From bustling city streets to long coastal highways, motorcycles shape how people commute, travel and explore. The variety of makers reflects different riding cultures, engineering traditions and design priorities around the world.
There are 57 Modern Motorcycle Brands, ranging from Aprilia to Zontes. For each entry, details are listed as Country,Founded (year),Flagship models — you’ll find below.
How can I use the Country,Founded (year),Flagship models columns to compare brands?
Use the country to gauge dealer support and parts availability, Founded (year) to understand heritage versus newcomer approaches, and Flagship models to see the brand’s current focus (sport, adventure, cruiser). Combine that with local availability and test rides to narrow choices.
Is this list comprehensive and how often should I check for updates?
The list captures 57 contemporary brands as a broad snapshot, but the motorcycle market evolves with new entrants, ownership changes and model updates; treat it as a starting point and check manufacturer sites or industry news periodically for the latest changes.
Modern Motorcycle Brands
| Brand | Country | Founded (year) | Flagship models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honda | Japan | 1948 | Gold Wing, Africa Twin, CBR1000RR-R Fireblade, Rebel 500 |
| Yamaha | Japan | 1955 | MT-09, YZF-R1, Ténéré 700, XMAX |
| Kawasaki | Japan | 1896 | Ninja H2, Z900, Vulcan S, KLR650 |
| Suzuki | Japan | 1909 | Hayabusa, GSX-R1000, V-Strom 650, Katana |
| Harley-Davidson | USA | 1903 | Road Glide, Street Glide, Sportster S, Pan America |
| Indian Motorcycle | USA | 1901 | Chieftain, Scout, FTR 1200, Chief Bobber |
| BMW Motorrad | Germany | 1923 | R 1300 GS, S 1000 RR, R 18, M 1000 R |
| Ducati | Italy | 1926 | Panigale V4, Multistrada V4, Monster, Scrambler |
| KTM | Austria | 1934 | 1390 Super Duke R, 890 Adventure R, 450 SX-F, 390 Duke |
| Triumph | UK | 1902 | Bonneville, Speed Triple 1200 RS, Tiger 900, Rocket 3 |
| Royal Enfield | India | 1901 | Classic 350, Himalayan, Interceptor 650, Super Meteor 650 |
| Aprilia | Italy | 1945 | RSV4 Factory, Tuono V4, RS 660, Tuareg 660 |
| Moto Guzzi | Italy | 1921 | V7, V85 TT, V100 Mandello |
| Husqvarna | Sweden | 1903 | Norden 901, Svartpilen 401, 701 Enduro, TE 300i |
| MV Agusta | Italy | 1945 | Brutale 1000 RR, F3 RR, Superveloce, Turismo Veloce |
| Benelli | Italy | 1911 | TRK 502, Leoncino, TNT 135 |
| Zero Motorcycles | USA | 2006 | SR/S, DSR/X, FXE, SR/F |
| LiveWire | USA | 2019 | LiveWire ONE, S2 Del Mar |
| CFMoto | China | 1989 | 800MT, 450SS, Ibex, Papio |
| Buell | USA | 1983 | Hammerhead 1190, 1190SX, SuperTouring |
| Norton | UK | 1898 | Commando 961, V4SV, V4CR |
| GasGas | Spain | 1985 | MC 450F, EC 300, SM 700 |
| Piaggio | Italy | 1884 | MP3, Beverly, Liberty |
| Vespa | Italy | 1946 | GTS 300, Primavera 150, Elettrica |
| Can-Am | Canada | 1972 | Spyder, Ryker |
| Ural | Kazakhstan | 1941 | Gear Up, cT |
| Bajaj Auto | India | 1945 | Pulsar, Dominar, Chetak (electric) |
| Hero MotoCorp | India | 1984 | Splendor, Xpulse 200, Karizma XMR |
| TVS Motor Company | India | 1978 | Apache RR 310, Ronin, Raider, iQube Electric |
| Kymco | Taiwan | 1964 | AK 550, Downtown 300i, Like 150i |
| SYM | Taiwan | 1954 | Citycom, Fiddle, MAXSYM |
| Niu | China | 2014 | MQi, NQi, KQi |
| Arch Motorcycle | USA | 2011 | KRGT-1, 1s, Method 143 |
| Bimota | Italy | 1973 | Tesi H2, KB4, Tera |
| Brough Superior | France | 1919 | Lawrence, SS100, AMB 001 |
| Cake | Sweden | 2016 | Kalk, Ösa, Makka |
| Beta | Italy | 1905 | RR, Xtrainer, EVO |
| Fantic | Italy | 1968 | Caballero, XEF, XXF |
| Stark Future | Spain | 2019 | Stark VARG |
