Cosmic Starship

Not to everyone’s taste, the Cosmic Starship / Harley has notoriety the world over as the most expensive and impractical Harley Davidson motorcycle in the world.  Celebrating its 10^th year anniversary in Oct 2020[1].

The artist at the launch night

While many modes of transportation attract a large price tag because of one-off customizations or the fact that they are limited editions.  This Harley-Davidson is much the same as it was when it left the factory, but coated with a new layer of paint.

Introduced in October 2010 at Bartels in Marina Del Rey, California, the concept was conceived by CEO Robert Star Star Global Intl [2]to promote the artist to a new generation of art lovers.  

Launched in a ceremony that saw the Bike and Artist “Jack Armstrong” being dropped from the sky while lit up by $100,000 worth of lights which was billed The Million Dollar Harley.

Cosmic Harley at the launch night

It is claimed that the artist took 6 months to complete this project using an elaborate technique and style of painting which involved many layers of acrylic paint and no less than 37 coats of clear coat on top, a method the Artist had practiced for over 3 decades.

As noted there is nothing outstanding about the bike itself. It’s a V-Rod without any modifications, chosen because the Artist believed it was the perfect canvas for his painting style.

In 2012, it sold for $3 million, after a DuPont registry feature[3] and has appeared on the market again in 2017.   Current prices are not without controversy much like the Artist himself, however according to the bikes website the current value stands at 35 Million dollars[4].

“John Travolta rode a Bartels Harley in the film Hogs, but Armstrong's million dollar Harley is a movie in itself,“ a statement from Bartels Harley Davidson read[5]