Icon Sheene

The Barry Sheene motorcycle

UPDATE 19 August 2010: Icon has revised the styling of the Sheene. The latest images are on the Icon website.

By guest writer Tom Stewart. Looking for the world’s most powerful and expensive production road bike? Well look no further, because according to the newly formed, Nottinghamshire-based manufacturer Icon Motorcycles, it’s the 250+bhp, £107,000 Icon Sheene.

First revealed at the recent Goodwood pre-season media day, this arresting machine is British businessman Andrew Morris’ vision, now a running reality, of the ultimate road-going motorbike and a tribute to his boyhood hero; the late, great Barry Sheene. Endorsed by Sheene’s widow Stephanie and by ex-team mate and best mate Steve Parrish, just 52 Icon Sheenes are planned to be built—one for each year of Barry’s life.

When it was put to chief Icon test rider Parrish that £107,000 (US$160,000) was ‘quite a lot’, even for a 200 mph motorcycle, he replied, “If you look closely then you can see the value”. So, let’s look closely. The engine is a hand-built, Garrett turbocharged Suzuki GSX1400 air-cooled lump (because it looks like an engine) with Carrillo rods, Wiseco pistons and other competition-spec internals. 250bhp with 133lb/ft is claimed at the rear wheel, even in lowest (0.4bar) boost mode. This is wrapped in an all-aluminum, purpose-built Spondon tubular frame complemented by an aluminum Fabrication Techniques swing-arm with Bitubo rear suspension and usd forks.

With carbon-fiber race wheels, ISR calipers, discs and levers, hand-laid carbon-fiber bodywork, a handmade aluminum tank, twin hand-crafted aluminum oil coolers, a handmade stainless exhaust, Bosch Motronic engine management (with custom mapping and datalogging), digital instrumentation, keyless starting and F1-spec wiring throughout, this is obviously no bargain basement machine.

The Icon also flaunts detailing to further woo wealthy buyers such as etched and engraved plaques and yokes, a hand-painted 1940s style pin-up girl and Sheene’s lucky no.7 embroidered into the heart-shaped alcantara bum-stop.

So: powerful, fast and expensive it undeniably is. But could this Icon also be a gauche, mildly exploitative, over-priced white elephant, much of which—frame, engine and styling—wouldn’t have been cutting-edge twenty years ago? You decide.

Barry Sheene motorcycle

Posted on 24 Mar 2010 in Production Motorcycles.

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  • ozzy

    I saw it at Brands and it changed my mind… and yes the pics here are out dated as I took plenty of pis of the weekend including a couple of the Sheene bike and its a lot different at the front (dont know about elsewhere cant see anything). I thought it was a bit wierd before but there was always a crown around the bike and everyone was saying how good it looked… I do think it needs to be seen in the flesh as it were… their site has same bike as i saw at Brands. keep it safe boys!

  • Rich

    I agree the pics of the bike on here look shit… i was ready to give the guys at Icon some real grief at the weekend at Brands (which was a corker by the way!) but everyone there was saying how shit hot it was… well first off i was impressed by how much the they knew their shit… secondly the bike doesnt look much like the pictures on here (thank f**k!) and thirdly most people their who saw it were willing to sell their right nut and rent their bum to Michael Barrymore to own one… so… yeah just want to say… i totally agree with the slating on here and I was happy to have a bash myself before but once you see it i garantee u, like everyone at brands, will do a little happy squirt in your pants! Off to go scare some old ladies on my R1 in the rain (and prob myself)

  • Richy D

    I saw the bike close up at Goodwood and appreciate the detail and quality finish put into the bike something you can’t do from a mag pic or even the vid on the icon website so don’t have a go guys from yr armchairs. The bike looks fab and does bear resemblance to the early 80′s Katana ( I still have one , the 1000cc which was the first and best). I seem to remember the Katana was slated at first. Fair play to the manufacturers of the Sheene bike. If you can afford it (52 serious 2 wheel petrol heads who can must be out there) then what a fab unique gr8 bike to own. Good on the Icon Sheene guys, what a stunning bike – whatever the cost… Richy D

  • Turgut

    I’m getting a notification on followup comments about this bike.
    Today, after so many moths i first saw it, i decided to give it a second look.

    Bad idea: It’s 2 am, and i’m afraid i won’t get to sleep!!

    It’s just such a horrid bike. It’s even worst than my
    first year design students works.

    I mean, who penned this shyt? What’s his/her name? Is he/she a designer?

    Icon guys, please, next time you decide to build the worlds fastest, most powerful bike, hand it to a pro’s hands. The name deserves some respect.

    And stop posting “opinion maker” comments on bikeexif, you are being silly.

  • scott

    turgut you must not have seen it at brands, or goodwood, or… it’s a whole different bike in person! LOL seriously guys, I don’t care if I see it in my garage w/ adriana lima draped over it, it D@MN ugly. there’s no getting around it. shark fins on the tail, ribs on the swingarm and squiggly lines on every other body part… icon, give me the bike and 3 months. I’ll do this thing justice!

  • Andy H

    I also saw it at Brands and Goodwood, and I think that unless you’ve seen it up close and personal you’re just not going to appreciate the quality and build, not to mention the sheer joy of listening to it roar up the Goodwood Hill! The bike has been designed to be unique – those who think it’s ugly, I defy you to get it between your thighs and say the same!!!!!!

  • Sea

    guys i saw this thing at brandswood and goodhatch and it was all sexie sexy sexxy and then it flew out of a cave full of hot ass women all covered in sheene’s family just clinging on hoping to hell that this bike with ol’ barry’s name on it was gonna let them down easy and it DID. it is engineered so good you really gotta see it in the the flesh when his whole family are hangin to it and it still goes round corners and finishes the financial year somehow in the black.

    just to save chris from pointing out that my next post is from the same ip i will post it below

    OMG!! this bike has to be seen, i thought it was ugly at first too. but then i smoked some drugs and went on a spiritual journey.

  • Sea

    on a more serious non-sarcastic note, people have been building 500hp turbo’d hayabusa’s for ages. how is a 250hp 1400cc any kind of achievement. sure i only have a 120cc two stroke bucket in the garage, but to be fair i’ve dyno’d at 24hp. per litre my 30 year old single beats this “cutting edge” four.

    for the amount they are asking, i can’t see where the money went. i suppose they have alot of people to pay off for name-dropping so heavily.

  • Turgut

    This is the ugliesy bike ever!

    Point final, à la ligne.

    It’s not worth a dime, till you get rid of its bodywor.
    Accept this, and redesign it, or i’ll keep posting to your messages till i die.

    People are not as dumb, nor as tasteless as you wish.

  • JustJoe

    I love bikes. I see a Suzuki B-King with stock exhaust and I think “what a beautiful creature, poising to take interstellar flight.”
    I look at this and think, “damn, girl U UGLY!”

  • jim

    it’s a ’81-’83 katana copy. I have the original , and i like it better.

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