Who had the best looking bike of all time?

Not only is that thing gorgeous, there's more original thinking in this one bike than there's been in all the bikes created since - which is probably why most of that thinking got permanently banned. 

Revolution? We don't need no stinkin' revolution. Let's just concentrate our efforts around which gear looks best and which world-changing new bike lowered it's footpegs an entire 5mm to improve cornering, shall we?

Yes, lets.

I like the designs that were coming about in the late 70s/early 80s. Could just be that I was 13-15 when those 2 bikes were made and it imprinted on me, but they also represented huge advances in design and style from even just 5 years before they were made. 

Yep, I mentioned design and style in my previous response because the thread was about ‘best looking’ bikes, but the advancements in performance and technology were like nothing that we’ve seen since that period. And while a lot of those works bikes may have looked a little bit ‘rough’ to some today, their was an incredible amount of beauty to them knowing that they were basically hand built, without much of a template. The makers were every bit as much artists as they were technicians. 

This.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - dirt bikes advanced more during that short span than in the 40 years since then. Virtually everything since has been refinement of those designs. And a lot of what has been foisted on the consumer isn't something that makes it "better", often just more complicated and costly. Jody acknowldges that realization here - https://motocrossactionmag.com/best-of-jodys-box-i-laughed-at-him-but-now-i-am-him/

I don't know about the best ever, but I really liked these 50th anniversary Honda bikes last year from Pala and I still don't understand why they have only used them once...

Probably speaks to the timeless appeal of the original design that later generations still find it attractive after almost 40 years -

Peak Honda

Yamaha of Troy

Splitfire Kawasaki

2001 Chevy Trucks Kawasaki

Basically all of the 1980’s factory Hondas

I think that it’s appealing to a lot of us older folks because it’s simple, not an overcrowded billboard of advertising. And I’m certainly not saying that teams shouldn’t plaster advertising everywhere they can get paid for it!!  That’s what you have to do to afford to race today. But really when looking at newer bikes and rating their looks, a huge part of it is judging the advertising, not really the bike itself. I like to look at the lines of the bike itself rather than the decals applied to the bikes, but again that just might be an old curmudgeon perspective of things. 

In the modern era, it doesn't get any better than this.       

/end thread.

Damn, you beat me to it!

Modern Honda's look absolutely stunning, clean, the graphics are pretty much like the stock ones but damn, the bike still looks very much "factory"

Yeah Reedy has had IMO some of the best looking bikes over the years.  His 04-05 YZ 250s were glorious... 09/18RMZ 450 glorious, 12 Honda 450 glorious. But this is all subject to opinion and that is what makes it fun

100%. Immediately thought of this bike after seeing the OP’s post.

All the Makita and JGR Suzukis and this 

It's in the eye of the beholder and all and nobody can argue with a man's opinion on a subjective thing like this 🙂 I like your prior explanation / justification and it makes sense and I do fully appreciate function / advancement making it visually pleasing 👍

While those Hondas were very cool and very very trick (especially for the time), good looking with that hectic front end arrangement is a slight stretch for me personally, though I'd happily look at one for an hour taking in all the details (the ones I'd notice, would no doubt miss a few)!

A few come to mind for me but for as a straight up good looking dirtbike I'd probably go with the '93/'94 Stanton/MC Camel supercross style HRC CR 250's.

I have a feeling our age and nostalgia will skew a lot of our opinions 😂

Came here just to post this. So I'll post the recent action shot.

Stewy's Chevy Trucks KX125, bad ass looking bike....searching, searching...

This look in the day was so clean. Look at how it stands out today from him ripping his personal bike in STL

1974 Ossa Phantom.  197 lbs. out of the crate.