Recent motorcycling history is littered with boldly-designed machines that failed when it came to sales success – but that doesn’t mean they were bad bikes.

Manufacturers often feel the need to push design conventions to make their machines stand out from the crowd. Hugely popular motorcycles such as Honda’s original FireBlade superbike or BMW’s game-changing R1150GS adventure owe part of their success to ripping up the rule book and being, well, ‘different’. In the FireBlade’s case it stood out for being unconventionally ultra-light; in the BM’s, despite its oddball Telelever suspension and quirky looks, it was the first true ‘adventure-tourer’.

But for every ‘Blade or GS there are plenty of examples of bikes that, although decent performers, pushed the envelope of what was acceptable, either in terms of looks, price or technology, that little bit too far, failed perhaps to gain the popularity they deserved and, as a result, were quickly consigned to history.

Today, however, these ‘controversial’ bikes often represent a very different proposition. By definition distinctive and often rare they can also sometimes be had for bargain money and as such can be modern classics that stand out from the crowd. Here are my Top 10 ‘controversial’ bikes, in chronological order…

BMW K1

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
987cc	100 bhp	74 ft-lb / 100Nm	234 kg

Nearly 40 years after its launch nothing – still – looks as futuristic as BMW’s astonishing K1. Created as a no-holds-barred flagship for the German marque’s then still embryonic K-series family, the K1 was intended as a superfast sports tourer which, as BMW at the time subscribed to a voluntary 100bhp power limit, tried to compensate with strikingly advanced aerodynamic bodywork. In practical terms it didn’t really work. The K1 was still conspicuously underpowered compared to Japanese competition such as Honda’s then 135bhp CBR1000F. It was also expensive (about £2000 more than the Honda), had divisive looks and couldn’t carry a passenger or luggage easily, resulting in poor sales. When finally dropped after four years barely 7000 had been made but it also achieved most of BMW’s goals in getting attention for its K-series, which lives on to this day. Underneath the distracting bodywork was essentially a decent-handling K100RS sports-tourer, it was beautifully made and, today, for around £6K, you can still snap up one of the most striking BMWs ever built.

Yamaha GTS1000

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
1003cc	102 bhp	78ft-lb / 105 Nm	251 kg

Motorcycle buffs have been debating the longevity of telescopic forks for decades while manufacturers have repeatedly tried to offer better systems. The most striking attempt in recent years by a major manufacturer was Yamaha’s 1993 GTS1000. A luxury sport-tourer based on a detuned FZR1000 sportster engine, the GTS’s standout feature was its radical hub-centre-steered front suspension developed in conjunction with James Parker of California’s RADD Design. In truth it worked reasonably well and was stable, smooth, comfortable and well-finished. Unfortunately, however, its ‘detune’ was a mistake, the GTS was also expensive and slightly heavy and buyers were few. Today, however, you can still snap up one of the most distinctive and classy bikes of the 1990s for under £5K.

Bimota DB3 Mantra

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
904cc	86 bhp	67ft-lb / 91 Nm	172 kg

Italian hand-built exotica experts Bimota have never shied away from bold new technology (it introduced aluminium beam frames in the 1980s), novel concepts such as ultra-light weight or striking styling – indeed, all of that was the foundation of its early success with sports bikes in the late ‘70s and early 1980s. But when it went into the mainstream with a Ducati Monster-style roadster it all went a bit weird. The 1995 Mantra used a Ducati V-twin engine in a trellis style frame (so far, so good) but its Sascha Lakic-penned styling, including bizarre walnut dash, was too much for most – as was its £13K+ price. If you can find one, they still go alright, are well equipped, stand out like nothing else and are sometimes available for a song – sometimes even less than an original Monster 900!

Aprilia RST1000 Futura

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
998cc	113 bhp	71ft-lb / 96 Nm	210 kg

Aprilia was another upstart Italian manufacturer that set its sights on the mainstream manufacturers in the mid-to-late 1990s – with unfortunate results. After huge success with smaller 125s and 250s, the Noale-based concern aimed first at Ducati, with its 1998 RSV1000 V-twin sportster in 1998, then at Honda’s class-leading VFR sports-tourer with the 2001 Futura, which was based on a detuned version of the same 1000cc V-twin lump held in a classy aluminium frame with top notch equipment. Unfortunately, again, despite striking angular styling, a similar single-sided-swing-arm and impressive spec, it wasn’t quite enough. The Futura’s suspension was a little soft, the bike a bit bulky, its looks again divisive and its lumpy V-twin delivery a little at odds with its slick, futuristic styling. The Futura’s failure hastened Aprilia’s collapse with the marque being taken over by Piaggio in 2005. The Futura, meanwhile, remains an intriguing but still capable memento to what might have been.

