The WEIRDEST Motorcycle from every Manufacturer 

SDR owner here. 35hp to whatever you want to port it to 100kg two-stroke. What’s not to love? 90% of a TZ125 on track, reliable enough to use regularly on the road. Best bike I’ve ever owned.

I think the reason BSA and Triumph produced a scooter in the early 60s was that, in the UK, at that time we had a huge influx of Italian scooters from Vespa and Lambretta because of the 'Mods and Rockers' era ( someone of your age might need to look it up ) but it was huge among the teenagers at the time in the UK. The British bike manufacturers like BSA and Triumph must have seen how many scooters were being imported and tried to capture some of those potential sales for themselves, but didn't have the Italian 'cool', so failed miserably.

How can you ... or anyone ... not just LOVE the looks of the Yamaha SDR???? Come on! That MUST be one of the coolest small bikes I have ever (not) seen. It's GORGEOUS!

The Suzuki SW-1 was actually riding a vehicular 'retro-wave' that was hitting Japan at that time. Nissan is the best example with its oddly-styled Figaro, Pao, and BE-1 passenger cars, and lots of other manufacturers made 'retro-styled' versions of their cars since it was in vogue. Suzuki was following a trend and I can't say it looks bad.

The Yamaha SDR is a cult classic among 80's 2-stroke enthusiasts in Europe and Asia. That thing could scare bikes with 3 times the displacement. One of the fastest small displacement bikes ever made.

The MH 900 is a work of art. It had the Monster power train with that streamlined art deco styling reminiscent of Paul Smart's 1972 Imola winning machine, yet named for Mike Hailwood. The Moto Guzzi Griso is a lovely, stylish sport touring machine with weird but wonderful cafe racer presence and performance. As you can no doubt tell, I love off the wall Italian classics.

I actually love how MV just doesn't keep one style, they don't try to satisfy everyone Instead they target two groups & go completely bananas with it, would love one of them in my garage!

actually the Ducati mh900e is one of the most interesting motorcycles i ever saw, i'd love to own one!!!

The SDR 200 is also very similar from a styling perspective to the SRX 6 when you sit on them. I like the SDR a lot, it has about 34 horses I think and weights only about 110 kilo. Nice piece. I‘d really like to own one, as I also have an SRX 6, but you almost can‘t get spare parts, as it‘s so rare (and also pretty expensive meanwhile)

I love the Suzuki SW-1 ''bathtub''. The built-in saddle bags are fantastic, and w/ a big bore kit , would be my ultra-modern runabout.

Honestly, I am someone who loves anything on two wheels. As i was presented with each new "wierdest" I asked myself, "Would I take it for a ride?". There was never a no. And honestly,as far as the bathtub styling, Id love to see a big bike done that way...its no different than a full fairing covered bike...it just has lines that flow. Reminds me of the styling for freight trains in the 30s...much like a bullet...sleek and adorned with art deco flair

The Triumph Tigress was available with either a BSA Bantam derived 175 two stroke or a purpose built 250 four stroke TWIN 😳.

OMG HD Nova Project. I drool over that motorcycle. I even have the HD Low Rider ST (based on the FXRT) poster on my wall and set as wallpaper in my pc as inspiration in work. Super love that design and it's iconic.

I do kinda dig how that Suzuki looked, it has a weird charm to it.

I love the Suzuki SW1. Looks great. And I will accept no criticism of Norton rotaries, particularly the Classic, so cool so square, so bloody powerful. What about the Guzzi California with the auto gearbox?

Re: the Royal Enfield 'Trial' name. There are two motorcycle sporting events that are called trials. Observed Trials, with the ballet bikes where the point is to ride through a difficult piece of terrain without putting your foot down, and Reliability Trials where the object is to have a bike survive harsh conditions with minimal self-support. Back in the '50s a reliability trials bike would resemble the Enfield, a rugged simple bike that could go anywhere and take abuse. So the Enifeld Trials is a sensible name for a rugged retro-styled bike.

A member of the local Motorcycle Club here in Australia has what I believe was the last Norton Commander sold, and it is a phenomenal machine, agile and super-fast; the only problem I know he's had with it was a minor wiring issue relating to the sidestand switch. I think you've undersold that machine! As for weird motorcycle. I don't know if you've mentioned them in other videos, but I would include Mitsubishi's Silver Pigeon and Fugi Heavy Industries' (now Subaru ) Rabbit scooters !

That SDR is really cool, I’d love to take a rip in that thing!

