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The 15 Greatest Motorcycle Engines of All Time

By YPB Team

The Knucklehead that fixed Harley's shape in 1936, the CB750 that made British twins obsolete, Ducati's desmo valves, and a 250cc Honda six that revved to 20,000rpm in 1966.

  1. Harley-Davidson Knucklehead — ranked #11
    Harley-Davidson Knucklehead
    The 1936 overhead-valve V-twin whose rocker covers gave it the name and Harley its modern shape.
    1000pts
  2. Moto Guzzi Transverse V-Twin — ranked #22
    Moto Guzzi Transverse V-Twin
    A V-twin turned sideways, so the bike leans slightly when you blip the throttle.
    551pts
  3. Rotax 1290 V-Twin — ranked #33
    Rotax 1290 V-Twin
    The Austrian-built engine behind KTM's Super Duke and its reputation for excess.
    551pts
  4. Yamaha Crossplane Inline-Four — ranked #44
    Yamaha Crossplane Inline-Four
    An uneven firing order borrowed from MotoGP that makes a four sound like a twin.
    428pts
  5. Honda CB750 Inline-Four — ranked #55
    Honda CB750 Inline-Four
    The 1969 four that made every British twin look obsolete in a single model year.
    428pts
  6. Honda RC166 Six — ranked #66
    Honda RC166 Six
    A 250cc six-cylinder that revved to 20,000rpm in 1966 and won the world championship.
    428pts
  7. Suzuki GSX-R1100 Oil-Cooler — ranked #77
    Suzuki GSX-R1100 Oil-Cooler
    Neither air nor water cooled, and the reason a litre superbike could weigh so little.
    428pts
  8. Yamaha RD350 Two-Stroke — ranked #88
    Yamaha RD350 Two-Stroke
    The road-going two-stroke twin that embarrassed larger four-strokes on any twisty road.
    350pts
  9. Honda Gold Wing Flat-Six — ranked #99
    Honda Gold Wing Flat-Six
    Smooth to the point of being uneventful, which is the entire design brief.
    350pts
  10. Harley-Davidson Milwaukee-Eight — ranked #1010
    Harley-Davidson Milwaukee-Eight
    The current big twin, with four valves per cylinder and a good deal less vibration than its ancestors.
    257pts
  11. Kawasaki Ninja H2 Supercharger — ranked #1111
    Kawasaki Ninja H2 Supercharger
    A factory-supercharged inline-four, built because Kawasaki also makes gas turbines.
    257pts
  12. Triumph Bonneville Parallel Twin — ranked #1212
    Triumph Bonneville Parallel Twin
    The engine that defined British motorcycling and outlived the company that first built it.
    257pts
  13. Vincent Series C V-Twin — ranked #1313
    Vincent Series C V-Twin
    A 1948 engine used as the frame itself, in the fastest production motorcycle of its day.
    257pts
  14. Ducati Desmodromic L-Twin — ranked #1414
    Ducati Desmodromic L-Twin
    Valves closed mechanically rather than by springs, a solution to a problem most makers solved differently.
    143pts
  15. BMW Boxer Twin — ranked #1515
    BMW Boxer Twin
    Cylinders sticking out into the airflow since 1923, and still in production.
    143pts

#motorcycles12#classics476#tech76#all-time311

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