# The 15 Greatest Motorcycle Engines of All Time

> 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.

*By YPB Team · Published September 9, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-15-greatest-motorcycle-engines-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

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

Tags: motorcycles, classics, tech, all-time