11 Best New Retro Motorcycles 2023

So you want a bike that's got some old school cool but you don't want the old school performance and lack of reliability? Sounds like you need a modern retro bike - giving you those classic, timeless good looks of yesteryear AND the butt-clenching performance and tech convenience of a modern day bike.

Read on for the 11 best new retro bikes for 2023 starting with the genuinely affordable right up to the bikes most of us can only dream of owning…

Honda 2023 ST125 Dax Image from Honda UK

11. HONDA DAX (£3,749)

Starting off, we have the small but perfectly formed Honda DAX and they don't get much more affordable than this at £3,749 brand new. It's an adaptation of their mini bike platform that powers the Grom and the Monkey bike but this one takes it's inspiration from the original DAX (taking its name from a Dachshund or sausage dog - a reference to the shape of the frame which acts as a fuel tank as well).

Honda have done a great job of referencing the original bike, whilst balancing it with modern components and meeting current day legalities. Sure it's not going to knock your socks off with just shy of 10hp, but for city riders on the shorter side, or on a budget, or if you just like the cheeky attitude of this little bike, it's sure to be a winner. Look out for a full review on MOTOBOB coming later in 2023.

Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Image from Royal Enfield UK

10. ROYAL-ENFIELD HUNTER 350 (£3,899)

Almost unbelievably for only an extra £150, you can get your hands on a full sized motorcycle in the form of Royal Enfield's Hunter 350. It has to be said, despite the clear resemblance to a Triumph Street Twin, this is a heck of a good looking bike for less than £4k. It's got the classic shape of a retro bike but with more of a modern finish and it comes in a great selection of paint jobs. It's pretty decent to ride, especially in the city, with a super agile little chassis, and just about enough grunt from the 350 single to get you away from the lights and ahead of the traffic.

The only minor downside is the build doesn't have the same quality feel as some of the other bikes on this list. That said, for this money, this bike is perfect for anyone looking for a stylish yet affordable city commuter or a nifty first bike.

9. BSA GOLD STAR (£6,500)

Next up, we've got an historic British brand revived by Indian ownership, and this time it's BSA. They're back, and their first release is the new gold star which I was lucky to ride earlier this year at a vehicle testing facility which was enough to get a decent measure of it and I was pretty impressed.

On the face of it, it's just another retro bike - it's almost exactly the same in spec and dimensions as some of the old favourites like the Royal Enfield Interceptor or the Triumph T100 but what makes this bike different is the single cylinder engine when most other retro bikes of this capacity and above use parallel twins. That gives it a proper old school feel and sound, and something a little different to the norm.

But isn't it all vibe and lumpy I hear you say? Well not really - I was genuinely surprised at how smooth it was and how refined it felt. Worth checking out if you're a BSA fan specifically, or if you want a British branded retro that's going to stand out from the crowd

Moto Morini Seiemezzo SCR Image from Moto Morini EU

8. MOTO MORINI SEIEMEZZO SCR (£6,699)

If you fancy something a little more exotic, then you could check out the new Moto Morini Seiemezzo. Moto Morini is an italian brand that stretches back many years, but more recently they've come under Chinese ownership and production. The result is something with a bit of design flair and a credible badge, but built to a super competitive price point.

The engine might not be the most powerful and their bikes do come up a little weighty, but for the price you're getting some exciting looking bikes with some decent components from some big name brands. My pick, at least visually, would be the SCR model which has a bit of a scrambler look to it with the spoked wheels, tuck and roll style seat, and high front mudguard

Yamaha XSR700 Legacy Image from Yamaha EU

7. YAMAHA XSR700 LEGACY (£8,900)

Fork out another couple of grand and you could get yourself this absolute beauty from Yamaha. It's called the XSR700 Legacy, and the general idea is that it takes the existing XSR700 retro with it's super playful parallel components and decent chassis, and then adds a bit more of an old school scrambler finish with the brushed metal fuel tank, speed block graphics, high and wide bars, and chunky foot pegs.

We recently shot a walk around of Yamaha's best new bikes for 2023 at Motorcycle Live, and while I wouldn't say that this one is necessarily the most exciting advancement in terms of features, there's just something about the finish that made it one of my favourite bikes on their stand this year.

6. FANTIC CABALLERO 700 (~£9,000)

The second bike on this list powered by that CP2 parallel twin engine is the Fanatic Caballero 700. Fantic have pretty much always had a focus on Enduro bikes but a few years back they decided to have a stab at a retro and they came up with the Caballero (a reference back to their bikes of the 70s). A 125, 250, and 500 were all on offer, all of them single cylinder with dirt bikes as the basis. And while they made for awesome off-roaders, in fact probably some of the best retro scramblers when it comes to actually riding on trails, it still feels a lot like riding a dirt bike on the road, lacking in a bit of power and refinement.