I owned an SDR200 also known as the 2TV. It is the most fun bike I ever owned and the most regret that I sold it. It weighed 222 pounds and destroyed liter bikes in the tight Twisties. Riding up Tuna Canyon in Southern California there was no bike that could come close. Arriving at the Rock Store people gathered around it and a million questions were posed to me. My most fun besides riding it was to park it and walk away to watch people gawk at it. Jay Leno himself liked it. I wish I could post pictures of my bike here.

I wish Yamaha would revive the BW 350 something about it having huge wheels makes it somewhat unique

I must be weird - I own two of the bikes on this list. The Ducati MH900e (#0055) and the Guzzi Griso. The MH900e is a work of art and a fun bike to ride, it is light and nimble, and the 900cc gives it more than enough power. The old-school 2V Ducati exhaust note - just fits! The Griso is a real gem. I owned an older 4V sold it - regrated it so I picked up the last version of the 8V. An amazing beast of a bike. As others said until you ride (and hear) a Guzzi you can’t fully appreciate them. All Guzzis are weird, but the Centauro has to be at the top. As for the SDR200 - yes, I see the parallel to the Monster, but that frame had its start with the Ducati 851/888. The original Monster was the 888 frame. An 888 stripped down with bar risers to appeal to the UK trend of sport bikes that were modified post-crash and turned naked. Ducati definitely hit a cord, but I suspect they could have never dreamed how successful that Monster would be. Great work on the video - thanks. It's great to be weird.

Though absolutely weird, meaty and gnarly appearance, Rush1000 is EXACTLY what MV Agusta stands for aesthetically, especially if you consider the 'hearkening back to the back when times' phrase. In the 1960s, 70s, and even 80s, MV naked sport motorcycles had round headlamps, exposed mechanicals and very minimal body parts. The edgy and angular appearance of MV is a very small (but iconic and the most beautiful) part of the MV heritage. Rush feels like they finally found their way back to their roots. And MV is gonna be going ahead with this direction even more, looking at the latest render of the equally weird cafe racer inspired from the 70s 750 Sport. TBH the latest render of the cafe racer looks the weird sort of weird if you know what I mean😅

Thanks for this very colourful list! I happen to own a Griso, and although one could argue that ALL Moto Guzzis are 'weird', I think the Griso is not the weirdest of them (e.g. you should check out the Centauro or the Audace). Ok, fine, the Griso looks unusual (and I think: beautiful) but it is also an incredible fun, fast and powerful motorcycle. For Yamaha, you could have mentioned the MT-01 (which I also happen to own 🙂): a bike that looks like a sportbike but with a 1700cc cruiser engine that produces an insane 111 lb⋅ft torque... For unknown reasons the MT-01 was never sold in the USA.

Oddly, I find that bathtub-looking bike visually soothing. I'd ride one, and I also liked the Ducati Monster-ish Yamaha bike...a lot. Oh, I also think the Aprilia Mojito looks hot, and I totally dislike scooters. It has this artsy design to it that just flows! EDIT: I have a Gen 2 ZX-10R and a Gen 3 Hayabusa, so I already have peculiar likes! 😅

A note: the Ducati trellis frame was born in 1980 with the racing 600 TT2 (Ing. Taglioni) , a frame that is found in the 750 TT2 and then in the 750 F1 road version of 1985. Of this there will be the 400 version for the Japanese market. Who knows who inspired who... Second note for Guzzi: the name Griso (from the Lombard dialect gris = grey, "dark as ashes", evil) comes from a famous (for Italians...) literary character of the 1800s taken from the novel "The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni, set in the same places as the Guzzi factory (Lake Como) . Il Griso was the head of the Bravi, the criminals in the pay of the villain of the novel, Don Rodrigo. Griso was entrusted with "the most risky and unfair undertakings". Seen this way, I'd say that as a name it's very appropriate for a "bad" and out-of-the-box bike. Definitely a very cultured reference, not so immediate.

I am a long-term motorcycle rider riding over 50 years. I have a collection of burger cycles that include BMW BSA triumph Euro even a jawa. I have a genuine / Vespa p150 scooter with shaft drive and a Kickstarter. People questioned each other about why I bought such a thing and it's like it is fun around town. I stopped at a light and a bunch of Harley guys pulled up next to me and challenge me to erase and I told them two conditions number one they only got a gallon of gas and number to they had to kick-start their motorcycle and the guy said touche.

