The WILD ONES

Taschen assembles the world's ultimate collection of collector motorcycles...

- BRANDON FRIEDERICH

For the longest time motorcycles were the second-class citizens of the collector car world. When they did come up for auction, it was usually as an afterthought in most of the big auction houses and they’d be stuck in between some premium collector cars in the hope that some of the sheen would rub off.” So says no less an authority than Jay Leno in the foreword to Ultimate Collector Motorcycles, the definitive work for classic motorbike enthusiasts, newly published in an oversized, double-volume format by Taschen.

The beautifully photographed and meticulously researched book by Charlotte and Peter Fiell features 100 of the most exceptional bikes ever built, photographed as lovingly as supermodels. The couple, who have penned over 60 design-centric books including Taschen’s double-volume Ultimate Collector Cars, were thorough in selecting the exceptional few from 130 years of motorcycle history. They list “innovation, functional beauty, raw power, competition histories, exceptional rarity, and inherent desirability,” as crucial factors in their selection.

The timing couldn’t be better. As motorcycle historian and Ducati expert Ian Falloon later notes in the accompanying text, “As many collectors don’t even ride motorcycles, these machines have moved beyond leisure products and into the realm of works of art.” No surprise then that this past February a 1908 Harley Davidson Strap Tank fetched an eyewatering US$935,000 by Mecum Auctions, making it the most expensive motorcycle ever sold at auction, according to Hagerty.