its perpetual glitches … Despite the army of engineers dedicated to this NR500, it has never won the slightest victory – nor a podium – in GP500.
A real snub inflicted on Honda, which relied heavily on this daring project to demonstrate its technical superiority in 4-stroke … This NR500 was abandoned in 1982 in favor of a 500 cc 2-stroke, the NS500, with which Freddie Spencer won the supreme title the following year (1983).
Ten years later, the NR750 transferred this original engine to the road and introduced several avant-garde technologies which were the subject of some 200 patents. The carbon fairings, the inverted "full adjustable" fork, the splendid single-sided arm, the magnesium rims, the mufflers in the shell or the bubble covered with titanium are among its peculiarities..
In France, the NR750 was delivered to 34 very wealthy motorcyclists including the actor Yves Renier, the joyful (!) Interpreter of the "Commissioner Moulin". Each owner received a solid silver keyring, responsible for recalling the exceptional character of this motorcycle at the time sold for 375,000 francs (57,170 euros).
But if we take into account the evolution of purchasing power between 1992 and inflation, the conversion reaches a much higher sum in constant euros: the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) estimates that 375,000 francs in 1992 are the equivalent of € 80,437.
And also…
Several other motorcycles could have joined our ranking of overpriced motorcycles, including the little known Scotland ES1 Superbike at … € 3,200,000. Yes, you read that correctly: 3.2 million euros! Discovered in the form of a sketch in 2007, this futuristic Superbike designed by the Norwegian Bard Eker was intended to be the two-wheeled counterpart of a Formula 1. Just that….
Its creators, Don Atchison, Richard Glover and Andy Le Fleming – former F1 engineers – aimed to make it the lightest and most aerodynamic sports car possible, with an announced weight of 120 kg (!!) thanks to a massive appeal. high-end carbon fiber.
Provided with a strange ergonomics – the pilot is lying "in" the tank – and an improbable chain transmission, this bike was presented in 2012 at Laguna Seca (United States) but never went into production. None of the ten planned units saw the light of day: the SS1 remained at the stage of a sweet dream, which is why MNC excluded it from this ranking.
The Dodge Tomahawk below could also have appeared in our list with its price of € 550,000. But it’s not really a motorcycle: this incredible machine with twin wheels was presented by Dodge at the Detroit show in 2003, then built in ten copies.
Not approved, this monster designed around an aluminum structure is powered by a V10 of 8,300 cc (!), 500 hp (!!) and 712 Nm of torque (!!!) which would propel it to … 480 km / h !
Special bonus "small" fortunes: motorcycles between 50,000 and 80,000 € !
Finally, it should be noted that the “ultra luxury” niche is very well represented by motorcycles ranging from 50,000 to 80,000 €. Among them, the "road" cited above at € 60,000, the € 53,000 or the € 55,000 with its 4-cylinder supercharged 320 hp. Fortunate bikers tired of thermal engines will be "electrified" by the, this amazing French electric motorcycle at 55,000 € !
The magnificent € 60,300 – designed in collaboration with the French Boxer Design – is also part of this price list that is difficult for ordinary bikers to access, as does the extravagant Boss Hoss at € 60,000 with its 445 V8. ch … which also appears in our !
- MNC of December 18, 2017:
At the top of this list of "50 to 80 sticks" are two recent Superbikes: the and its extraordinary power-to-weight ratio (215 hp for 167 kg with full tank) and the, built almost entirely in carbon and which claims 171 kg in order. running for 215 hp! These two exceptional motorcycles are trading at € 80,000 each.
Honey, you got the checkbook ?!
Related articles
-
Exclusive & expensive sports motorcycles: Superleggera, HP4 Race & Co.
Most expensive sports motorcycles of all time Superleggera, HP4 Race, Tamburini Co. Many want it, but few get it. We are talking about noble sports…
-
Exclusive: European manufacturers facing the crisis Weakened by the crisis, the motorcycle market is also seeing the dawning of a small revolution: in…
-
Culture – Historical (and subjective) panorama of the 24 ugliest motorcycles! –
Historical (and subjective) panorama of the 24 ugliest motorcycles ! If some motorcycles will remain in the annals thanks to their beauty, some on the…
-
Culture – BMW celebrates 50 years of its 5 Series motorcycles with the R nineT -5 – Pre-owned BMW
BMW celebrates 50 years of its 5 series motorcycles with the R nineT / 5 BMW is further expanding its family of neo-retro roadsters with its new R nineT…
-
Business – BMW beats its sales record for motorcycles in the world – Used BMW
BMW breaks record for worldwide motorcycle sales The German motorcycle manufacturer BMW has made its – good – accounts for the year 2016: in all, 145,032…
-
Endurance – Christophe Guyot: world champion, and after? – Used YAMAHA
Megatest super athletes (with photo show) Part 1: Country Road The new ZX-10R is upgraded in terms of performance in order to then control the force with…
-
SRV 850 test: Aprilia also has its Hyperscooter ! With its 76 hp vario and its RSV4 boil, the Aprilia SRV 850 has no shortage of arguments to appeal to…
-
Crime – Motorcycle theft: top 10 most stolen motorcycles in France –
Motorcycle theft: top 10 most stolen motorcycles in France According to the study that 2-Roues Lab ‘has just carried out with L’Officiel du cycle, de la…
-
Culture – Confined with … Charles Krajka, bow tie of motorcycles in France … –
Confined with … Charles Krajka, bow tie of motorcycles in France… What are the main players in the motorcycle world doing during the lockdown linked…
-
Crime – Top 10 most stolen motorcycles and scooters in France –
Top 10 most stolen motorcycles and scooters in France La Mutuelle des Motards has just published the Top 10 most stolen two-wheelers in France in 2017…