| Verge Motorcycles | Finland | 2018 | TS, TS Pro, TS Ultra |
| Maeving | UK | 2018 | RM1, RM1S |
| Sur-Ron | China | 2014 | Light Bee X, Ultra Bee, Storm Bee |
| Italjet | Italy | 1959 | Dragster |
| BSA | UK | 1862 | Gold Star 650 |
| Brixton Motorcycles | Austria | 2017 | Cromwell, Crossfire, Felsberg |
| Zontes | China | 2003 | 350-T, 350-R, 125-G |
| Voge | China | 2018 | DS525X, 300AC, SR4 Max |
| Kove | China | 2017 | 450 Rally, 800X, FSE 450R |
| Gogoro | Taiwan | 2011 | Smartscooter, Pulse |
| Peugeot Motocycles | France | 1898 | Metropolis, Pulsion, Django |
| Hyosung | South Korea | 1978 | Aquila GV300S, GT250R |
| Sherco | France | 1998 | SE-F Racing, ST Racing |
| Rieju | Spain | 1942 | MR Pro, Aventura 500, Tango |
| SWM | Italy | 1971 | Superdual, SM 500 R, Six6 |
| Jawa | India | 1929 | Jawa 350, 42, Perak |
| Ariel | UK | 1870 | Ace |
| CCM | UK | 1971 | Spitfire, Maverick, Heritage ’71 |
Images and Descriptions
Honda
The world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, known for unparalleled reliability, engineering excellence, and a massive range of bikes from scooters and commuters to superbikes and tourers for every rider.
Yamaha
A major Japanese manufacturer famous for its “Crossplane” engines and high-performance sport bikes. Yamaha has a strong legacy in racing and offers a diverse lineup covering street, off-road, and scooter segments.
Kawasaki
Part of a heavy industries conglomerate, Kawasaki is known for its powerful engines and aggressive styling, particularly its iconic “Ninja” sport bike line. They produce a wide range of performance-focused motorcycles.
Suzuki
A Japanese brand celebrated for creating the legendary Hayabusa and the GSX-R sport bike family. Suzuki offers reliable and well-engineered bikes with a strong focus on performance and value for money.
Harley-Davidson
The quintessential American V-twin cruiser brand. Famous for its iconic styling, sound, and vast customization culture, Harley-Davidson is expanding into adventure touring and modern performance motorcycles.
Indian Motorcycle
America’s first motorcycle company, revived by Polaris Industries. Indian competes directly with Harley-Davidson, offering premium V-twin cruisers, baggers, and tourers, plus the performance-oriented FTR line.
BMW Motorrad
The motorcycle division of the German automotive giant. BMW is a leader in the adventure touring segment with its GS line and is renowned for its boxer engines and advanced technology.
Ducati
A premium Italian brand celebrated for high-performance, Desmodromic-valved engines, and passionate design. Owned by Audi, Ducati dominates in racing and builds highly desirable street motorcycles.
KTM
An Austrian powerhouse known for its “Ready to Race” philosophy. KTM excels in off-road and adventure bikes, with a growing and aggressive lineup of high-performance “naked” street bikes.
Triumph
A historic British brand famous for its parallel-twin engines and modern classics. Triumph produces a wide range of bikes, from retro roadsters to adventure tourers and high-performance sport models.
Royal Enfield
Originally a British marque, now a massive Indian manufacturer specializing in accessible, retro-styled modern classics. It has a huge global following for its simple, charming, and affordable motorcycles.
Aprilia
An Italian brand with a rich racing history, part of the Piaggio Group. Aprilia is known for its high-performance V4 engines and creating some of the best-handling sport bikes in the world.
Moto Guzzi
A historic Italian manufacturer famous for its signature transverse V-twin engines. Now part of Piaggio, Moto Guzzi combines classic character and styling with modern technology in its unique motorcycles.