The SDR is a derivative of the trend that was happening in roadracing at the time... we were taking two-stroke motocross engines and putting them in suitable frames, things like older TZs or small roadbikes - because small displacement real roadracers weren't something you could even get your hands on, affordably or otherwise *I had a 250 Ninja with a CR500 in it Yamaha saw this, and answered with the SDR The SDR has been kicking around in my head, lately, as inspiration for a similar place to put a 750 Vulcan powerplant, so having it as the thumbnail drew me in

i think the yamaha sdr look fine, ducati monster was the weird one

The Yamaha SDR is an inspirational bike for me. One of the coolest & high water marks IMO in a 2t format. I like small bikes, I really like two strokes, and Yamaha makes my favorite. So knowing you can't get them in the US and they go for high prices I set about making my own version in concept. Fun video.

I agree with most of your list but the Rush is a beautiful rendition of a naked bike.

The Ducatti MH900e is a work of art, almost like jewelry.... you, however, are a masterpiece. ♥

That Ducati is really beautiful ! No odd at all

I own a BMW C1! The point of buying it was exactly that, as a car driver who's never had a motorbike nor been interested in them, I was sick of getting stuck in traffic and that seemed like the perfect half-car for the job! I just had to ride to a big city whilst it was raining, and it is just amazing to be dry and comfy while still being able to lanesplit and jump long car queues; I barely use my car anymore! And yes, I am slowly getting more interested in motorbikes, so their plan is working flawlessly...

The Griso's one of the best looking bikes of the last 25 years imo. A standard roadster, sleek and just lovely lines. Maybe there's too much of an urge to slot things into rigid categories?

My brother owned a Ducati MH900E for awhile, so I got to see one up close, though I never actually rode it. What an unbelievable work of art that motorcycle was. Just unreal.

Yamaha made a 600 cc air cooled version of the SR200, it was the SRX6 and I had one in 1986. A 600cc thumper that weight under 400 pounds. It was more fun than any bike I've ever owned and I regret selling it. Super nimble and from 0-60 very torquey.

Held my breath for the entire video waiting for one of my bikes to show up .... but end the end I could finally take a breath with my pride intact.

The Suzuki RE5 wasn't bad, it just didn't sell. And that bike at 9:22 is cool as hell.

The small Yamaha SR 200 is cool. Lattice frame & 2-stoke liquid cooled motor. It would be fun on back roads with tight turns. Frankly, you're more interested in styling. It's a MOTORcycle with all it's intricate small parts & a motor. Not for tall chunky riders I suppose.

The reason you never saw many RE Classic Trials and why they were around long is they are a limited addition. Clearly they are stripped down like Johnny Brittain's winning machine of the late 50's so you can register it and ride it on the road. The colour schemes chosen were factory team colours of the time.

Moto Guzzi Griso is a roadster. A bike ahead of it's time. BMW took the idea of the Griso and made the RnineT. But they did it much later when the whole modern retro vibe was in full swing! If you compare the RnineT 1200 boxer and the Griso 1200V8 SE they have very similar power weight.

I don't ride any longer but this channel always entertains and maybe one day when I can move out of the city again I will get another Ducati 748.

SDR here in Singapore is already a collectors item. ❤

The first Griso sold by Moto Guzzi was beautiful to my eye. I even started saving up a down payment. Their lack of dealer support locally and the gradual changes to the appearance and engine put me off. They were sport tourers or standards in my view. The Triumph scooter seemed ok, too. They're allowed to sell a scooter, man!

Hmmm that Yamaha SDR always (and now) seemed pretty awesome to me. I remember seeing it and other bikes like it in Japanese bike magazines and drooling over them. I wish I had gotten an SDR.

The "winner" in this group goes to BSA, IMO. What were they thinking? LOL!!! If I were to chose one to own it would be the Yamaha. And just look how close it not only resembles the Ducati Monster, but also the SRX600. Nice video

some didn`t make it because of the concept, other because of the design, but the majority didn`t made it because of the prize

Try buying a SDR, Performance Bikes managed to get hold of one when it was a current model and really raved about its handling and speed., I think that's why they have this mythical presence.

That Suzuki, you can see the facelift hayabusa in it. Griso is awesome.

I like your list here. Of course, you can always argue what model to pick, but all of these stand out. The Honda Rune could also suit the selection, a bike that allegedly cost Honda 100,000 dollars to build, yet they sold for 25k, leaving a cool loss of 75k for every bike sold if true.

That Douglas motorcycle company in England saw the writing on the wall and instead of wasting their money and making their own scooter they became the importer for Vespa.

