Best Cruiser: 2019 Bikesales Bike of the Year Awards

The 2019 Bikesales Bike of the Year (BOTY) Awards recognise excellence across 11 separate motorcycle categories.

And here’s how it will work. After a massive five-day test through-north-east Victoria in early November – branching out from the beautiful town of Bright – we'll whittle our shortlist down an outright winner to be announced on Thursday, December 5.

Let’s continue the 2019 BOTY by announcing the Ducati Diavel 1260 as the winner of our Cruiser category.

It was going to take something truly special to knock off last year's winner, Harley-Davidson's Fat Bob 114, but Ducati's power cruiser is exactly that.

Now priced from $29,790 ride away, the Ducati Diavel 1260 takes the power cruiser niche to new heights with Ducati's inimitable sense of Latin style. However, this is no show-pony. On the contrary, the Ducati Diavel 1260's suspension, chassis and brakes are a perfect match for its impressive 1262cc V-twin output.

The Ducati Diavel 1260's Testastretta DVT 1262 (Desmodromic Variable Timing) engine – technically a 90-degree L-twin for the purists – has a dual-spark arrangement with four valves per cylinder, and it produces a heady 159hp (117kW) at 9500rpm and a thumping 129Nm at 7500rpm.

The 2019 Ducati Diavel 1260 is available in Thrilling Black and Dark Stealth liveries – click here for more information.

For this 2019 model Ducati's engineers went to town, taking an already jaw-dropping package and slotting that new Testastretta DVT 1262 engine into an appreciably sportier geometry, adding chain final drive (instead of the previous belt) and mid-mount controls.

The Ducati Diavel 1260's steering is now lighter and more precise, and with 41 degrees of available lean angle it all adds up to one rare beast – a cruiser that can hammer through the bends like a sports naked.

It comes with all the electronic fruit too – like multi-level traction control, cornering ABS, even launch control and wheelie control. Those two last features alone underline how Ducati's Diavel 1260 isn't just some mild-mannered boulevard roller…

For those who want even more, and extra $5000 will get you a Ducati Diavel 1260 S with fully adjustable Öhlins suspension and a bi-directional quick-shifter. That too is undeniably one incredible package, but we think the standard Ducati Diavel 1260 is the pick – just sock the extra five grand away to pay for those massive 240-section rear tyres!

You also get a choice of ride and power modes, a TFT instrument display and full LED lighting, plus the bike can be tweaked via your smartphone and the Ducati Link app.

It's a lusty combination of technology, brawn, style and refinement that takes the cruiser category to new heights. Congratulations, Ducati.

The combination of Italian know-how and Chinese backing really seems to be paying dividends for Benelli, and its new learner-approved cruiser, the Benelli 502C, is a great example. It's low to the ground yet roomy, it has a perky half-litre parallel-twin engine, is supremely easy to manage yet offers a healthy level of performance and handling that will keep novice riders engaged throughout their learner and provisional licence periods. Add in some classy, distinctive styling and niceties like the TFT instrumentation and LED lighting, and for $9790 ride away the Benelli 502C is one very attractive package.