2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year Awards: Verdict

This year has been a defining one in Bikesales history, as we’ve taken to the road to determine our three finalists in the 2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year (BOTY) Awards, the ultimate winner of which will be crowned at the Sydney Motorcycle Show on Friday, November 24.

The four-day, eight-bike mega-test was certainly an immense help in shortlisting the three BOTY finalists for 2017, but in reality we’re always in 'awards mode’ as we review motorcycles throughout the year.

Inevitably our ears prick up when we come across a beauty, and that’s been the inspiration behind the 11 separate BOTY category winners which we’ve announced over the last few months.

For obvious reasons, three of our category winners – the Yamaha YZ450F (motocross), KTM 350 EXC-F (enduro) and Vespa Primavera iGET 150 (scooter) – didn’t join the BOTY ride through the Snowy Mountains, which left us to critique the following steeds:

• Supersport: Ducati SuperSport S
• Cruiser: Triumph Bonneville Bobber
• Naked: Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR
• Touring: Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special
• Sportstouring: KTM 1290 Super Duke GT
• Adventure: BMW R 1200 GS Rallye X
• Adventure sport: BMW S 1000 XR
• Retro: Yamaha XSR900

In terms of hitting the mark in their particular category, not one bike on the test left us disappointed – they all lived up to expectations, and some even added a halo or two along the way.

Let's take a quick look at them again – in alphabetical order – before we announce the three finalists. For more detailed reviews, including video, scroll to the links at the bottom of this story.

Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR
The Tuono V4 1100 RR is a mouth-watering motorcycle, with corresponding levels of brutal performance and tactility that lend it appeal across so many levels. Aprilia didn't take any half-measures when it recently updated the Tuono range. The shrewdest move of all was to increase bore by 3mm to increase the capacity to 1077cc. That 78cc hike in capacity from the donor 999c RSV4 engine is telling, particularly the extra torque. What the RR delivers is pure adrenalin. As the faultless powershifter gets to work, it delivers wedge after wedge of glorious, addictive power. The progression is as smooth as it is relentless, and there’s hardly any vibration coming from all that heat in the kitchen. It has an 'X factor' that most other bikes could only dream of, and can be enjoyed as a commuter all the way to ripping up race tracks.

BMW R 1200 GS Rallye X
This $27,250 machine comes with all the fruit, including two-stage heated grips, tyre pressure monitoring, hand guards, Continental TKC80 tyres, enduro foot pegs, cruise control, an LED headlight, a quickshifter, daylight running lights and LED indicators, along with a thoroughly comprehensive electronics package. The Boxer engine has grunt everywhere, the bike has a lovely sense of balance and the ergonomics are thoroughly sorted. It just works.

BMW S 1000 XR
When it comes to adventure-bike comfort, real-world suspension and blistering performance, the S 1000 XR still reigns supreme. While the technological complexity of this beast is immense, the S 1000 XR involves, at heart, a fairly simple recipe. Take one in-line four superbike engine – from the formidable S 1000 RR – detune it just a little for real-world riding, then wrap it in a taught alloy beam frame, add high-spec suspension and powerful brakes and finish off with a comfortable, upright ride position. the S 1000 XR is quite a Jekyll and Hyde sort of bike – mild mannered when it needs to be; a land-bound missile when it isn't. In missile mode it's an absolute thrill to ride hard, and in fact the term 'missile' doesn't quite hit the mark as this bike can slice up a mountain road with the best of them.

Ducati SuperSport S
We only had to sit on the SuperSport S to realise that Ducati is really onto something. Lo and behold, it’s comfy and inviting, rather than something you know is going to really test your mental and physical mettle over the next few hours. The bike still has those Ducati sporting genes running through its DNA, but such is the comfort level – thanks to the high-set clip-on bars and compliant seat – it’s probably more akin to a sportstourer than a hang-it-all-out sportsbike. It isn’t soft, though: the Testastretta engine is one of the best in the business with sharp throttle response, and the bike also handles with absolute conviction – super stable and a quick steerer all in one.

Harley-Davidson Street Glide
The Street Glide Special benefits not only from the super-smooth and torquey Milwaukee-Eight engine but also improved Showa suspension. The Milwaukee-Eight 107 is as about as refined as a Big Twin can get, pumping out 150Nm at just 3250rpm yet without any annoying vibration. With a ticket price of $36,750 ride away we're not talking loose change, but for that outlay you're getting a top-shelf tourer with all the heritage and resale value for which the brand is renowned. A bike this big shouldn't go, stop or handle as well as the Street Glide Special does, and that speaks volumes for just how far Harley-Davidson has come in recent years.

KTM 1290 Super Duke GT
There are sportstourers, and then there’s the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT – the most muscular form of the genre. Based on the 1290 Super Duke R hypernaked, the GT is a phenomenally robust machine, in no small part thanks to that booming 1301cc V-twin. KTM does electronics as well as anyone these days, and the $26,995 GT has both switchable traction control and ABS, and there’s also a supermoto mode on ABS that allows rear wheel lock-up for the really adventurous. There’s a uni-directional (up) quickshifter as well, which delivers a nice ‘pop’ under harder acceleration. Brembo monobloc brakes and a trellis frame complete the chassis offering. In sports mode you do really forget you’re on a sportstourer as the corners are stitched together with such flair and poise – until the tempo goes back to normal and you realise you’re on a bike that provides all-day comfort.

Triumph Bobber
The Bobber is loosely based upon Triumph's T120 Modern Classic family, deriving the same 1200HT ('High Torque') parallel-twin engine around which is wrapped an all-new tubular-steel twin-cradle frame. Judged purely on style, the Bobber triumphs, pardon the pun, on just about every level. From the gold coachlines on our test bike's two-tone tank (which attracts a $250 premium), to the faux carburetors, the spoked rims, the hardtail-look rear-end and the skinny Avon Cobra rubber – those not in 'the know' will have to look long and hard before they realise this isn't a well-cared-for WWII-era classic. The 1940s looks are, thankfully, countered with thoroughly modern motorcycle technology and engineering.

Yamaha XSR900
The heart of the XSR900 is the 847cc triple, which we’ll undoubtedly be seeing a lot more of over the next few years such is its versatility. When the $12,999 XSR is in the sharpest A mode it throws open those butterflies like a hyperactive kid after a jug of red cordial. On some of the mountain passes that equated to large doses of exhilaration. Certainly, it had most of the BOTY riders feeling like they were riding a bike with a larger capacity than 847cc, which is mostly true of sporty middleweights with their impressive power- and torque-to-weight ratios. The XSR provides brilliant bang for the buck.

And the finalists are…
The R 1200 GS Rallye X, 1290 Super Duke GT and Tuono V4 1100 RR. Congratulations to BMW, KTM and Aprilia respectively.

Without taking anything away from all our category winners, these three bikes are truly magnificent examples of motorcycling brilliance and ingenuity, and will now fight it out to be crowned outright winner of the 2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year Awards.

We’ll announce the overall winner on Friday, November 24.

RELATED LINKS
• 2017 Bike of the Year: Intro
• Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR
• BMW R 1200 GS Rallye X
• BMW S 1000 XR
• Ducati SuperSport S
• Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special
• KTM 1290 Super Duke GT
• Triumph Bonneville Bobber
• Yamaha XSR900
• The Motley Crew
• Ford Transit 350L