The best looking motorcycle from every manufacturer 

I was living in Japan during the early 70's. I've owned more than 100 bikes but back then I had 6 or 7 bikes laying around the backyard. The Kawasaki Z1 was Kawasaki's answer to the Honda 750 which came out a few years before. Myself and many of my motorcycle friends had inside connections to the bike manufacturers. A friend knew that the Z1 was about to be introduced and he wanted one. The thing is, in Japan at the time, 750 was as big a bike you could buy. For the Japanese market Kawasaki made a 750 version of the Z1. I believe it was called the Z2. Here's what happened. Kawasaki made a special version of the bike for my friend. It was a Z1 but it had 750 badges on it and it was registered as a 750. I believe it was the second Z1 off the assembly line. I think Kawasaki kept the first one. My motorcycle buddies and I from that era talk fondly of those days.

I know that 'looks' are entirely subjective, but I can't believe that you didn't even mention the Suzuki KATANA. Seriously?

To me the Yamaha R-5/RD350/RD400 were that company's best looking road bikes. Narrow, light, and stupid fast in corners but with the most classic lines that made it look like it was going 100 mph standing still. Still the most fun mc to ride I ever owned.

I never got into sport bikes but I have always loved how the Honda RC51 looked.

For Kawasaki, I would vote for the 1973 H2 750 two stroke triple in purple. My older brother purchased a new one in late August of 1973 for $1295. Loved the classic styling and the sound of the engine when it got into the power band. Kawasaki's H2 may have been the original crotch rocket.

I still love the older Le Man 850. A truly beautiful Moto Guzzi.

My personal favourite Yamaha was the RD350LC from '81-82, Kawasaki EARLY H2!!!

The 60's Original Royal Enfield Interceptor should have gotten a mention surely? Specifically the Mk2 version. A real road burner of it's day and a big handsome beast of a bike to boot!!!

I always lusted after(but never owned) Honda's Nighthawk S 700 '84-'85 years. I remember the brochure calling it ' A California hot rod'...ad man speak for sure, but it still speaks to me! I did own a '85 Kawasaki Ninja Gpz 900 and that to me was rolling art.

The GB500 was over $5,000 list price in the late 80's. I think my Yamaha SXR600 is a great looking bike.

Norton Commando had it all over the Triumph. I'm prejudiced as I owed an 850 and lost a few triumphs in the turns. Mine was gloss black with gold pinstriping from the factory. Great handling and power, looked like a million bucks, a classic!

Honda CBX1000 6 cylinder. Goldwing 1988 6 cylinder launch , VFR750, Suzuki Kahana original , Intruder Original , gsxr1100 Kawasaki Z1, 750 Ninja( Top Gun) Yamaha RD350LC, original VMax, YZF-R6 Launch All these models were badly missed

Kawasaki did some amazing bikes. The H2 and KHs, the z650 right up to their current z900s. Of the 70s Japanese bikes, I really liked the GS550. I loved the Guzzi Le Mans, however.

The most beautiful motorcycle ever designed was the 1981 Kawasaki Z1000....clean lines beautiful rims seat tank everything flowing perfectly together. And that engine omg...a masterpiece 👌👌👌💚

I always thought those racing motorcycles looked so ugly, I guess everyone has different taste 😂 For me this list would be full of retro and dual sport bikes

For Yamaha I would have picked the SRX 600. Crisp, a bit thumper like but also clearly 80‘s

In my mind the Triumph twins of the '60's and early '70's were (and still are) the picture in my mind of the perfect looking motorcycle. Yes, I LOVED my Commando's, my old Velo, Matchless' & AJS', etc..., but looks-wise, it was the '69-70 TR6R & T120's that are what a motorcycle should LOOK like!!

Great video, but you missed an obvious pick with the Yamaha RD350 (1973 - 1975). It's not only the most beautiful bike Yamaha ever gave us, I think it's the most beautiful motorcycle I've ever seen.