Husqvarna
A brand of Swedish origin, now owned by KTM. Husqvarna is recognized for its premium motocross and enduro bikes, along with a distinct line of retro-futuristic “Svartpilen” and “Vitpilen” street models.
MV Agusta
An exclusive Italian brand known as “motorcycle art.” MV Agusta creates exquisitely designed, high-performance machines with a strong racing heritage and a focus on craftsmanship and premium components.
Benelli
A historic Italian brand, now owned by China’s QJ Motor. Benelli offers stylish and highly affordable motorcycles, particularly in the small-to-mid displacement adventure and naked bike categories.
Zero Motorcycles
A pioneering American company dedicated solely to electric motorcycles. Zero offers a wide range of silent, high-torque bikes, from urban commuters and dual-sports to fully-faired sport models.
LiveWire
Originally a Harley-Davidson model, now a standalone all-electric brand. LiveWire focuses on urban mobility and performance, blending iconic American design with advanced electric powertrain technology.
CFMoto
A rapidly growing Chinese manufacturer offering stylish, well-equipped, and affordable motorcycles. With a design partnership with KISKA and engine tech from KTM, CFMoto is a major global competitor.
Buell
The revived American sport bike brand founded by Erik Buell. Known for innovative engineering like its fuel-in-frame design, Buell is focused on producing high-performance, American-made V-twin motorcycles.
Norton
A legendary British marque, now revived under the ownership of India’s TVS Motor. Norton is focused on producing low-volume, high-end, hand-built modern classics and superbikes in the UK.
GasGas
A Spanish brand famous for its trial and enduro bikes, now part of the KTM group. GasGas maintains its fun, vibrant “Get on the Gas!” identity while sharing technology with its Austrian counterparts.
Piaggio
A massive Italian conglomerate and Europe’s largest scooter manufacturer. Piaggio is best known for its innovative three-wheeled MP3 scooter and a wide range of practical and stylish urban mobility solutions.
Vespa
An iconic Italian brand and a symbol of style, freedom, and “la dolce vita.” Produced by Piaggio, Vespa’s timeless pressed-steel unibody scooters are beloved worldwide for their classic design.
Can-Am
A brand under Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) that specializes in three-wheeled vehicles. Can-Am’s unique Y-shaped layout offers a different kind of open-road experience, blending stability with motorcycle-like freedom.
Ural
Originally Russian, now built in Kazakhstan, Ural is the world’s leading manufacturer of sidecar motorcycles. These rugged, classic-looking bikes are known for their off-road capability and unique three-wheeled charm.
Bajaj Auto
An Indian automotive giant and one of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers. Bajaj produces a huge range of bikes for the domestic market and partners with brands like KTM and Triumph.
Hero MotoCorp
The world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheelers by volume. Hero specializes in producing millions of affordable, reliable commuter motorcycles for India and other developing markets, and is expanding its premium lineup.
TVS Motor Company
A major Indian manufacturer known for its sporty Apache series and racing pedigree. TVS partners with BMW to build small-displacement bikes and is the parent company of the revived Norton brand.
Kymco
A leading Taiwanese manufacturer of scooters, motorcycles, and ATVs. Kymco is known for producing high-quality, reliable, and feature-rich scooters that offer great value for urban and suburban commuting.
SYM
A Taiwanese manufacturer with a strong global presence in the scooter market. SYM (Sanyang Motor) produces a wide variety of reliable and affordable scooters for urban commuting and touring.
Niu
A leading global brand in smart electric scooters. Niu integrates advanced technology, smart features, and modern design into its connected scooters, which are highly popular for urban mobility worldwide.
Arch Motorcycle
A boutique American manufacturer co-founded by Keanu Reeves. Arch creates ultra-premium, bespoke “performance cruisers” that blend classic V-twin power with exotic materials and meticulous craftsmanship.
Bimota
An exclusive Italian brand renowned for its innovative chassis design. Now partnered with Kawasaki, Bimota builds exotic motorcycles using Japanese powertrains inside its own highly-engineered and artistic frames.
Brough Superior
The “Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles,” this legendary British marque was revived and now builds its bikes in France. Brough Superior produces exquisitely crafted, luxury V-twin motorcycles for discerning collectors.
