10 Best Bikes 2013
10 BEST BIKES 2013
DEEEP IN OUR HEARTS, most of us know that we’d ride just about anything as long as we got to ride. It’s just part of being an enthusiast. But we also know that in the great competition of motorcycling, we all strive for the best, whether it’s how we ride or what we ride. The same goes for the passionate people who build motorcycles for us. This year has been fantastic, offering everything from technology-pushing superbikes and touring machines to the coolest cruisers and lowcost fun bikes. And all that rolls in between. «/While there may be fewer models than were offered in some of the peak years before the Great Economic Highside of 2008-09, we have a more diverse market than ever. Inexpensive bikes to get new riders into riding have blossomed in a way we haven’t seen in decades. And at
the high end, well, never has there been a time when electronics, technical improvements and overall design progress have brought more to the people, allowing us to ride faster, safer and farther. «/Which is what we’ve spent the last year doing to help us determine the Ten Best Bikes of 2013. Final thought? Life on two wheels is better than ever.
1
SUPERBIKE
BMW HP4
IT’S BOTH A TIRE-TORCHING TRACK BIKE that will help you set the lap time of your life and one of the most street-useful racetrack refugees ever offered to us mortals. Dynamic Damping Control tunes itself to suit your riding mood, changing from plush to precise in an instant. It’s got a dyno-melting 179 horses at the wheel, yet idles along in top gear with nary a hiccup, plus it’s got the best quick-shifter ever. All for a base MSRP of $20,525. Is there a German version of Godzilla? There is now.
2
OPEN-CLASS STREETBIKE
KAWASAKI ZX-14R
NEVER BEFORE HAS THERE BEEN such a potent, sport-oriented streetbike that’s as well-rounded as the ZX-14R. Few pure sportbikes can match its level of comfort, poise and excellent ride quality. Throw on some soft luggage and it easily performs sport-touring duty, too. But the 14R's strong suit remains this: going ridiculously fast. A 192-hp engine catapults the 14R through the quarter in 9.47 seconds, with 60 mph arriving in just 2.6 sec. This big Ninja proves that civility isn’t sacrificed for performance.
3
MIDDLE
DUCA STRE
THE MIDDLEWEIG never been more di definition allows u] ment and all types o cruiser, adventurer, persuasions. With si to consider, it’s no again chosen a bike the distinctions amc Streetfighter, whicl roost as a super spo entertaining and ev
WEIGHT STREETBIKE
TI 848 ETFIGHTER
HT CATEGORY has verse. Our current 3 to 8990c of displacef road-legal bikes of the ;tandard and supersport ich a wealth of models vonder we have once that continues to blur >ng genres: Ducati’s 848 1 continues to rule the rty naked that’s hugely eryday rideable.
4
STANDARD
HONDA CB1100
WHAT BETTER BIKE to name Best Standard than a re-interpretation of the one that launched a thousand container ships across the Pacific? Honda’s modern take on its original ’69 CB750 isn’t incredibly fast, terribly sporty or amazingly cutting-edge, but that’s what makes it a Standard: The new CB’s a bike you just hop on like you used to do, especially when you’ve got no particular place to go. Nostalgic it might be and a feast for some eyes, but it’s also a super-functional, easy-to-ride and cheap-to-keep motorcycle.
5
CRUISER
MOTO GUZZI CALIFORNIA 1400
WE THOUGHT THE DUCATI DIAVEL had a lock on Best Cruiser. But then the new Moto Guzzi California 1400 Custom loped into our lives. And this Italian gets under your skin in a good way, its air-cooled 1380cc V-Twin winning us over with torque and the starring role it plays in the Art Deco looks of the bike. Though classically styled, the California is modern, with three levels of power delivery and traction control, plus ABS and cruise, none of which detracts from the bike’s mechanically satisfying nature.
6
TOURING
BMW K1600GTL
THOUGH THE GTL HAS BEEN the touring bike champ now for three years in a row, we have not yet run out of accolades to heap upon the Bavarian six-banger. Really doesn’t matter, since the ESA version will allow you to easily adjust to whatever you heap on. Haul ass? This one hauls two asses, luxuriously, with plenty of room for their junk in the (removable) trunk and bags. It hangs with sportbikes in the curves, runs low its in the quarter-mile— and our long-termer averaged 38 mpg.