I am 72 years old now and have had seven bikes in my life including a new Super Hawk in high school in 1966. I almost bought a GB-500 when new when it came out in the 90's ... but hesitated. I had no garage at that time so it didn't make sense. I marveled at how beautifully crafted it was ... Honda had put their great n soul into it. Every part solid, meticulous and beautifully designed. I want to say the Black Bomber 450 (with the long thin tank) was perfection too.

The 72 Rickman Trident 750 is a beautiful street bike. The looks of a bike can be restrictive because of performance and rarity though. Custom productions are nice . The Honda CX bikes were cool too. 😎

I think the best looking Yamaha is the original 70's RD350, I would go as far as to say it's the best looking bike I've ever seen, yeah it's a very by the numbers looking 70s Japanese bike, I but I just love it so much, doesn't help that my father used to own one when I was a little kid, so my opinion is probably biased, it's also the bike that got me into motorcycles, so yeah, I'm super biased towards it. I own a 1981 Brazilian Honda CB400 Twin, and I love it, it's a beautiful bike, but man, the RD350 took my heart and never let it go even after 20+ years after my dad sold it.

The Honda GB500 TT is the top of my list.

Honda-CB400F Yamaha- RZ500 Suzuki-RG250 or 1981 Katana Kawasaki-H1 Moto Guzzi-V50 Monza Ducati-Pantah Harley Davidson-1957 Sportster Indian-4 cylinder Royal Enfield-Continental GT250 KTM-390 Triumph- Speed Twin

With Suzuki I would put a shout out for the GS range the GS500E from 99 was a classically good looking bike for pocket change. For Yamaha the YA-1 , the original R7 was pretty sweet too

I am not sure if the author did not like Suzuki designs or simply did not know its history or even recent models. Suzuki Katana (old model) Suzuki Van Van, Suzuki GS500.. all of them were awesome. Despite this, I liked the video a lot!!! On the other hand, in my Country (Spain) we used to have a great motorbike industry specialized in dirt bikes. The sexiest trial bike in the world was the Montesa Cota 330. And another nice example of beauty was the Ossa TR 250.

I was in love with the looks of my orange and black Yamaha XS-650 twin in 1973. A bit naughty though as I worked as a salesman at the local Honda dealership 😂

Bought a GB500 from the showroom floor the first time I saw it in 1989 rode it through college and missed it since the day I sold it. I’ve had better bikes but never a better looking one

The 1976 Harley-Davidson XLCR1000 was the most beautiful of all the Harley-Davidsons EVER!!!

The pipes on that Z1 are probably the best looking pipes ever put on a bike (they really integrate the design of that motorcycle). It's also a tough choice between the Ducati motorcycles as their design tweaks are so subtle and perfect. Form always follows function and it's hard to not see most bikes designs as generic copies of earlier models though (it just depends on who does the better job).

I bought a ‘73 Z1 almost fifty years ago. Still have it - about 97% original. Somehow I knew you would pick it. I came across two Minichamps models, almost unbelievably detailed, about a decade ago… So, now I have three: a 1:12, a 1:6, and a 1:1. All orange/brown. I stopped riding the Z after 100,000 miles. But the best looking Yamaha is definitely the ‘71 XS650. Gold and white. Second place - ‘72 XS650, red and white. That ‘71 might be the best looking bike, period. Or maybe an R90S.

One morning in 1961 I came out of the barracks at the Air Force base where I as stationed in Germany. I had my pudding-bowl helmet in hand, ready for a brisk ride on the beautiful Eifel Mountain roads. But there, beside my battered and worn 1955 Zundapp K601, sat a brand new, shiny, Triumph Bonneville, also with an Armed Forces Europe license plate. The owner kicked it off and answered my questions while it warmed up. I was practically tongue tied listening to the lope of that great exhaust note, but it got through that he was stationed in England, had purchased his Triumph just days before, and had just stopped off for an overnight rest on his grand tour of the Continent. I watched the front tire of the Triumph almost bouncing off the pavement with every revolution of the idling crankshaft, took in the classic styling. and decided that I would never see a more beautiful motorcycle in my life. I am now almost 80, I have owned several notable motorcycles, and I still think I was right about that Triumph.

