Best Adventure Sport: 2019 Bikesales Bike of the Year Awards

The 2019 Bikesales Bike of the Year (BOTY) Awards recognise excellence across 11 separate motorcycle categories. After a five-day mega test through-north-east Victoria in early November – based at the beautiful town of Bright – we'll announce the overall winner on Thursday, December 5.

Let’s start the 2019 BOTY by announcing the Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE as our Adventure Sport winner.

The Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE is our standout Adventurer Sport in 2019: it devours kilometres with a 400km-plus range, takes on bendy bits with aplomb, and is chock full of rider aids and technology – including semi-active suspension and an App that you can hook up to which tracks rides, adjusts bike setup, uses GPS and monitors all your bike's stats.

The low-level inertia flywheel means the engine spins up super-fast, allowing the rider to start biting into that 102Nm of maximum torque in an instant. The bi-directional quickshifter comes in very handy at that point on the $22,999 (plus on-road costs) machine.

That’s the really fun stuff, but when it’s time to churn out the kilometres push the screen all the way up, switch the cruise control on and, if it's cold, switch on the three-position heated grips and you'll feel as comfortable doing so as on any bike.

Congratulations Kawasaki.

Quite simply, the Benelli TRK502 is a very competent, accessible, long-range (it has a 20-litre tank) and manageable adventure bike for a relatively modest asking price ($8790 ride away). Moreover, build quality is right up there, and its ride position is upright and comfortable. The fixed screen is broad and offers excellent protection – all without any undue buffeting, too. The amount of go is also perfectly acceptable for a LAMS bike, while neutral steering, quality rubber and healthy ground clearance add up to plenty of fun.