In the realm of classic motorcycles, terms like ‘rare’ and ‘expensive’ are objective. If very few examples of a particular bike remain, it’s rare; if acquiring one will cost you an arm and a leg, it’s expensive. But terms like ‘iconic,’ ‘legendary,’ and ‘mythical’ are harder to quantify.
Right now, we’re neck deep in a book that makes a bolder assertion, by asking what makes a motorcycle collectible. Authored by Charlotte and Peter Fiell and published by Taschen, Ultimate Collector Motorcycles is a monolithic double-volume compendium of iconic and collectible motorcycles. And it is breathtaking.
Spanning over two volumes and 940 pages, Ultimate Collector Motorcycles features 100 motorcycles, each desirable in its own way, with a total of 1,100 photographs spanning its pages.…