The Guzzi has a transverse V not a horizontally opposed V.

Moto Guzzi never made a sportbike? Yeah, it's been decades since Guzzi's last participation in any motorcycle competition but still to the late 50's Guzzi has won 11 world titles and 14 Tourist Trophies

For me, Ducati made the F1 750 and haven't been close to it since. There are many stunning Ducati designs, but when it emerged the F1 was shocking and beautiful and absurdly small. The GB500 was a looker, but was vanishingly rare. In the UK we had the standard XBR500 before that, and it managed a similar look but with less retro artifice. For Suzuki, the original GS750 was a paragon of function giving form. Simple, effective, impactful. Lovely. The 550 and the 1000 ran it close, but original is best. As to Guzzi, the original T3 Cali had a look that matched the ride and was visually intriguing. A close second is the V50 Monza, which managed to take the already arresting Le Mans look and refine it. Pretty from every angle and deceptively fast. Kawasaki must be the original Z650 in the 70s. Yamaha might be the old XT500. If not that, the mad 80s small-volume model with a 600 motor in an FZR400 frame. As to Harley and Indian, I am not sure they have made an attractive or effective motorcycle in my lifetime.... Although I had a blast once on an unadorned 4-speed 883 Sportster. In black and with no accessories, it had a certain caveman charm.

My personal list, definitely sportbike bias Aprilia: Futura Benelli: 2002 Tornado LE Bimota: Tesi 1DSR Ducati: 2002 998S Bostrom Harley-Davidson: XR750 Honda: Rune Kawasaki: 1991-92 ZX-7R KTM: 2005-06 950SM Moto Guzzi: MGS-01 MV Agusta: 2005 F4-1000 in classic red/silver Suzuki: 1996-99 GSXR750 Triumph: Daytona 600 Yamaha: 1998 R1

If there ever was definitive evidence that beautiful is in the eye of the beholder, it's this video 😅 And that's not a dig, I can absolutely see where you're coming from, but this list is very heavy on the sport bike segment which is telling of your preferences, I suppose. Goes to show how diverse the bike community is! Great video, mate.

My pick for the best looking motorcycle period is the Triumph Silver Jubilee. It's all subjective but that is it for me.

Great video. I grew up reading about and riding Japanese motorcycles, so here are my favorites: Honda: 4th Generation VFR750, Yamaha: XJ 650 Seca, Suzuki: First generation GSXR750, Kawasaki: Z1R. For Honda I would have said the oval piston NR750 but it was limited production run. It was a stunningly beautiful motorcycle.

Good of you to mention the GB500! It took years for me to get one, and I’m glad I finally did. 🇯🇵

I think there were a lot of much more interesting models the Japanese manufacturers made that could've been picked from here. As far as Honda goes I think that the VFR1200F (2009 to 2018) looked very good, very clean cut lines on that bike, as well as the NM4 from a few years ago. That was a super cool design that I never expected Honda to put into production. As far as Yamaha goes, I absolutely love the MT-01, that bike looks like something you'd see in a fantasy film or something but it's real, and it has an absolutely beautiful, massive 1700cc air-cooled V-twin engine. On the Suzuki side, I've always had a soft spot for the B-King and it's crazy wide tank with the lights on it, and the super over-designed exhaust just firing out of the rear seat pointed skywards, surprisingly I've also found myself really liking the way the Boulevard M109 looks, the bike has a really nice flow to it's design from front to rear, and those massive inflated exhausts have the perfect amount of visual weight to them and just the right bend in my opinion. From Kawasaki, this may be unconventional but I really like the ZRX-1200, it looks like a nice, modern take on a bike from the early 1980's, but the design has been refined and tweaked to have much nicer overall proportions and better build quality. In that vein of Japanese 4 cylinder retro looking motorcycles I also really like the CB-1000 Super Four, just super nice proportions except with modern, good looking precise components and nice finish quality you just don't find on old bikes due to manufacturing techniques not being advanced enough at the time. Finally, although I know they're concept bikes, I absolutely love both the Suzuki Nuda and the Yamaha Morpho II (minus the headlights on both of them).

