2023 bikesales Bike of the Year winner revealed

The BMW M 1000 R has today been crowned the 2023 bikesales Bike of the Year, proudly presented by Youi Insurance.

bikesales Bike of the Year is Australia’s premier motorcycle consumer award and recognises the best production motorcycle of the year.

To determine the 2023 bikesales Bike of the Year and two Highly Commended models, a multi-stage judging process whittled down a field of more than 60 eligible candidates to eight finalists.

The finalists were scored across criteria including engine performance, brakes and handling, safety, innovation, value for money, and each bike’s intended purpose.

2023’s eight finalists had ride away prices ranging from around $13,500 to over $60,000.

After extensive on-road testing, the BMW M 1000 R came out on top.

The BMW is a high-performance naked bike suited to a range of riders and is at home on a variety of Australian roads.

Road motorcycles more generally have made up 37.7 per cent of Australian new bike sales year to date in 2023, while the road segment also accounts for 88.8 per cent of searches on bikesales.

“Our bikesales Bike of the Year judges’ praise for the BMW M 1000 R was unanimous, and it was a clear winner when the votes had been cast,” said bikesales Editor, Dylan Ruddy.

“The BMW is a near-perfect machine than combines exhilarating power, state-of-the-art technology, and exceptional build quality, while still offering performance that is useable and accessible to a range of riders.”

The M 1000 R features a long list of equipment and technology that includes semi-active Marzocchi suspension, high-performance antilock brakes, and a full electronic safety suite and rider interface including an intuitive TFT display,” continued Ruddy.

For 2023, the bikesales Bike of the Year expert judging panel included bikesales Editor Dylan Ruddy, former Isle of Man TT champion, Cam Donald, and bikesales journalist Kaz Anderson, with the remaining judges comprising of cross-section of experienced riders.

Joel Simondson, BMW Motorrad Australia Head of Marketing, added: “We are absolutely delighted to take out the bikesales Bike of the Year award with the M 1000 R in our 100th year of BMW Motorrad.

“The bike is a true testament to the progression of our brand and highlights the performance tradition of our models that we’ve produced since 1923.”

In addition to awarding the M 1000 R, bikesales Bike of the Year judges recognised the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS and Honda CB750 Hornet as top performers in this year’s field – both winning Highly Commended awards.

To be eligible for this year’s awards, bikes must have been on sale prior to October 2023, and have been previously tested by the bikesales team.