2020 bikesales Bike of the Year Awards

Despite the best efforts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bikesales Bike of the Year Awards are here once more. We've determined 11 category winners that we think represent the best hardware on two wheels today, and we're poised to begin the process of whittling down that field to eventually leave just one incredible machine that excels beyond all others.

And that machine will be crowned our 2020 bikesales Bike of the Year.

This is the now the fifth year we've run these awards. Honda's Africa Twin triumphed in 2016, followed by the Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR in 2017, the Kawasaki Z900RS Café in 2018, and the KTM 790 Adventure R in 2019.

Related content:
2019 bikesales Bike of the Year Awards: in summary
2018 bikesales Bike of the Year Awards: in summary
2017 bikesales Bike of the Year Awards: in summary
2016 bikesales Bike of the Year Awards

As in past years, the process of selecting an overall winner begins with announcing our 11 category winners, which we've determined after much discussion with our in-house testers and contributors, and taking into account any new models that may have arrived since our last Bike of the Year Awards.

To be included in the judging, all bikes must have been available for sale in Australian dealerships by September 1, 2020.

And so, our 11 category award winners are, in no particular order, as follows:

• Supersport: Ducati Panigale V2
• Cruiser: Triumph Rocket 3 R
• Scooter: Vespa GTS SuperTech HPE
• Naked: KTM 1290 Super Duke R
• Touring: Indian Challenger Limited
• Retro: Royal Enfield Interceptor 650
• Sportstouring: BMW R 1250 RS
• Adventure Touring: Yamaha Tenere 700
• Adventure Sport: BMW S 1000 XR
• Enduro: Yamaha WR250F
• Motocross: Kawasaki KX450

Where applicable, and as in previous years, we've also announced winners for the best Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme (LAMS) motorcycles in a number of categories (excluding the enduro and motocross categories, or any in which a LAMS model has won a certain category outright, as in this year's scooter and retro categories).

And for this year, our LAMS category winners are...

• Supersport: Honda CBR500R
• Cruiser: Benelli 502C
• Naked: Kawasaki Z400
• Adventure Touring: KTM 390 Adventure
• Adventure Sport: Benelli TRK 502

We'll publish articles detailing why we think each of our winners deserves its category title over the next few weeks, while putting eight of our main contenders (excluding the motocross, enduro and scooter winners) to the test over a five-day road ride in Victoria's High Country.

This year we'll be heading back to the stunning Victorian township of Bright – a gateway to some of the best roads in Victoria, if not the country.

We've plotted a number of day trips from Bright to gain a full appreciation for all the bikes' relative strengths and weaknesses.

All our testers will be taking into account factors including performance, innovation, safety and value for money, and it's those deliberations which will form the backbone of deciding which bike will ultimately be crowned our 2020 bikesales Bike of the Year.

Once we're back from Bright the work really begins, with the bikesales team churning out thousands of words plus quality photos and video to showcase our 2020 contenders. And after our judges' scoresheets have been tallied, we'll keep the winner close to our chest until we make our official announcement on Friday, December 18.

It's an exhaustive but ultimately very rewarding process. We hope you'll join us for the ride, as we embark on the 2020 bikesales Bike of the Year Awards.