IMO best looking Moto Guzzi is Griso.It will always be regarded highly because of its timeless beauty.Something that looks like a motorcycle for ever

The 2002 Suzuki SV650S was their prettiest bike. The 1976-1978 Moto Guzzi Le Mans 1st generation is the best looking of all. The 1973-74 Norton Commando Roadster is very good looking.

I am loving this channel. Just discovered it a couple of days ago and every question I have there's a video about it. Do you have a video about, "The best looking vintage motorcycle from every manufacturer?"

Great presentation - for me the Honda GB500TT IS A WORK OF Art!

you should have looked into some of suzukis older twostrokes, the rg250 is beautiful

Aesthetic beauty is subject to the eye of the beholder. Therefore there can be no definitive answer for everyone as we all have different views of it. My personal favorite motorcycle in terms of aesthetic beauty is the BMW R1200C Classic as featured in the 1997 James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” - in ivory, just like the one in the movie. I later owned one - a 2000 model - in ivory. Great bike to ride. Very torquey. Very smooth running. Great longevity when serviced regularly. And very beautiful to look at! A rolling piece of vehicular artistry.

My brother had the first Honda Benly 125 Supersport from about 1960 which for me is still a stunning looking bike.

I think the 1974 Benelli 750 Sei should have been featured, with it's inline six cylinder motor and the sight of three mufflers on each side the original Benelli Sei was a 1970's style icon.

For me, the best looking bike would be the Honda Valkyrie Rune. I love that bike.

Thanks. I forgot about the GB500. A fine looking bike, and one I'd love to own today.

Awesome vid thanks, last clip was interesting, back in 1985 I owned a 1973 Triumph 650 Bonneville with the bread box tank, red & black with chrome front and rear fenders, one of the best bikes I`ve ever owned.I think I`ll subscribe after watching this, thanks!.

I owned a Gold 1973 Kawasaki H2 It was beautiful. It still looks modern.

Good pick on the GB 500, I remember being made aware of it during my cafe racer days about 15 years ago ha, I built up a Honda 450 cafe inspired by the GB 500 back in the day

Great selection- here is where I would have chosen otherwise: Yamaha DS7; Guzzi V7 Sport. Fact: there are so many tasteful bikes, REALLY hard to make a choice!

For Honda, I would vote for the Nighthawks, 550, 650, and 700 from 1983 to 1985. Loved their classic styling and hydraulic valve lifters.

I would always go for a latter 1953-'55 BMW R51/3 as the perfect refined design language. It is fun to see shades of it in the new R18 but that's another, rather complicated story.

Best looking MV is obviously the 1970 750S, the best looking Ducati the mid 70s 750SS with the rounded crankcase and BMWs 1930s R5/R51 which kind of defined all motorbikes coming after establishing telescopic forks, foot-controlled gearbox etc.

You’ve got good taste ! Good stuff

My personal favorite BMW is the R90S; gorgeous while also being very functional which is a rare combination. The R27 is super nice looking as well, but should it lose points for not being a boxer?

The original 2004 MV Brutale 750 was the pinnacle of the "insect " look naked bike design language ... stunning . The modern KTM's are a dreadfully crass attempt to better it and none come close .

Great list! Some I did not even knew they existed.

You make great vids. Thank you.

My fave bike was the Yamaha RD 400, which I bought one in the initial year of 1976. Drove that bugger everywhere and scared quite a few 750’s and 1 or 2 Z-1’s if the rider was a noob.