Norton made/make rotary engines for light aircraft. Probably why Norton used them in there bikes for a while. They did quite well at the TT

Keep up the good work. This is my favourite channel at the moment. I have a real obsession with obscure motorcycles and this definitely tickles my badger ❤

Another couple of "weirdos" are the Yamaha XZ550 and the Honda DN01, honourable mention to the Italjet Dragster Scoot (weird in a good way!) Jamie Oliver (The Naked Chef) rode a Mojito!

Bart- could you please do a documentary on the V4 MOTUS motorcycles of USA!?!? Amazing bikes!

Nice to see Bart agreeing with me on the Rush. I saw a photo of the Rush the other day and my immediate reaction was that something was not quite right with this bike, styling wise. And by the way, I love the other MVs, from the beautiful F4 to the aggressive looking Brutale.

Dude, the SDR was a take on a smaller version of the RZ350, a race winning badass bike that it's super rare today. I think it was their effort to bring back that love.

I bought in 2000 a new Royal Enfield Taurus with 325cc Diesel Engine, 6.8 PS, Exhaust on the back of the cylinder, oil filled air filter, 2 Gear shifts (1 for the gears and 1 for neutral from every gear), gear shifts and brake pedal left/right swapped. It would run with 1 Liter Diesel on 100km (235 mpg) or 1.5 Liter Salad Oil on 100km (157 mpg). I owned this bike 7 years and sold it because I migrated to Australia.

I’m enjoying this series, looking at each manufacturer. I would like a look at the longest model run from each manufacturer

15:45 The Aprilia 6.5 has an exclusive accessory, the swingarm axle contains a retractable cable and padlock. Never seen anywhere else.

That SDR looks like a nice bike tae me.

The Norton Commando is one heck of a bike, set up properly they are fast and smooth and the best from the end of the popular British bikes era. They also have a great resale value and parts are readily available.

Yamaha did have line of sport singles in the 80's that are forgotten, but great bikes. The SRX line included several naked machines that had that Monster look before the Monster was sold. The SRX600 was slim and sexy, with a jelly-mold fuel tank and thin, tapered tail section. The first Bandit series would echo this styling but add a trellis frame (which the Monster sported) and a four cylinder which was more in demand at the time than a single. My red Bandit 400 is often mistaken for a Ducati from a distance, by people who aren't highly motorcycle literate. Other notable but forgotten bikes of the era with similar traits were the Hawk 650, CB-1 and Suzuki Goose series.

Yamaha SRD200 is beautiful !! I love this bike bro

How about the feet forward Quazar? Built in England in the 70's, I have some old magazines at home, I'll check them out and post the pictures.

The C1 BMW is today one of the most wanted and very expensive Scooters you can find!

I’ve ridden a Griso. It’s a truly excellent bike. Dare to be different. The Griso works.

SDR200 was amazing, lightweight rocket, agile and extremely rare🤟😃

What about the Ducati Cucciolo model 48? I had one of these and they were very weird, especially coming from Ducati. They were a 50cc moped with the fuel 'tank' IN the frame.

I was looking at a Yamaha sdr200 yesterday. Very tempted

That Norton motorcycle's rotary engine was an outgrowth of Norton's military endeavors decades ago when they manufactured small, inexpensive rotary engines for use on target drones.

Alot to digest for this one. I like odd ball bikes that no one else likes. For me it gives the bike a bit of prestige. I like about half the bikes shown. That BMW looks tippy thou.

To me, the SDR 200 and MH900 are both beautiful bikes in their own ways. I'd be happy to own either of them. They are just what motorcycles are supposed to be, form and function wrapped up into a motorcycle.

Talking of chopper mopeds, when I was 16 I had the Yamaha FS1SE 50cc chopper version of the FS1-E affectionately known as a Fizzy. I love the look of the SDR!

You gotta give the designers credit for trying. Innovation involves experiments, and experiments never fail.

The bathtub style that Edward Turner inflicted on the classic triumph is company made were despised. It made the motorcycle look like it was wearing a skirt. Because Edward Turner was the head British designer everyone followed his lead even Harley-Davidson with the boat tail on the big twin as well as the Sportster and the look was not well-received at all. All attempts at making a real motorcycle to have scooter attributes were complete abysmal failure.

5:07 The 999 is my guilty pleasure bike. I would love to own one, I think they look beautiful, sound amazing and is honestly one of my top 3 favourite bikes ever made

15:41 - 'Not that ugly of a bike' - How ugly is 'that ugly?' So really it's only this ugly.

