10 Best Motorcycle Brands of All Time
If you were wondering which are the Best Motorcycle Brands ever, you’re in the right place!
Because after we turned the web upside down, and saw which brands of motorcycles everybody loves the most, we decided to bring them to you in a list of ten.
And I’m sure we have our motorcycle enthusiasts wondering around on Ealuxe, all dissapointed that we didn’t approach this subject as much as they wanted us to.
But it’s your turn now, and we hope you agree with us when we say that these are the 10 Best Motorcycle Brands of All Time!
So let’s see if we’re on the same page here, but if you consider otherwise, don’t hesitate to leave us your picks in the comment section.
10. MV Agusta
MV Agusta is amotorcycle manufacturer founded on 12 February 1945 near Milan in Cascina Costa, Italy.
The company was formed by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923, and began as an offshoot of the Agusta aviation.
After the Count died, he left the company in the hands of his wife and sons, Domenico, Vincenzo, Mario and Corrado. The two brothers formed MV Agusta at the end of the Second World War as a means to fill the post-war need for cheap, efficient transportation, and also to save the jobs of employees of the Agusta firm.
Now, MV Agusta competes in racing, in 2006 and 2008 competed in the Italian Superbike Championship, where Luca Scassa won the Italian Superbike Championship on a MV Agusta factory-backed machine.
9. Aprilia
The Italian motorcycle company is one of the marques owned by Piaggio, and it started as a scooter manufacturer, but has come to be known for its race-winning sportsbikes.
The company was founded after the Second World War by Cavaliere Alberto Beggio, as a bicycle production factory at Noale, Italy.
In 1968, Ivano Beggio, Alberto’s son, took over the helm of the company and constructed a 50 cc “motorcycle” with a dozen or soc ollaborators.
Their first production were actually mopeds, and were named Colibrì, Daniela and Packi. The company later produced a motocross bike in 1970 called the Scarabeo, which until the end of the 1970s, came in 50 and 125 cc versions.
Using a homologation special version of their V-twin road bike RSV Mille, Aprilia entered the Superbike World Championship in 1999, and won its first Superbike world championship in 2010 with Max Biaggi, claiming both the riders and the manufacturers titles.
8. Triumph
Triumph was established in 1984 by John Bloor after the original company Triumph Engineering went into receivership, and is now the largest British motorcycle manufacturer.
In 1983, after the company went into receivership, John Bloor bought the name and manufacturing rights from the Official Receiver.
And because the new manufacturing plant and its designs were not able to compete against the Japanese, John Bloor decided against relaunching Triumph immediately.
In order to bridge the gap between the end of the old company and the start of the new company, the production of the old Bonneville was continued under licence by Les Harris of Racing Spares.
When the company was preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary, on 15 March 2002, its main factory was destroyed by a fire which began at the rear of the facility.
And now fast-forwarding all this to 30 June 2012, we’ll discover that the company produced 49,000 motorcycles and employed 1,600 staff
7. BMW
BMW’s motorcycle history began in 1921 when the company commenced manufacturing engines for other companies.
It began as an aircraft engine manufacturer in the early 20th century and through World War I, and they manufactured their first motorcycle in 1923. It’s name, the R32, a motorcycle which featured a flat-twin boxer engine.
All BMW’s motorcycle production takes place at its plant in Berlin, Germany, and the most popular model is the R1200GS and its sibling R1200GS Adventure, which sold 24,467 units.
BMW Motorrad regularly enters its motorcycles in the annual car, truck, and motorcycle race that runs from Europe to Africa, the “Dakar Rally”.
6. Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson is an American motorcycle manufacturer, and was founded during the first decade of the 20th century in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The only motorcycles sold to the public under the Harley-Davidson brand between 1977 and 2014, have been heavyweight motorcycles designed for highway cruising, with engine displacements greater than 700 cc.
These motorcycles, as you know, are noted for the tradition of heavy customization that gave rise to the chopper style of motorcycle.
William S. Harley, Arthur Davidson, William A. Davidson and Walter Davidson, Sr. were inducted into the Labor Hall of Fame for their accomplishments for the H-D company and its workforce.
The Street, Harley Davidson’s newest platform, was designed to appeal to younger riders looking for a lighter bike, the Street 750 model being launched in India at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo.
5. Suzuki
Halfway trough the list, and on number five, we have the Japanese manufacturer Suzuki.
Suzuki makes all sorts of motorcycles ranging from street use motorcycles to dirt bikes and compete in MotoGP with the UK based Rizla Suzuki team.
Some of the greatest names in motorcycle racing have raced for Suzuki during their road racing history and stars in off-road events such as Ricky Carmichael, considered one of the best in motocross and supercross have also taken honours for the Japanese factory.
The Suzuki started in 1909 when Michio Suzuki founded the Suzuki Loom Company in Hamamatsu, Japan, and builds industrial looms for the thriving Japanese silk industry.
And in 1951, after the war, Suzuki begins making clip-on motors for bicycles, and from there on, it all started.
4. Kawasaki
Kawasaki is an international corporation based in Japan, with headquarters in both Ch??-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.
And even though the company originaly started out as a shipbuilding company, its most visible consumer product lines are its motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles
Kawasaki produces motorcycles like the Ninja sport bikes, and cruisers, dual-purpose and motocross motorcycles, as well as utility vehicles, ATVs and general-purpose gasoline engines.
The motorcycles are manufactured by the Motorcycle & Engine division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
This company didn’t invent the modern super-bike category, but when the Kawasaki launched the 903cc DOHC four-cylinder Z1 in 1973, it ignited a powder keg of excitement for high-performance liter-bikes that has never abated.
Today the Ninja ZX-10R manufactured by Kawasaki stands among the highest-performance production bikes ever built.
3. Ducati
With only three motorcycle brands left, we move on and present the Ducati!
Which is an Italian company that designs and manufactures motorcycles with its headquartered in Bologna, Italy.
Ducati is owned by German automotive manufacturer Audi through its Italian subsidiary Lamborghini.
In 1926 Antonio Cavalieri Ducati and his three sons, founded Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna to produce vacuum tubes, condensers and other radio components.
So as you can see, Ducati never started as a motorcycle manufacturer, as Kawasaki, they were focused on something completely different.
But in 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycling history by producing the fastest 250 cc road bike then available, the Mach 1, and from there on, it’s all history.
2. Honda
Honda, as you probably already know is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment.
This company has been the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world’s largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year.
The Racing Corporation was formed in 1982, when the company combines participation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of high potential racing machines.
Being a race driver himsel, Soichiro Honda could not stay out of international motorsport, and in 1959, Honda entered five motorcycles into the Isle of Man TT race, which was the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world.
In the Motocross World Championship, Honda has claimed six world championship, while in the World Enduro Championship, they captured eight titles.
1. Yamaha
And here we are at the end of our 10 Best Motorcycle Brands of All Time list, closing it with Japanese manufacturer, Yamaha.
Which is not only a motorcycle manufacturer, they also produce marine products such as boats and outboard motors, and other motorized products.
Yamaha Motor Company as established in 1955 upon separation from Yamaha Corporation, and conducts global development, production and marketing operations through 109 consolidated subsidiaries as of 2012.
Yamaha began the production of its first product, the YA-1, in 1955, and the 125cc motorcycle won the 3rd Mount Fuji Ascent Race in its class, launching a legacy by which the company continues to pursue motorsports as a means to accelerate development.
Today, Yamaha produces a range of motorcycles from 50 to 1,900 cc, including cruiser, sport touring, sport, dual-sport, and off-road.