I like the look of the first Sportster a lot, but the 1936 EL certainly look better. For BMW the R32 is by far the best looking. Indian is the 4 for me.

1982 GS1100 EZ. I had 2 and still love the looks.

I agree about the BMW R-27, but I believe the first retro was the 1978 Yamaha SR500. This was truly imitative of the 1950's British Singles.

Suzuki. RGV250M in Lucky strike colours. Or even the original 1980’s gsxr750

The most stunning look Honda ever had was the front shot of a CBX with THAT motor and bundle of snakes exhaust with no frame tubes, fairings, or plumbing in the way. It may not have handled beautifully but it stopped you in your tracks the first time you saw the first generation bike.

Love the GB500. Looks to me like an AJS with a Honda engine.

8: 44, Yep! The K1 Law was really good looking and really fast. Mine would burn the back tire like a lay-down drag bike. The engines produced lots of power thru the entire rev range. I passed a cop at 137 mph. When he stopped me, he didn't even give me a ticket! They were/are great bikes. Thanks for this review.

The Suzuki RG250 was the first real "RaceReplica" I think that was 82/83 & just look at what it started.

Well, maybe you've covered this bike before but I would have included the 1975 Honda CB750 which I believe is one of the top 10 best looking motorcycles ever. I've been riding for 50 years, I've owed 12 motorcycles and this Honda is just an absolute beauty in my mind.

My vote for best looking Ducati is the MH900e. I’ll never forget the first time I saw it in the flesh. Not many things in life, let alone motorcycles can have that jaw dropping affect. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder though.

Raced a guy with my V65 1983---against -Kawi 900-----Kirk Toronto------Shell station---Ran 3 times on Browns Line----He was Stunned !--No Chance !!! I lost side cover He had no idea what he lost to !!!

Nobody seems to have heard of it, but the Ducati 250 cc Elaine in the 1960s. Was good looking and could smoke the Suzuki X6 Hustler of the 70s. If Ducati had the support infrastructure like the Japanes bikes ( ex: Honda) or even a support infrastructure - any support infrastructure...

I remember when I started motorbiking Kawasaki had a small version of the Z1 the Z650, which I found to be the best looking bike. Especially in red it looked fantastic but unfortunately at the time I couldn't afford it. The new retro 2-cylinder Z650 is also quite nice but cannot the water to the original.

My pick for the best looking bike ever.......1975 Triumph T160V Trident, European version with the lowrise bars.

Awesome vid and awesome looking bike ,I love the Ducati and the KTM for newer bikes and has to be the Indian,Harley and Triumph for the older one,s but all were great looking bikes ,thankyou for posting,great commentary and videography.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐❤❤❤❤❤ Best wishes to you all, from, Auckland, New Zealand.

i like your list, lots of cool bikes out there.

Oh shit, I forgot Royal Enfield! Hmm I think I'll give the original interceptor

Perso pour les Honda, j'ai toujours trouvé que la plus belle était le modèle que tu as acquis récemment: la 500 CB four. Et surtout avec la couleur "Candy bacchus olive", lucky guy!!!

I had an R27 for a little while, with short bars. It was a great back road, not in a hurry bike, even as buzzy as it was.

In my memory the MV Agusta 750s from 1970/75 was the most beautiful bike I had ever seen. When I was a kid, eating up motorcycle mags, the MV was like a unicorn. I love the beautiful ugliness of colour scheme of the bike, the impressive engine and the dual pipes on both sides.