For 2023 they've sought to address this with a new model, the 700. It takes Yamaha's proven engine and drops it into a new chassis, but with all the cool styling of the existing Caballero bikes. It should be a great combo, although they say the target price is 10k Euro which will probably come out at about £9k after it's been imported here to the UK. So it remains to be seen as to whether it's worth it. But, given their off-road experience, and what I've learned from riding the 500, this could be a heck of a fun bike.

5. DUCATI SCRAMBLER ICON (£9,995)

If you can find another £1k, you could be looking at a Ducati Scrambler Icon which looks pretty flippin good too. It's not a complete revolution for 2023, with the engine and chassis being largely the same. But they did give it a bit of a visual redesign to make it look more modern with a slightly edgier appearance to the bodywork. There are loads more colour choices too with a wide selection of these cover kits.

Tech wise there’s new riding modes, TC settings, and a TFT display with connectivity capabilities. And they've managed to shed a little bit of weight off the frame. £10k is starting to get a little expensive for a 70hp bike, and there's a lot of other good stuff out there for this sort of money. But you do get the Ducati badge, loads of character from the engine, a fun and approachable chassis, and plenty of decent updates on the tech front so I expect it'll keep on selling well.

Triumph Thruxton RS Chrome Edition Image from Triumph Motorcycles UK

4. TRIUMPH THRUXTON RS CHROME EDITION (£14,395)

Quite a jump up to the next one here at just over £14k, but this is the Thruxton RS Chrome Edition from Triumph and it is a thing of beauty. Almost all of the Bonneville bikes come in a chrome edition for 2023, but it's the retro cafe racer style that makes the Thruxton the pick of the bunch for me.

Functionally it's unchanged, it’s the same Bonneville twin engine, same chassis, same tech and features, but it's such a good bike that it didn't really need any practical changes. And yet this fully chromed tank just gives it a lift and a fresh vibe for 2023. For me, the Bonneville bikes are the benchmark in the retro segment - they look great, they're awesome to ride, and they've got the character. The Thruxton RS ticks all these boxes but with the most sporty riding position and chassis in the lineup. If you want something that looks cool but also handles well, then the Thruxton should absolutely be on your demo ride shortlist.

Indian Motorcycle FTR Rally Image from Indian Motorcycle

3. INDIAN FTR RALLY (£14,995)

Next up we've got the Indian FTR Rally which takes their flat track inspired FTR platform and gives it a bit more of a retro scrambler look and feel. The suspension is a little longer, the spoked wheels are oversized, you get semi knobbly tyres, and a styling package that suits.

For 2023 you've still got the same awesome 1200cc v-twin with 120hp, and mostly the chassis is the same. But you do get a new round TFT display which adds a lot of functionality vs the previous generation's analogue speedo. A new exhaust design, improvements to the brakes. And a new black smoke finish with a sort of sandy colour on the steel trellis frame and swing arm. I had one of these on press loan in 2022 and it was a blast to ride, but these little tweaks for the new model year should make it even better.

Norton Commando 961 Image from Norton Motorcycles

2. NORTON COMMANDO 961 (£16,499/£16,999)

On to the new and updated Norton Commando. Like BSA, Norton were fairly recently taken over by Indian based manufacturers TVS after years of mismanagement at the company. They now have a new factory and the first model to roll off the production line is the reengineered Commando. They've made changes all over the bike to improve performance and reliability, and the result is something that looks really very special when you see it in the flesh.

It's an interesting bike to ride because of the air cooled parallel twin engine that vibes quite a bit and doesn't really make loads of power. But then a chassis finished with the best of Ohlins suspension and Brembo brakes. So it's a bit like riding a custom bike that's got an old engine, and then the builder has upgraded it with all the latest hardware and goodies. I came away from the day riding it thinking that it's a lot of money if you just look at the performance specs on paper, but it was, undeniably, a memorable bike to ride and so perhaps it’s the experience of ownership that justifies the price tag.

1. MV AGUSTA 921S (£ TBC)

Rounding off this list we’ve got the MV Augusta 921S and, while it's still a concept, MV have said it'll go into production in the next year or two and I can't wait to see what the finished version looks like. It tops this list because although there's no price as of yet, if you've ever looked at what MV charge it's almost certainly going to be more than the Commando.

But I for one think it’s the most exciting looking new motorcycle in development at the moment, and it also gets a brand new chassis and what promises to be a cracking new engine derived from the Brutale 1000 RR.

It's one of 3 super impressive bikes that MV Augusta announced this year, which you can get the low down on in the video below.