2004 Honda Rune Motorcycle/Work of Art Is Our Bring a Trailer Auction Pick

• Created at a staggering loss, the Rune was Honda flexing its creative muscle.

• Using the Valkyrie as its base, the Rune had a radical design and numerous custom chrome elements.

• This example has approximately 6000 miles.

Honda isn't known for flights of fancy, but the motorcycle you see here is one instance where Honda went completely berserk. A single-minded pursuit of design above all else meant that the big H lost an eye-watering amount on the NRX1800 Rune. The development cost was rumored to be $225 million, and yet the production run was extremely limited.

This low-mileage 2004 Rune, resplendent in burgundy paint, is up for auction on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of the Hearst Autos Group. It's rolling sculpture, a concept bike brought to life, yet it's also as tractable and easy to ride as any Honda product.

In 2000, Honda showed off a trio of concept bikes at the Cycle World show in Long Beach, California. One concept, the T2, got all the attention. Attending Honda employees were bowled over by the adoring crowds, but there was a rather large catch. T2 didn't actually run, it was merely a design experiment.