Top 10 TV motorcycle ads

TV ADVERTS are usually little more than annoying interruptions, but on occasion the ad men prove they’re capable of making witty, clever or simply insane creations that truly grab your attention and stick in the memory.

These days it’s rare to see a bike advertised on TV at all, at least in the UK, but that’s not always been the case, and the wonder that kids today call ‘the internet’ means it’s now possible to trawl through time and space to see bike ads from other eras and other countries.

Of course, it’s something of a mystery as to (a) who would have originally recorded these ads, presumably on video, and kept them for posterity and (b) who would then opt to convert them to digital format and upload them to the web for all to see. But clearly people do it, and their obvious overabundance of free time means there’s something there to fill a few minutes of yours.

You probably won’t agree with all our picks for the best 10 bike ads, so please feel free to make your own suggestions.

Each headline is a link to the relevant video.