Yamaha MT-01

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
1670cc	90 bhp	110ft-lb / 149 Nm	240 kg

Show ‘concept’ bikes, where manufacturers mock-up ideas to gauge public reaction, rarely go into production – except here. The MT-01 was touted around the bike shows for years until some bright spark decided to actually build it and was essentially Yamaha’s OTT response to V-twin roadsters such as Ducati’s Monster. Based – mind-bogglingly – on a massive push-rod V-twin from a Yamaha cruiser, it was put in a top spec roadster chassis and given the premium treatment. The result, as a lump of metal, was spectacular, fabulously equipped and beautifully built. But as a performance roadster it was heavy, bizarrely low-revving and lumpy and expensive too. Guess what? Not many people bought one. Today, however, it’s a jewel-like rarity, an, er, ‘characterful’ ride like no other and a crowd puller, too – it even handles pretty well.

Suzuki GSX1300 B-King

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
1340cc	164 bhp	94ft-lb / 127 Nm	235 kg

Another show ‘concept’ bike that, certainly with the benefit of hindsight, really should never have been built at all. The B-King was initially displayed as a supercharged, massive power monster but by the time it finally went into production in 2007 practicalities had necessitated that the recipe had been watered down with a non-supercharged Hayabusa engine producing ‘just’ 164bhp and styling that, while still extreme, had been diluted, too. The result, while still a wild beast with lots of nice features (including early riding modes) wasn’t as wild as we all wanted it to be; as fast as Suzuki’s own GSX-R1000, was impractical and… expensive. Today, however, it’s more fondly remembered as ‘Suzuki’s VMAX’ and can be had for as little as £7000.

Yamaha VMAX 1700

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
1679cc	197 bhp	123ft-lb / 167 Nm	310 kg

 

Yamaha’s bold, brutal original 1985 Vmax remains one of the world’s most iconic motorcycles – a 145bhp V4 hot rod that was the fastest accelerating bike of the mid-1980s. But the 2008 ‘revival’ machine is a far, far, far better motorcycle with a bespoke 200bhp V4, straightline performance like little else, surprisingly decent handling (for a hot rod/cruiser) and, perhaps more than anything, simply glorious build quality and detailing. Unfortunately, when launched, it also cost over £16,000, wasn’t very practical nor was well-suited to British roads, which is probably why it never caught on, especially when used example of the original could still be had for under £5K. All of which led to its demise in 2017. That said, today, it’s still special, still revered and still glorious, which is why used prices are still above £15K. But if you can justify it, it’s fabulous.

Honda NM4 Vultus

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
745cc	54 bhp	50ft-lb / 67 Nm	245 kg

A bike so obscure, odd and unsuccessful you may never have even heard of it – but you should have. The short-lived Vultus is a Batbike among motorcycles. A classic example of one of Honda’s left-field experiments (remember the DN-01, Pacific Coast and Spacey?) it, on paper at least, makes loads of sense, even if in reality it made virtually none. Intended as a luxury, semi-automatic commuter, it’s a feet-forward maxi-scooter based on Honda’s 54bhp, NC750 parallel twin platform with a hefty dose of matt black, laid black ‘Gotham’ styling thrown in. The result, being a motorcycle/scooter hybrid, did make a decent commuter but back in 2014 it also cost nearly 10 grand and when you could get a conventional maxi scoot for nearly half that, there were few takers. Today, however, it’s developed something of a cult following, the few available still change hands for around £9K and, if you’ve any kind of Bruce Wayne/Batbike fantasies, there’s nothing better.

Honda CTX1300

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
1261cc	83 bhp	78ft-lb / 106 Nm	338 kg

Honda F6C

Engine Size	Power	Torque	Weight
1832cc	117 bhp	123ft-lb / 167 Nm	341 kg

While finally, for my final choice of controversial bikes for recent decades that still make original, interesting and capable buys, we go back to Honda again for its bold, hilarious and an in many ways brilliant F6C of 2014. Basically, this Gold Wing based beast is a reinvention of the original F6C – or Valkyrie as it’s sometimes called – of 1996. That bike was a slightly crass, US-targetted, cruiser version of Honda’s then Gold Wing, the GL1500. Nearly 20 years on the concept was revisited based on the later GL1800 Gold Wing, was again basically a naked version of that monster flat six tourer, but with less ‘chromey’, more futuristic styling, better handling courtesy of bigger wheels and the 1800’s already improved performance and tech, it was a hugely entertaining performer with more sheer presence than virtually anything. Of course, it was all too much and too impractical to sell in little ol’ Blighty, and examples are few and far between, but if you want a ‘statement’ bike that’s hilarious and super smooth, £10K should just about get you one…