If you think spending $20k of your hard-earned scratch on a motorcycle is a big deal, you’re playing way out of your league when it comes to these bikes, compadre.

Each and every bike is essentially a one-off work of motorcycle art, and as you well know, it takes some serious money to play around in the art market these days.

On this list, the buy-in to take a seat at the table starts around $100K, so unless you just sold your social networking thingy for more money than it takes to buy Indiana, please step aside and let the real players through to the front of the line.

There are old standbys represented on the following list, like the wild machines from Confederate Motors, but those are the base models on this showroom floor. Hell, you can pick up the latest Confederate X132 Hellcat for the relatively modest sum of $45K, so the action  has moved on into celestially expensive territory in the last few years.

A couple of the bikes on the list come from bespoke racing motorcycle manufacturer NCR, an Italian firm who take already potent and desirable machines from Ducati and squeeze them through a tube until they come out very, very fast indeed.

NCR makes bikes like the Macchia Nera, Italian for “Black Spot,” which will not only burn a hole in your pocket, they’ll burn a hole in the road as well.

Back in 1967, NCR set up shop in Borgo Panigale on the outskirts of Bologna where three gents created a state-of the-art workshop devoted to taking stock Ducati production machines and making them outrageous. What they came up with at the genesis moment of the company, the Ducati 900NCR, took legendary rider Mike Hailwood all the way to the  1978 Formula 1 World Championship on the Isle of Man.

So how did they do their magic? By following the plan which went a little something like this: everything could be improved, made lighter and more powerful. What you got for that was a fast – and horrifically expensive – piece of equipment dedicated to moving at mind-bending speed.

So then, take a walk on the wild side for a minute and allow yourself to dream of what could have been for you had you actually paid attention in school and gone on to become a top swine in the banking industry…

Confederate B120 Wraith – $92,500

Vrus 987 C3 4V – $103,769

MV Agusta F4CC – $120,000

MTT Turbine SuperBike – $150,000

Icon Sheene – $172,000

NCR Macchia Nera Concept – $225,000

NCR M16 – $232,500

Ecosse Titanium Series RR Limited Edition – $275,000

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3. Stealing The Most Expensive Motorcycle You Can Never Sell

Todd Halterman

Sundance, a Japanese custom motorcycle builder, clearly has a love and respect for Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

But they, like a lot of riders, just want, well, a little more out of them.

That’s why they place their focus squarely on performance. Machines like this one, a get-fast take on the stock Harley-Davidson XR1200, is packed with punch-inducing parts to crank out more horsepower and handling out of the stock machine. But Sundance’s custom bikes don’t lack for looks and include a cornucopia of specially-crafted parts like a magnificent custom tank and a spot-on tailpiece which go the original one better. A stock XR1200 makes something like 90h bhp, but the Sundance version uses new pistons, cams and heads, S&S connecting rods, carburetion from Keihin FCR and a custom exhaust to add some 30 addition horsepower. Include a beefy Barnett clutch, and this bike can put all that power to the road through a custom swingarm gold-finished Öhlins front forks keep it tracking straight and true.

While H-D are working hard on updating the styling and handling of their stock machines, there are still lessons to be learned from the custom builders who take their product to a very, very appealing level.

Are you listening, Milwaukee?

The “skunk works” at Sundance didn’t stop with this update, they’ve made updated versions of the classic Knucklehead, Springer Softail and Superglide that not only look better than the stock machines, they artfully incorporate a range of suspension and motor improvements as well.

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Todd Halterman

Did you know that in 1999, Harley-Davidson finally sprinted past Honda to become the best-selling motorcycle on the American market?

If not, then put Motorcycles (Modern Marvels: Season 5, Episode 28, Nov. 1999) -  on your must-watch list. It’s a History Channel documentary about the cultural, technological and artistic story of motorcycles through the ages, and it’s good stuff indeed. This exceptional documentary features more recent events, so it must have been updated since it was first shown in 1999.

As the film traces the development of motorcycles through the decades, along the way, it showcases pioneers in the manufacturing industry like Indian, Harley Davidson, and Honda, includes interesting facts from the industry and you get some pertinent insights from  talk show host and wealthy motorcycle looney,  Jay Leno.

If you’re more into industry insider info,  the doc includes lots of commentary from former Editor-in-Chief of Cycle World, David Edwards, Motocross rider Jeremy McGrath, and lots of other motorcycle obsessives.

Video Documentary: Modern Marvels: Motorcycles Part 1

Video Documentary: Modern Marvels: Motorcycles Part 2

Video Documentary: Modern Marvels: Motorcycles Part 3

Video Documentary: Modern Marvels: Motorcycles Part 4

Video Documentary: Modern Marvels: Motorcycles Part 5

Video Documentary: Modern Marvels: Motorcycles Part 6

Video Documentary: Modern Marvels: Motorcycles Part 7

Video Documentary: Modern Marvels: Motorcycles Part 8

Video Documentary: Modern Marvels: Motorcycles Part 9

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Todd Halterman

Motorcycle are one of the cheaper forms of transportation in regard to fuel costs, but you’re not going to sneak up on anyone when is comes to acoustic footprint. That could all change with the advent of electric and – the real coming thing – hydrogen-powered motorcycles.

While hydrogen motorcycles haven’t been around long, the concept of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source has and it’s pretty likely it will be the vehicle technology that wins the race to replace fossil fuels. British energy company Intelligent Energy has a hydrogen fueled ENV motorcycle prototype on the bench now, and it’s almost ready to make a dent in the consumer market.

They’re not the only players in the market. Suzuki is rumored to be close in their efforts to arrive a something workable, and independent designers and garage kings are eying the problem as well.

Suzuki has decided to put the Crosscage concept motorcycle into production – and it’s hydrogen powered. It was developed in cooperation with British Intelligent Energy and it’s powered by a lightweight, air-cooled fuel-cell system and a high-performance secondary battery.

We’ve got no technical details – or pricing and availability information – but you can be sure they’re coming soon.

Intelligent Energy’s ENV prototype hardly looks like a typical motorcycle. A lack of exhaust pipes, to mention just one difference, marks the look and feel of the bike. It’s only capable of somewhere around 50 miles per hour, but it makes up for the lack of speed by being able to travel about 100 miles before a refuel.

One hurdle for hydrogen fuel proponents looms large; a near-complete lack of fueling stations, but a variety of schemes are in development to address how to create a system of hydrogen fueling stations.

Are you one of those “loud pipes save lives” types? well, Intelligent Energy is feeling you, pal, and the company is considering technology which would produce the sound of a motorcycle engine – and they want you to be able to switch it on and off depending on your circumstances.

Other companies like Aprilia (hydrogen scooters) and Honda are continuing their research and work on hydrogen vehicles as well.

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Todd Halterman