The Medusa Chopper Is Made of Gold, Remains One of the Most Expensive Ever

The Medusa was in the right hands. Medusa is a chopper built in 2013 that, to this day, is believed to be one of the most expensive motorcycles in the world. It’s not officially that, since the application for a title in the Guinness Book of World Record never went anywhere, but it’s still up there with the best and priciest.

The fact that it’s also a stunner doesn’t hurt with its lingering popularity.

Medusa is the build of one Tarhan Telli, who owns the TT Custom Choppers in Istanbul, Turkey. If the name rings a bell at all, it’s probably because some of their builds have made international headlines before – like the No Limit devil we discussed that same year when Medusa was built. They were also in charge of delivering some of the bikes you saw in The Expendables III and, based on their social media posts alone, they’re longtime pals / acquaintances of Sylvester Stallone himself.

TT Custom Choppers makes all types of choppers: you’ve got your punk-inspired bikes, futuristic-looking ones, vintage-inspired ones and choppers that stand out for their stark minimalism. Suffice it to say, Medusa isn’t like any other chopper in the shop’s catalog and the fact that it’s mostly made of white and yellow gold has little to do with it.

Yes, you read that right: Medusa is a bike made of gold. Some reports claim that its entire weight of 900 pounds (317 kg) is gold, while others insist the precious material was only used for the frame. The latter is accurate.

While you could be tempted to think that a motorcycle made of gold would sparkle and shine brighter than Edward the vampire in those dreaded Twilight films, this one does not. In fact, if Telli hadn’t informed the press about his choice of material, few would have been the wiser. Because Telli wanted to avoid the particular shine of gold, he used other materials with a more rugged and industrial aesthetic to hide the precious one.

The result is that this one-off build looks very much like it’s been sitting at the bottom of the sea for the past several decades, which, if you think about it, is the last thing you’d imagine when you hear the phrase “a gilded bike.”

Then, there’s the detailing on the Medusa that stands out. Medusa was a creature in Greek mythology also known as Gorgo, one of the Gorgons. Instead of hair, she had poisonous snakes and looking into her eyes would turn any mortal into stone. Yes, she was evil.

And she was the inspiration for this chopper: her head, rendered with a gorgeous patina, sits on the tank, while the serpent motif is present both on the frame (one snake on each side of the frame) and both fenders. Hermes, the Greek god of trade, wealth, luck, fertility, animal husbandry, sleep, language, thieves and travel, and the gods’ messenger on Earth, is also rendered on the engine.

Telli invested about one year into the project, but never revealed how much money it cost him. Estimates at the time he went public with the build cited around $1 million but they were never confirmed. However, considering Telli filed an application with Guinness for the title of world’s most expensive motorcycle, that much we know: it was – and still is – expensive.

Medusa is powered by a 1,801cc RevTech V-Twin engine that delivers 125 hp, with a six-speed gearbox. It’s got the overall aesthetic of a classic, low slung custom cruiser, with large fenders and a stretched out front fork. With such bodywork as this chopper has on, it would felt overwhelming to try and push the envelope in other areas of design as well.

TT Custom Choppers’ motto is “Good enough isn’t good enough for us!” and Medusa is a prime example of that. Even if it’s not to everyone’s liking and the choice of putting gold on the bike is ridiculed, the detailing elevates it to the level of art.