BSA listen to all of the experts who said that if they made the three-wheeled Ariel tricycle they would sell millions of them and they sold hardly any wasted a great deal of company funds producing that piece of s***. People tell motorcycle companies to make this and make that and then when they do it nobody buys the product.

I'd agree with you except for aprilia because as far as I can remember they were always well known for their scooters and small displacement motorcycle. The oddest one that came from them is the Aprilia classic 50 which is a cruiser with the same engine as a RS 50. So high strung 50cc 2 stroke. Not only that but it wasn't even a commercial failure. I saw several on the roads during the 90s.

I own a Trials Enfield and love the thing so it's a coin flip as to whether the bike is weird or I am.. However the now rarity of them is making them well sort after at least in my part of the world..

The MH900e is an achingly pretty motorcycle, in my opinion.

The BNW C-1 is great for rainy days in congested Europe. It was ahead of its time, seen one in Paris, loved it.

When I think Norton commando the last word that comes to mind is sleek, cool yes, but not sleek.

Well call me a weirdo! I REALLY LIKE that Yamaha SDR 200! If I had the money, I would scour the web and buy one and have it shipped to me. I know that a lot of people hate 2 strokes period. But I LOVE THEM!

Compared to all other bikes I personally liked the SDR 200 that looks very awesome compared to other bikes in this list

The Yamaha Chappy- odd for a Yamaha but was a blast to ride

Bart, HD did make a 50CC motorcycle. A friend of mine had one back around 1972-73. They also made dirt bikes (not talking about flat-track bikes). Watch the first, "The Bad News Bears" movie with Walther Matthau & Tatum O'Neil.

The Griso is one the most beautiful bike ever.

Fun vid. I noted your comment about bridging the gap between scooters and motorcycles. Undisputed fact worldwide is that Honda literally OWNS this "gap" with the Honda Cub and derivatives by all manufacturers. Underbones are the most ubiquitous 2 wheeled vehicles on the planet. I understand your point though from a "vintage loyalty" perspective for the 10" wheel platform stepthoughs based on Piaggio/Vespa geneology and Mods vs Rockers aesthetic. Just a perspective. So I put forth - there are 3 segments, not 2.

The Triumph scooters called the Tigress were 4stroke twins and the smaller two stroke models were called Tinas were single cylinder. All of them failed in sales compared to the Euro imports. At the end of the day all these so-called weird designs are now very collectable and as the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all about personal choice .

I'm literally working on a Habana custom... trust me guys, it is weird!

The Guzi isn't so wierd looking but I couldn't help laughing seeing 8V and thinking "8-volt." LOL

I work for a company called motorcycle investment services, your list of wierd bikes seems to be our everyday 🤣. We have a BMW c1 in the workshop at the moment, we sold a MH900e a couple of years ago, we actually have two original Bevel MHRs for sale now. We look after a Griso that is owned by a customer/ friend of the business. Check out a velocette Le we have just sold one I was surprised to not see that in this list 😉 that or the Gag bikes of the Japanese manufacturers from the late 80s we have a gsxr50. Awesome video though as always buddy great to watch enjoyed it 👍

Kinda expected the harley to be the Baja 100, a 100 cc two stroke. Not exactly their normal profile. That Suzuki reminds me of the Honda Pacific Coast (i.e. a scooter) or french motorcycles from the 1950s. Great list, Bart!

The MV Augusta Rush looks straight out of Cyberpunk - I totally get the "unsettling" aspect of its styling

Norton inherited the rotary from BSA when BSA went bankrupt. The problem with the Commander design is that it was not designed by Norton but Seymour-Powell, an industrial design partnership. Same problem with the BSA/Triumph triples designed by Ogle.

If I'm right the wonderful SDR was made between 1986 til 1993, unfortunately we couldn't get them here. Only as a grey import but even that was almost impossible. Very nice concept and perfect hooligan bike just like the several TZR's and RGV's of that period. Almost as racey but with added simplicity and lightness. Colin Chapman's wet dream!

For Kawasaki, I would have called the 454LTD one of their strangest bikes. It has ugly cruiser styling with a 70s flair, but produced in the 80s. The engine was half of a Ninja 900, tuned for more low-end torque, but still had a decidedly street-bike sound to it.

That BSA Ariel three seemed better than walking until I hit a pothole, by way of massive axel tramp it convinced me at was worse than trying to walk when too drunk to do so!