Cake
A Swedish company that designs and builds lightweight, minimalist electric motorcycles with a distinctive utilitarian aesthetic. Cake focuses on sustainability and creating a new category of off-road and utility bikes.
Beta
An Italian, family-owned manufacturer specializing in high-performance off-road motorcycles. Beta is highly regarded in the enduro and trials communities for its excellent handling and rideable engines.
Fantic
An Italian brand with a strong heritage in off-road competition. Fantic produces a range of stylish retro-scramblers, enduros, and motocross bikes, as well as a line of popular e-bikes.
Stark Future
A Spanish-Swedish company that has revolutionized the motocross world with its high-performance electric dirt bike, the Stark VARG. It offers power and customizability that surpasses traditional gas-powered competitors.
Verge Motorcycles
A Finnish innovator creating electric superbikes with a unique, hubless rear wheel motor. Verge’s futuristic design and high-torque performance represent a bold new direction for electric motorcycle technology.
Maeving
A British electric motorcycle brand focused on retro-styling and practical urban mobility. Maeving’s bikes feature a removable battery system that can be charged from any standard wall socket.
Sur-Ron
A Chinese manufacturer that has become a global phenomenon with its lightweight, high-performance electric off-road bikes. Sur-Ron blurs the line between e-bike and motorcycle, offering incredible fun and agility.
Italjet
An Italian brand famous for its radical Dragster scooter, featuring a trellis frame and hub-center steering. After a hiatus, Italjet has returned, focusing on its iconic, aggressively-styled performance scooter.
BSA
A classic British name, revived by India’s Mahindra Group. BSA has relaunched with the Gold Star, a modern classic single-cylinder roadster that captures the spirit of the original brand.
Brixton Motorcycles
An Austrian-designed brand built in China, specializing in retro-styled, accessible motorcycles. Brixton offers a range of vintage-inspired bikes, from 125cc singles to 1200cc twins, with a focus on style.
Zontes
A modern Chinese brand rapidly expanding into global markets. Zontes is known for producing technologically advanced, feature-packed, and stylish small-to-mid displacement motorcycles at a competitive price point.
Voge
The premium subsidiary of Chinese manufacturing giant Loncin. Voge aims to deliver higher-quality, European-styled motorcycles with modern features and reliable performance to a global audience.
Kove
An ambitious new Chinese manufacturer making waves with its performance-focused and rally-raid inspired motorcycles. Kove is gaining attention for building serious adventure and off-road bikes at an accessible price.
Gogoro
A Taiwanese company that has revolutionized urban mobility with its network of swappable battery stations and smart electric scooters. Gogoro’s platform is focused on convenience and eliminating charge times.
Peugeot Motocycles
One of the world’s oldest two-wheeler manufacturers. The French brand, now majority-owned by an investment firm, produces a range of stylish and practical scooters and three-wheelers for the European market.
Hyosung
A South Korean manufacturer known for producing affordable small-to-mid displacement V-twin cruisers and sport bikes. Hyosung offers an accessible entry point into styled motorcycles for new riders.
Sherco
A French manufacturer specializing in high-level competition motorcycles. Sherco is a dominant force in the worlds of Enduro and Trials, producing highly-focused and capable off-road machines.
Rieju
A Spanish manufacturer with a long history of producing lightweight, small-displacement motorcycles. Rieju is known for its fun commuter bikes and competitive hard enduro models.
SWM
A historic Italian off-road brand, revived with Chinese financial backing. SWM (Sironi Vergani Vimercate Milano) produces a range of dual-sport, supermoto, and retro-styled bikes in Italy.
Jawa
Originally a Czechoslovakian brand, Jawa has been revived in India by Classic Legends. The new models capture the nostalgic spirit of the originals, offering stylish and simple retro-styled roadsters.
Ariel
A historic British brand, revived to produce the bespoke Ariel Ace motorcycle alongside its Atom sports car. The Ace features a Honda V4 engine and a unique, customizable modular design.
CCM
A British boutique manufacturer (Clews Competition Motorcycles) known for its lightweight, hand-built, single-cylinder motorcycles. CCM’s Spitfire platform offers a range of stylish, limited-edition custom-style bikes.
