2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year Awards

Following the success of the inaugural Bikesales Bike of the Year Award in 2016, won by Honda's Africa Twin, we're back again in 2017 as the countdown begins to the announcement of the overall winner at the Sydney Motorcycle Show from November 24-26.

However, there's a lot of water to pass under the bridge before then, including the announcement of the 11 category winners over the next couple of months.

The 11 categories are as follows:

Where applicable, we'll also announce a LAMS winner in the respective categories.

The bikes in all 11 categories must have been on sale by September 1, 2017, and met specific criteria to be included in the judging.

We're going for a ride
Once we've announced all the category winners, we'll then take eight of them (excluding motocross, enduro and scooter) on a three-day road ride in early October to gain a greater appreciation for their relative strengths and weaknesses.

During the ride, all eight testers will be taking into account factors including excellence, innovation, performance and value for money, and it's those deliberations which will form the backbone of deciding which bike ultimately takes home the 2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year Award.

After the ride, we'll shortlist three finalists for BOTY, and then keep the winner close to our chest until the Sydney Motorcycle Show in Darling Harbour.

Starting this week, we'll announce the first category winner, which will be in Enduro.