2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year: Intro

Motorcyclists are truly spoilt for choice these days, because the fact is dud new models are all but extinct. Thanks to advanced manufacturing techniques, strict quality control and the inherent demands of a cut-throat global market, we're now served up with a smorgasbord of superb models to choose from – and that makes selecting the 2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year no simple task.

Our mega-test first saw a cast of experienced Bikesales judges select class winners from a short list of three models across 11 different categories. Leaving aside our winners in the Motocross (Yamaha YZ450F), Enduro (KTM 350 EXC-F) and Scooter (Vespa Primavera iGET 150) categories, we took to the tar with our remaining road machines to determine our ultimate motorcycle for 2017.

As such, our 2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year road-bike category winners were as follows:
• 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

How do you pick a winner from such an eclectic bunch of brilliant bikes? Our eight testers were assessing our fleet of motorcyledom's finest against a broad range of criteria, including all-round excellence, innovation, safety, performance and value for money – the very same fields that play a core part of sister site Carsales.com.au's annual Car of the Year awards.

While we had no limits on price, performance or capacity, to be eligible each bike must be a volume production machine and on sale in Australia as of September 1, 2017.

The plan
Meeting on Melbourne's eastern outskirts, our cavalcade of bikes headed along the Princes Highway to Eden (NSW), for our first overnight stop. On day two we pointed the handlebars towards Bega before heading up the Snowy Mountains Highway to Cooma, Jindabyne and then Thredbo, before taking in the picturesque and serpentine Alpine Way to Khancoban.

We then stopped for the night at the Tintaldra Hotel – the epitome of a great Aussie country pub that was recently taken over by John, a true-blue Aussie biker and master of hospitality.

Day three served up more great roads and some final photo opportunities on the run to Mansfield, from where we headed back to Melbourne on day four.

With such a packed schedule of photography and videography, we couldn't let the prospect of a breakdown or spill throw our plans into disarray, and so Ford Australia came to our aid with the use of a brand-spanking new Ford Transit 350L. An updated model now with a new EcoBlue engine and an automatic transmission, it proved to be a first-rate support vehicle – click here for more information.

As for our cast of riders, this year's bunch comprised the usual Bikesales regulars along with some fresh faces. Well, 'fresh' perhaps isn't the operative word, given our eight participants brought a combined total of 267 years of riding experience to the table – that's an average of over 33 years apiece!

So, somewhere between the long stretches of open highway, the tight twists and turns of the Snowies, the city streets of Melbourne and the bench racing of three country pubs, the Bikesales team settled upon one machine worthy of the crown of 2017 Bikesales Bike of the Year.

The recipient? Read on to get the lowdown on each of our road category winners – and of course to discover what we have determined to be the best new production motorcycle money can currently buy…

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
• The Verdict