Rode a friends Z1, fast but heavy. owned a CB750F, everything was done perfect on that bike, loved the corners and scraped down a few pegs, and an 08 Sportster punched out to 1500CC, drag bars and Screaming Eagle pipes, beautiful but at the time, and where I live is not ideal, I was riding with a friend with a Kawasaki 800, told him not to try to keep up. Rolled it through the gears, not even pushing it, got to 4th and looked down I was doing 90+ and not on a highway, friend said I just disappeared, I decided to lose the bike and live longer, and that was my last bike. Have a Honda Quad on some property I own, so we're cutting trails and having fun, it's a 520CC used for fun and work. It hauls a trailer of cordwood easily and it's a great little ride. Well at 600+ pounds, if it starts to go over traversing a hill, I'm going uphill and letting it go down, better the quad than me, it will crush you!

Great choice for Kawasaki. I remember guys on those 900s drag racing every muscle car around and just eating them for lunch. I love your choice of the Sportster too.

A swing and a miss! Couldn't pick a Suzuki, so you gave it to the pedestrian GSXR? How about the original 1982 GSX1000S Katana? That was a ground breaking bike. The forebearer of your GSXR. It started the sport bike craze in the US. With a sexy new look and a half fairing. Beautiful. And your pick for Triumph, OMG! How could you skip over the XR-75 Hurricane?! That was a truly beautiful bike. The bright orange paint and the three fanned mufflers on the right side, wow! Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

Norton interstate , beautiful machine.Back in the late 8's or was 9's, can't remember, I owned a Yamaha SRX 600 and a mate owned a Honda GB500. The Honda would leave me for dead

For the Kawasaki i had and will always have her in my heart the 1974 Deep Dark Forest Green Mean Machine :) the H2 Triple love love loved her the powerband the excleration the smell Love pure raw fun , keep in mind i had her from my 18th birthday to my 28 year on this planit . If i had the money i would go buy one tomorrow :)))))

I agree about the Honda but I would put the CB72/77 alongside it. The CB77 305cc was my first proper bike and I saw off more than a few big British bikes with it. And I have always thought that it was a beautiful motorbike.

The Yamaha RZ350 was a beautiful looking little bike. Also not mentioned is the Harley FXD Superglide. That bike just looks like a motorcycle. As if the word was coined to describe that bike. And speaking of Harley, the original Vrod, with the brushed aluminum finish, was a stunning looking motorcycle. It really looked like a sculpture, a work of art.

The 2002 Yamaha R1 (from Torque)looks beautiful and was in the most beautiful bikes list that included Triumph spee triple (from Mi2) and the Kawasaki from top gun. Benelli Tornado Tro is a Gorgeous bike 😍 Concepts...Suzuki made a magnificent model named G-strider

Best looking Honda of all time? The red 1979 CBX . No contest!

Man...The 916! My favourite bike of all time with the 996, such a beauty thing! Good taste!

For my money, the Yamaha RD 350 LC & original R1 (4XV in red/white) are timeless.

I saw one of those BMW singles when I was in Goa, India about 25yrs ago , It was pristine , still have the photo I took . Beautiful bike .

Excellent video! 👏👏👏

I own a GB500. It was an awesome first bike.

Lovely comments from viewers... 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌 You guys have awesome knowledge... Nice video....👌👌👌💯💯💯

That Triumph is the best looking bike out of all of them. My Neighbor had a 1970 Moto Guzzi, I think it was the Eldorado and it was beautiful.

My personal faves: Yamaha, the not-brought-to-the-US-because-the-EPA-sucks RZV500R. Quad exhausts with 2 underseat, that thing oozed style. Kawasaki, the 1984-1985 GPz 750 Turbo, one of, if not the first, fully-faired production sports bikes. Close runner up is the Original Ninja, the ZX900. Another runner up, and this one I actually owned, the 1995-1996 Triumph Daytona Super III. Black and yellow in all the right places, 6-piston front brakes, carbon fiber front and rear fenders, and even in the cockpit. But at the end of the day, I also still have a thing for the 996 and 998. Yeah, I know, the 851 and 916. But there's just something beautiful and timeless about the 996/998. Tamburini knew EXACTLY what he was doing, and what emotions he wanted to elicit when a motorcycle fan approached his creations, and just drank in the absolute beauty of his designs.