The 50 Greatest Motorcycles of All Time

From Aprilia to Yamaha, we countdown the 50 best two-wheeled machines ever built.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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You feel that? If you're in NYC, you probably can't feel it yet, but Spring is finally here. Which means warm weather is (hopefully) around the corner. And with warm weather comes gorgeous days, and with gorgeous days comes the call of the open road. While many people's first inclination is to imagine themselves in a droptop, cruising around coastal roads, this year, we here at Complex are thinking a little differently. We're thinking of ourselves on something with two wheels, handlebars, and a screaming motor wedged in the middle. Yes, we're thinking of motorcycles.

Why motorcycles? To paraphrase our good friend Wes Siler of Hell For Leather magazine, motorcycles are faster than cars, they're more fun to ride, and the man/machine connection is more pure. They also pack in a very rich history. You probably didn't know BMW and Honda made two-wheelers before venturing into the automobile business. Now you know. It's with that in mind, and our itching want to cop our own bike, that we teamed up with motorcycle writer and Hell For Leather contributor, Nick Goddard, to help us compile our list of the 50 Greatest Motorcycles of All Time. Ride out.

Words by Nick Goddard

50. Honda CT90

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49. Moto Guzzi Le Mans

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48. Triumph Bonneville

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47. Kawasaki KLR250

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46. Yamaha GTS1000

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45. Honda Africa Twin

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44. Yamaha FZR 600

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43. Honda CBR250

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42. Suzuki SV650

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41. Indian Chief

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40. Honda Motocompo

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39. Honda Rune

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38. Honda CB750

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37. Cannondale S440

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36. Honda VFR

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35. Honda XR650R

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34. KTM 950 Adventure

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33. Honda CR500

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32. Gilera Nordwest

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31. KTM 250EXC

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30. Suzuki GSXR 1000

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29. Ducati Supermono

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28. Honda CBR600

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27. BMW GS1200

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26. BMW S1000RR

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25. Triumph Speed Twin

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24. Ducati 900ss SP

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23. Rokon Trailbreaker

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22. Honda CBR900RR

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21. Aprilia RSV4 Factory

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20. Laverda 1000 Jota

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19. Honda CBX

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18. Ducati 916

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17. Kawasaki H2 Triple

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16. Buell XB12R

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15. Bimota Tesi 3D

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14. Ducati 999R

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13. MTT Y2K

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12. Yamaha R7

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11. Aprilia RS250

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10. Honda RC30

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9. Moto Guzzi V8

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8. Ducati Desmosedici RR

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7. Vincent Black Shadow

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6. RSD CR500 Super Single

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5. Confederate Wraith

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4. Suzuki RG500 Gamma

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3. BMW R32

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2. Honda NR

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1. Britten V1000

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