The speed wars of the nineties? Over. Dust settled.
Japanese manufacturers looked around. Realized going fast in a straight line wasn’t enough anymore. They needed speed on a track. Aggression. Corner carving capability. The “big four” pivoted hard. We got nimble supersports. We got liter-class monsters. The decade belonged to Japan, naturally. Almost exclusively.
Buyers beware though. Used bikes from twenty years ago carry risk. Research everything. Check the mileage. Ignore it at your peril. Here’s what actually mattered. Oldest to newest.
The Speed King
2000 Suzuki HayabUSA
$3,000–$5,000
It launched in ’99 but defined the 00s immediately. Fastest production bike. Period. Well, until self-limiters hit 186 MPH for everything else. The Hayabusa kept its crown.
Was it revolutionary engineering? Not really. The aerodynamics were, though. Wind-tunnel shaped. Deliberately weird. The designer leaned into the bad drag coefficient, creating something ugly, aerodynamic, and iconic. It looks like a spaceship. It stays a symbol of pure velocity today.
The Touring Benchmark
2001 Honda Goldwing GL1800
$4,000–$6,000
Honda perfected the tourer. Early 200s proved it. Previous generations were good, sure. But this one? Next level comfort.
Wind protection is insane. Even now. Passenger gets the same throne treatment as the rider. Safety tech is dated—ABS is missing, obviously. But the power? Smooth flat-six. Same heartbeat as modern wings. It just rides forever.
Harley’s Rebellion
2002 Harley Davidson V-Rod (VRSCA)
$3,000–5,000
Harley had been coasting. Then they got mad. They built a liquid-cooled V-twin to fight the sportster crowd. It was called the V-Rod.
Divisive? Extremely. Loved or hated? Always both. Did it work? Yes. It forced people to talk about Harley again. Not just for nostalgia, but for relevance. The styling demands attention. You cannot ignore it.
The Crossover King
2003 Ducati Multistraa 1000 Ds
$3,000-$5,000
Ducati rode high after the 916. The follow-up 999 got flamed by purists. Everyone wanted to hate it. Meanwhile, the Multistrada arrived. Quietly.
People liked it. Tall, comfortable, fast underneath. Sportbike DNA wrapped in touring tires. It birthed the “crossover” genre. Every ADV you see today? This is the ancestor. The Multi grew into an institution, but ’03 is the ground floor.
The Naked Rocket
2004 Kawasaki Zx-10r
$5,000–$7,000
Kawasaki dragged their feet with the Zx-9R too long. Then they dropped this bomb.
Cheaper than rivals. More power than anyone else. Lighter than some 600s? Yes, actually. No traction control. No abs. No saving your bacon. Just raw speed and a chassis that wants to throw you off if you blink. A handful at limit. A rocket otherwise.
The Adventure Icon
2004 Bmw r 1150 gs adventure
$2,000–$4,000
While everyone chased lap times, BMW built the best dual-sport on earth. The gs had been around, but pop culture shifted.
Ewan McGregor and Charley boorman rode them through siberia. The show aired. Sales exploded. Everyone wanted a gs. It wasn’t just a bike anymore; it was a passport to everywhere. The concept of adventure riding became a mainstream hobby because of these two men on german machines.
The Precision Tool
2005 SuzukI gx-R1000
$2,000–4,000
Suzuki watched Kawasaki steal the spotlight. Then the k5 gsx-R showed up.
The answer. Legendary status achieved. It matched the green bike for power but crushed it in handling. Where the z10 was wild and rowdy, the gsx was surgical. Cold. Precise. In good condition? It still handles like a knife. Don’t underestimate the chassis.
The Million Dollar Hobby
2005 HonDa rune
$8,000–$10,000
Technically a 2004 bike exists that costs double this price. We’re skipping it. The ’05 is the smarter buy. Same beast, better value.
Engineers got a blank check. No cost constraints. Result? Over-engineered nonsense. One-off parts. Art pieces masquerading as cruisers. To some, the ultimate chopper. To others, a flex on industrial design. It’ll be collectible forever. For now? Dirt cheap compared to its peers.
The RPM Lie
2006 YamahA YZf-r6
$4,000–6,000
Hardest choice of the decade. But the 206 r6 wins. Why? Because of the scandal.
Yamaha marketed a redline of 1500. Highest in the business. Fans cheered. Then they noticed. The tachometer was lying. Reading over 100 RPM high. Real limit was 50.
Embarrassed, Yamaha offered to buy them back. Nobody did. The bike is too fast. The mistake? Marketing hubris. The machine? Incredible.
The Last Big Fish
2009 YamahA vmAxi
$6,000–8,000
The original vmx aged poorly. 209 was the revival. Total overhaul.
Almost 00 horsepower. Muscle bikes looked weak in comparison. It felt alive. Heavy, loud, violent. Yamaha killed it in 00. Why? Nobody knows. Now? They’re prized. Owners don’t sell. If you find one, hold on.
Who says the 2010s can match this era?
