The arrival of a clutch of new motorcycle models for 2025, especially when some, such as the recent new Triumph Daytona 660, or those being sold under the Italian Morbidelli name, carry famous motorcycle names, brings the whole subject of motorcycle ‘monikers’ to the forefront once more.

After all, have you ever wondered where names such as Triumph’s Bonneville, Honda’s FireBlade, or Kawasaki’s Ninja actually come from?

The derivations of some, simply because they’re so famous, are well known. Bonneville, for example, was chosen by Triumph for its then new fastest bike, the twin carb T120, in celebration of the Triumph streamliner which posted a new land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1955.

Others, however, such as Kawasaki’s Ninja (which we’ll come back to later), are less so. While others still, you might be surprised to learn, were actually arrived at pretty much by chance…

So here, to get to the bottom of the legends, we take a ‘deep dive’ at the origins of some of the most famous motorcycle names of all….

1959 Triumph Bonneville

Triumph is a good place to start. The famous British brand has more than its fair share of iconic bike names with, Bonneville apart, Tiger and Speed Triple (a modern update of the 1936 Speed Twin) among them. But the origins of two others are far less well known.

Triumph Thunderbird GT

Take the Triumph Thunderbird 6T, as originally launched as US-targetted big bore cruiser in 1949, made famous by being Marlon Brando in The Wild One in 1953 before being revived by reborn Hinckley Triumph for its first US-targetted retro in 1995 then again on the 1600 then 1700cc cruiser twin from 2009. Legend has it the name was selected by boss Edward Turner for its evocation of power and effortless flight with native American overtones. The grittier truth, however, was that, when driving through South Carolina in 1948 on his return from the Daytona 200, Turner passed the Thunderbird Inn in Florence and made a note of its name...

Triumph Daytona

Daytona, however, as applied to most of the British brand’s sports bikes since the ‘60s, does have romantic origins. In 1966 American racer Buddy Elmore rode a modified Triumph Tiger 100 from 46th to win the Daytona 200. His success was soon commemorated by Triumph manufacturing a replica, and Elmore returned the following year to finish second, this time behind teammate Gary Nixon. The Daytona name was then revived by Hinckley Triumph in 1992 for its first sportsters, a line which has most recently been joined by its Daytona 660.

Buddy Elmore Photograph

BSA Goldstar

BSA is another celebrated (and recently revived) Brit brand with a long history of evocative model names ranging from Rocket to Spitfire and Thunderbolt. The most revered, though (and that chosen for its 2022 revival model) is surely Gold Star which was applied to its 1930-50s world-beating competition singles and derives from the special gold star pin badge awarded to BSA rider Wal Handley for his record-breaking 100mph+ lap of Brooklands in 1937. The first commemorative model was launched the following year, and a legend was soon born…

Speaking of ‘Gold’, ever wondered where Honda’s Gold Wing got its name? The truth is that the first GL1000 KO as unveiled at the 1975 Cologne Show in Germany was intended, not as the full-dress tourer it has evolved to be today, but as a new superbike Honda flagship. Developed by Toshio Nozue (also responsible for the CB750), it was conceived to be ‘the ultimate motorcycle’ and, with Honda’s own logo being a Wing, ‘Gold Wing’ seemed an appropriate name choice.

Honda Blackbird

Some more Hondas: take the 1992 CBR900RR FireBlade – great name, admittedly, but arrived at somewhat by chance. It’s actually a mistranslation into English from the intended Japanese name of ‘Lightning’.

Honda Africa Twin

Nor are they alone. Honda’s first 1988 Africa Twin was created to be a production, road legal commemoration of its four-time Paris-Dakar Rally winning NXR750 works racer. Its name was decided upon based on the comments of the European sales staff who, according to project leader Tomonori Mogi, said, ‘It must be a real Africa Twin if it has the V-twin engine that raced through Africa.’

Suzuki Hayabusa

Some, however, are less certain. While Suzuki’s 1999 Hayabusa hyperbike was created to beat Honda’s Super Blackbird, it’s named after the peregrine falcon – ‘Hayabusa’ is Japanese for peregrine falcon – a bird of prey known for its diving speed. (Some, however, have suggested that the bird liked to prey on Blackbirds, which is less proven.)

Harley Davidson Fatboy

Then there’s Harley’s Fat Boy, the bike made famous by the movie Terminator II and which, according to folklore is named after a contraction of the WW2 atomic bombs called Fatman and LittleBoy. ‘Not true’, insist Harley (as might be expected) who instead argue it was arrived at simply to convey the bike’s size and road presence.

Kawasaki Ninja

Which takes us back to where we started and the Kawasaki Ninja, as first used on the mould-breaking 1984 GPz900R. With a Japanese name on a Japanese bike, you’d be forgiven for assuming it came from a Japanese source – not so. Instead, it was suggested by Kawasaki USA director of marketing Mike Vaughan but pooh-poohed by the Japanese, who argued Ninjas were outlaws and the name would therefore be shameful, and others who wanted ‘Panther’. Only eventually did Vaughan win the day, and with the bike so successful the Ninja name thereafter was applied to all performance Kawasakis for the next 40 years…