There are the number of bikes in history which are very famous due to their stylish body or any other amazing history linked with them. There are some bikes which got attention due to their appearance with any movie star. If those bikes were in the hands of an ordinary person than they might not get much attention. Like the famous Steve McQueen jumped on his bike in The Great Escape and Marlon Brando rumble into the town with Triumph Thunderbird in The Wild One. The Top Ten Best Iconic Bikes with pictures has been given below.
Top Ten Best Iconic Bikes – Top Rated
StreetHawK
The StreetHawk was the only television series in history in which the bike was the star. This was an amazing show in which the famous western singer Rex Smith spent most of his time on the bike chasing bad guys with the speed up to 300 mph.
The StreetHawk was the modified 1984 Honda XR600 and it had incredible modifications in it. It had full onboard computer gadget that did nothing but it had an attractive appearance at that time. The StreetHawk also had customized wheels and braked to appear like a dirt bike. In order to avoid the explosion in case of the accident, the fuel tank was kept small i.e. only two liters. The real here in that show was Chris Bromham who was famous for being in the Guinness Book of Records not once but twice for holding the world long distance jump record on Honda CR500. This bike stayed with the Bromham for many years and he was forced to sell it to the Cars of the Stars museum in Cumbria after the death of her wife in 1992. He needed some cash at that time but later on, he bought it back in 1996.
Hildebrand and Wolfmuller
The production of Hildebrand and Wolfmuller started in 1894 and it was the first bike at that time which was made for general sale to the public. This bike had water-cooled, four-stroke, twin cylinder 1,489cc engine and it had the top speed of 25 mph only.
This bike gave a slow riding experience plus its ignition system warmed up quickly. Its handlebar-mounted thumbscrew, which was used as a throttle was not much responsive as well. Although the whole project of Hildebrand and Wolfmuller was closed they have made the world’s first motorcycle in the history, which is an incredible bike among the list of Top Ten Best Iconic Bikes.
Shuttleworth Snap
In 1936, George Formby made one of the funniest biking movies of all time. This movie was about the Isle of Man TT races and it still plays on the Island every year during TT week. The George Formby was cast in it as chimney sweep George Shuttleworth who built his own garage with the name of “Shuttleworth Special” for an assault on the TT races. The Shuttleworth snap was an incredible 350 AJS side-valve machine, which looked like an overhead cam AJS R7. The bike was covered in the chequered dustbin fairing and one can still see the odd replica pottering around the Island in the race week.
Most of the bikes were wrecked after the completion of the film and no part of Shuttleworth Snap was found. Although there is no sign of Shuttleworth Snap anywhere one can see the George Formby’s personal bike in the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.
Ducati 916
There were few bikes in the world which captured the attention of world due to their unique design and Ducati 916 is one of them. This Ducati bike has an incredible design and its design played an important role in modern bike design. In 1998, this bike had got a lot of attention at world-famous Guggenheim museum of modern art in New York as part of the Art of the Motorcycle exhibition.
This bike was unveiled at Milan Bikes in 1993 and after that, it has set new standards in the design of bikes. Even Ducati 916 was a part of many movies due to its impressive design.This bike has an excellent performance on the road and had won many titles including nine World Superbike titles.
Honda C90
The Honda C90 is another impressive bike next in the list of Top Ten Best Iconic Bikes. When the company launched C100 Super Club in 1958, it was somewhat difficult to ride at that time. But it had gained much of the attention due to its attractive design. The C90 has an amazing set-through frame, four-stroke engine, and automatic clutch. It was so easy to ride at that time as compare to C100 Super Club. The Honda brand had sold about 27 million of C90 in their entire history and that’s more than any other bike in history. Before the launch of this C90, Honda was running a small business but it has changed the entire history.
The original model had about 49 cc engine that had the ability to deliver 4.5bhp, which just gave the top speed of 40 mph. Today, these models have 85 cc engine and they are capable to deliver 7.5bhp with a top speed of 65 mph. In 1997, the Honda had manufactured its 100 millionth C90. It was, in fact, the most popular bike in the world.