7
SPORT-TOURING BIKE
BMW K1600GT
STAKING A CLAIM AS THE ULTIMATE sport-touring bike since its 2011 debut, BMW’s K1600GT has yet to see a serious challenge. The 1649CC inline-Six combines ultra-smooth, massively strong output with a solid-handling chassis exhibiting agility that defies the GT’s 755-pound fully fueled weight—plus a suite of luxury features it shares in common with its GTL sibling. What will it take to unseat the GT? A light supersport with high bars, low pegs, tall screen and detachable saddlebags?
8
ADVENTURE
BMW
THE ALL-NEW VERSION that defined the ADV gen Ten Best crown with an a' liquid-cooled Boxer Twin flow” heads and ride-by-v featuring five modes that throttle response, power stability control and BM\ suspension. While traditio at the added technical com of it is “set and forget” tuni this explorer more capable
BIKE
00GS
f the motorcycle re reclaims its ll-new chassis, a with “verticaldre electronics : influence delivery, ABS, M’s semi-active nalists may scoff plication, much ng that makes than ever.
9
MOTOCROSSER
KAWASAKI KX450F
HOW QUICKLY THINGS CHANGE in the MX world; one year you’re hot and the next you’re knocked to second spot. Suzuki’s RM-Z450 held onto the trophy for two years, but refinements and upgrades to Kawasaki’s KX450F have vaulted it into the hot seat for 2013. Key to its improved performance is Kayaba’s Pneumatic Spring Fork (PSF), which allows the unit to be adjusted by simply adding or bleeding air. With a new piston, intake cam and revised ECU, the KX450F has become a holeshot machine.
10
DUAL-SPORT/ENDURO
KTM 500 EXC
IT MAY BE A WHILE before another dualsport machine knocks the 500 EXC off our list. There has never been a street-legal offroader as capable as this KTM. The 500 is essentially a full-blown racebike with lights, mirrors and turnsignals. It’s fully able to line up at the start of a cross-country or desert race and compete in stock form. With heaps of power, the big EXC makes sand and loam seem like hardpack, and it turns any asphalt into a dragstrip. Want the best way to connect some trails? This is it.
TIIRI1 THE PRIIE TEl 5FF DII 111 HIKES
HONORABLE MENTIONS
1
DUCATI MULTISTRADA 1200 S TOURING
THE BMW K1600GT is an irresistible force, but if you value a simpler life, the Multistrada might be the better tool. It, too, bristles with semiactive suspension, the latest in electronics and excellent saddlebags. But there’s nearly 200 pounds less Ducati than there is BMW, which gives it a sporting edge and means hardy souls can take the Multi’s name literally; off-road is not off limits.
2
YAMAHA STAR BOLT
OF THE JAPANESE cruiser builders, Star has shown the most signs of life, and its new Bolt is a direct hit on the venerable Sportster. Lighter and more fun to ride, the air-cooled Bolt touches all the right style bases, including being the first metric cruiser with H-D-style grips and levers. Shame about that gas-tank seam, but then perfection would be inauthentic, wouldn’t it?
3
KAWASAKI NINJA 300
IT’S LIKE KAWASAKI was waiting for the Honda CBR250R to get here so it could bust out the Ninja 300 and whack it right back down. Adding 47cc to the littlest Ninja, along with fuel injection, results in a small bike that performs way bigger. It hits 104 mph, cranks out 35 horses, slices up traffic like a Ginsu-heck, it’s even comfortable. A great way to get started. And keep going.
4
DUCATI 1199 PANIGALE R
DUE IN PART TO its staggeringly user-friendly performance, the BMW HP4 could not be denied Best Superbike this year. But maybe even more desirable because of its gruff bark, the new Ducati Panigale Rpacking titanium rods, a higher redline and all the racecraft Ducati can cram into a homologation special-is the high-water mark for allout racetrack performance in 2013.
5
APRILIA TUONO V4R
LAST YEAR’S Best Superbike was dethroned by the almost supernatural HP4. Okay. But. The thing about the Tuono is that it’s got similar performance with a much kinder riding position. And while there’s no doubt that a traditional superbike would be faster on the track, in the real world, the naked Tuono gives similar results with a more comfortable riding position.
