If you’re on the lookout for the most expensive motorcycles, the chances are you’re either window shopping in case your lucky numbers come up on the lottery, or you actually already have enough in the bank to drop a six-figure sum on some new wheels.
For most, it’s the former and if you’re a habitual window shopper, 2023/24 is a bit of a bumper time for super expensive motorcycles whether you're after ultra-exclusive or a honed engineering masterpiece for those track days when you can afford to rent it out just for yourself... or your imagination is just very vivid.
In this top ten most expensive motorcycles feature, we aren’t looking at the weird and wonderful choppers that get built for celebs with diamond-encrusted brake discs. Neither are we looking at race bikes or machines that are featured in films and TV.
2023 Ducati Panigale V4 R. - Ducati Media
But at the same time, you might be surprised that there’s little from the ‘mainstream’ brands – however exotic and exclusive they may be. With the cheapest of our Top 10 starting at £44,000, there’s no room for electric exotica experts Energica, whose Ego superbike starts at £28,290, and no place either for Indian, whose priciest bike, the Pursuit Limited, costs £28,995.
We can’t fit in BMW with its M1000RR, which is a comparative snip at £30,940, MV Agusta, whose top price Rush is £32,280, Honda, whose Goldwing Tour DCT is £32,449 or even Ducati, whose Panigale V4 R (above) is £38,995. The pricier Superleggera is no longer available.
But there are still plenty of treats on offer.
10. Norton V4SV – £44,000
Norton V4SV
The revived British firm’s flagship superbike may have been fully re-engineered over the flawed V4 offering of the previous Stuart Garner era, but it’s still mouth-wateringly exotic, beautifully built, impressively equipped (rear-facing camera, big TFT dash, Ohlins and more); respectfully performing (with 185bhp) And it’s also prohibitively expensive, with prices starting at £44,000.
If that’s a little bit too much, Norton now offers the slightly cheaper (£41,999) V4CR naked café racer version, too!
9. Harley-Davidson CVO Road Glide – £45,195
Harley-Davidson Road Glide CVO
Harley’s virtually all-new CVO Road Glide and accompanying CVO Street Glide, as launched in 2023 to coincide with the US firm’s 120th anniversary, are big news. There are significantly new, liquid-cooled engines with VVT, inverted forks, lighter chassis, uprated tech and substantially updated styling.
Unfortunately, the bikes also cost big bucks – the Road Glide, with frame-mounted fairing compared to the Street’s handlebar-mounted version, starts at a whopping £38,795 – with a massive £6400 extra if you want the bronze ‘Whisky Neat’ paint job, taking it up to £45,195.
8. Kawasaki Ninja H2 R – £50,000
H2R-01
As it was launched way back in 2015, people often forget that Kawasaki’s full fat, ‘R’ version of its supercharged H2 is still available in limited quantities and, indeed, is still listed on Kawasaki UK’s official website for a fairly hefty £50,000.
For that you get, of course, a 310bhp, 200mph+ beast that’s slathered in carbon fibre and exotic parts, has a whistlingly addictive soundtrack to go with its ballistic performance and yet… is not even road-legal. If that’s too much of an inconvenience, you can go for the slightly less powerful and exotic Ninja H2 SX sports tourer or H2 super naked instead…
‘Haven’t we just done this?’ I hear you ask. Er, no. While the previous CVO Road Glide is the Harley’s latest attempt to modernize its range, the Limited is a limited edition, no expense spared, luxury version of the best of its existing tourers, all done to mark the marque’s 120th anniversary.
So, based on the standard Road Glide full dresser it gets more luxury and comfort, flashier wheels and infotainment, a hand-applied paint job and even a real gold plate, all for the princely sum of just over 50 grand.
6. Brough Superior SS100 – £59,999
Brough Superior SS100
Historic British brand Brough Superior was reborn in 2016, although this time built in Toulouse, France, by the former Boxer Bikes concern with an all-new bike inspired by the original’s exotic 1000cc V-twin and style. It’s truly a work of art, but that also means a hefty price tag.
Since then, various updates and spin-off models have surfaced, with all pretty much built to order, but the base bike, the SS100, remains, at a smidge under £60k.
5. Bimota Tesi H2 – £60,000
Bimota Tesi H2 Carbon
The historic, bespoke Italian brand was effectively reborn again in 2023 and, now owned by Kawasaki, it has a new flagship machine. The Tesi H2, as its name suggests, is a marriage of the old, hub-centre steered Bimota Tesi but now with ballistic, 200bhp, supercharged Kawasaki H2 power.
As an exercise in excess, it certainly delivers, as it should for the £60k price tag, and, if all that’s a little on the rich side, Bimota also now offers the £29,999 KB4 based on the 142bhp Ninja 1000 SX. A bargain, by comparison.
4. Arch KRGT-1 – $85,000 (about £66,000)
ARCH KRGT-1
If you’re looking for a custom performance cruiser that comes with an A-list endorsement, you really cannot do much better than the Arch KRGT-1, which has Keanu Reeves’ backing.
It’s $85,000 worth of billet aluminium, craftsmen-finished detailing and American muscle. The fastest way from A to B? Probably not. The coolest thing on two wheels when you get to B? Almost certainly.
3. Arc Vector – £90,000
The Vector electric motorcycle from Arc Vehicle
Claimed to be the world’s most advanced electric motorcycle and the subject of a degree of ‘will-it, won’t-it get into production’ type controversy, the Arc Vector finally surfaced in 2022 bristling with carbon fibre, ‘Tron’ style futuristic styling, a raft of electrical wizardry and 115bhp performance. Whether all that makes the ‘built-to-order’ ultra-exclusive machine worth its current £90,000 asking price is up to you…
2 - Aston Martin AMB-001 - £93,000
Aston Martin Brough Superior AMB 001
A limited-edition wonder born out of a tie-up with Brough Superior, the AMB-001 debuted at the 2019 EICMA show and is a sleek and svelte - if slightly divisive - looking creation that bears many hallmarks of the British marque's four-wheel counterparts, though we will leave it to you to decide if they work as well.
With a 997cc V-twin engine pumping out 180hp it's on the warmer side of superbike, but the emphasis is on luxury and making a smooth statement, which may go some way to explaining why it costs £93,000 and is only available in limited numbers.
1. Combat Motors Wraith – £125,000
Combat Wraith
The Wraith from Combat Motors remains one of the most exclusive bikes on the planet. I mean, when you need a deposit of $100,000 to secure a machine – one that is NOT refundable should you cancel the made-to-order machines – you definitely don’t want to see another one coming down the road towards you!
With a claimed top speed of over 160mph, 145bhp on tap and 160lb ft of torque from its S&S-derived V-twin and a frame made of billet aluminium, pretty it might not be, although we’re pretty sure Combat Motors won’t struggle to sell them. Tom Cruise is among its exclusive clientele…