Marlon Brando’s Triumph
The Marlon Brando had made a film with the name of “The Wild One” in which he gave the answer for those guys who didn’t even ride bikes. At that time the winners were Triumph as their US sales rocketed when Marlon Brando realized the Triumph Thunderbird in the film and not the Harley.
The film was based on the real-life incident in Hollister in 1947 when the number of bikers rode into the town and started causing havoc. The bike used was 53 Triumph Thunderbird 6T and it was dubbed the first superbike due to its 100 mph potential. This bike was also very famous because it was the first bike in history that clearly display its tank badge but other bikes in the same film had their logos turned upside down.
Steve McQueen’s Triumph TR6
The Great Escape was an amazing film by Steve McQueen in which he tried to jump to freedom over the barbed wire fence. In this movie, he played one of the German riders chasing himself on the 1961 Triumph TR6Trophy Bird. When it came the time for a big jump, Steve called his bike stuntman Bud Ekins. This stuntman was paid highest $1,000 fee for just a one-off jump and he performed the jump with just one take.
The Ekins jumped 65 feet and about 12 feet over the ground without a helmet and just a T-shirt for protection. For the jump, the bike was a bit modified. They replaced the front wheel for lighter Triumph model so that the bike can land safely. The actual bike used in the film disappeared and no one knew where it is.
Lawrence of Arabia’s Brough Superior SS100
The film Lawrence of Arabia is another incredible film in which Lawrence’s triumphs was leading as an Arab revolt during First World War. He was immortalized by Peter O’Toole. It was the opening scene in which Lawrence’s bike crashed and he attempted to avoid two kids on bicycles. He was not wearing a helmet and he suffered server head and chest injuries. He remained at the hospital for six days before dying.
The Lawrence’s bike was given to the writer George Bernard Shaw and it was returned to the Brough factory after the crash where it was restored and sold. In 1997, this bike was presented for auction with an incredible asking price of £2 million. At auction, it was described as one of the world’s most famous and romantic motorcycle. The bike remains unsold while the current owner wants to remain anonymous.
Silver Dream Racer
In the era of 1981, the bikes were very famous due to the efforts of certain Mr. Sheene. In that era, bikes were largely the part of most of the movies. The Silver Dream Racer is one of them and it was like the Rocky on two wheels. In 1981 move, David Essex was starring in it and he himself was only insured to ride the bike with the speed up to 15 mph. According to the former racer and the BBC’s current WSD commentator Steve Parrish, that bike wasn’t capable of much more anyway.
The Silver Dream Bike was originally a Barton, square four-cylinder, two-stroke and it was originally designed for the sidecar racing. This engine was then used in a sidecar and it took third place at the Isle of Man TT in the hands of Nigel Rollinson in the 1980’s.
Captain America
The Captain America is one of the most recognizable bike ever and is on the top of list of Top Ten Best Iconic Bikes. It was due to its use in movies and there were more copies of bikes were sold instead of copies of the film. The original Captain America bike was one of the four Harley’s bought by keen biker Fonda from the police auction just for the film. He bought the Pan heads to be chopped and then transformed into the Captain America.
The Captain America could easily be made without any front brakes and impossibly high bars but Fonda was a good rider so it was easy to ride. This bike was partly burned in the movie and some parts were stolen before filming finished. The completely original Captain America is said to be in the clubhouse of the Oakland Hall’s angels.
List of Top Ten Best Iconic Bikes
| Sr. # | Top Ten Best Iconic Bikes |
|---|---|
| 1 | Captain America |
| 2 | Silver Dream Racer |
| 3 | Lawrence of Arabia’s Brough Superior SS100 |
| 4 | Steve McQueen’s Triumph TR6 |
| 5 | Marlon Brando’s Triumph |
| 6 | Honda C90 |
| 7 | Ducati 916 |
| 8 | Shuttleworth Snap |
| 9 | Hildebrand and Wolfmuller |
| 10 | StreetHawK |
Conclusion
This article is about the Top Ten Best Iconic Bikes and it is covered under www.bikescatalog.com. It has covered some incredible bikes which were very famous in past due to their performance, design or due to their usage in any movie. There are a lot of memories attached with these bikes and we will never forget them.
