2008 has been a great year for biking with some truly awesome bikes hitting the showrooms – it also saw a welcome return to the top for the greatest motorcycle racer of all time.
Here’s our guide to the best of biking in the last year.
ROLL OF HONOUR
Learner bike: Yamaha’s YZF-R125 has topped the sales charts many times throughout the year and has introduced a whole new generation to the joys of two-wheels. Yamaha’s winning formula was to take the looks of an R6 and the frugality (94mpg no less) and reliability of a four-stoke, single-cylinder 125cc engine. I know what you’re thinking, isn’t this what Honda did with the CBR125 two-years ago? Well yes, but whereas the Honda looked like the lovechild of a 1980s superbike and a paddock scooter, the R125 is fresh, aggressive and looks just like a real supersports machine. A punchy 14.7bhp, top-notch components and costing a whisker under £3,000 – Yamaha’s sales success of the year proves biking is for all ages and all budgets.
Sports Bike: We called Suzuki’s new GSX-R750 “good enough to eat” when we first rode it on a pre-launch test at a sunny Spanish circuit. 750cc is the real connoisseurs’ class – a delicate balance between the sheer brutality of a litre-superbike and the lighter weight and handling of a Supersports machine. With nearly 150bhp at the rear wheel and a dry weight of just 167kg it’s harder to imagine a more focussed road-legal sports bike. Suzuki is the only major manufacturer still producing 750cc sports bikes and it deserves credit for sticking with a class that makes a whole lot more sense on British roads and race tracks.
Tourer: So many tourers have sleek aerodynamic fairings, but not our next winner. Triumph’s Rocket III Touring is, for want of a better word, big, fat and in your face. It’s also very popular in America. Taking on Harley-Davidson at its own game, the Brits from Leicestershire have produced a 2.3-litre behemoth with an ankle-busting weight of 358kg. Sometimes motorcycles are about being loud and making a statement and Triumph’s Rocket III Touring takes a loud-hailer to this philosophy.
Adventure: The F800GS is the product of all of BMW’s long-years and expertise in the adventure-sports market. The F800GS is lighter, cheaper and smoother than the firm’s own flagship R1200GS. What’s more it returns around 65mpg at motorway speeds and the Rotax-built parallel-twin engine is slick and powerful. It’s comfortable too – speaking from the experience of riding one to the south of France and back. For £6,695 you get a lot of bike for your money and BMW’s F800GS is a worthy winner.
Supermoto: So many new supermotos are being released these days that we’ve created an award to honour them and this year’s winner can only be KTM’s 990SM. Our tester said: “It’s barking mad and if it doesn’t turn you into a complete loon within half an hour of cocking a leg over the lofty 875mm seat height, I’ll eat my Arai.” The all-out, focused aggression of the 990SM will thrill and terrify in equal measures. Supermotos are a wild ride at the best of times, but with KTM’s new 999cc, 75-degree V-twin motor pumping out 114bhp, you’re guaranteed an adrenaline fix from the moment you flick the starter switch.
Naked: Re-designing an icon is a daunting task and to succeed is even harder. Ducati’s new Monster 696 looks every bit as elegant as the original did when it was released in 1998. Packed with Italian charm and a backed up by a superb 696cc, 90-degree twin the new Monster doesn’t disappoint. With a lighter clutch, more power and a £5,500 price tag, Ducati has produced an affordable gem that does justice to the Monster name.
Scooter: Honda SH300I is the pinnacle of city commuting. A featherweight chassis combined with a nippy 300cc single-cylinder motor (27bhp) proved a winning combination. The top-box as standard only sweetened the deal. There are few scooters so fit for purpose and so well made as the SH300i and if you’re looking for a reliable commuter then this could be the best £3,550 you’ll ever spend. Special commendation goes to Gilera’s GP800 for being, quite simply, the most insane scooter ever produced (75bhp and 839cc are not the figures we expect to see with a scooter) unfortunately, neither was the £6,499 price tag.
Commuter: Haven’t you heard, there’s a credit crunch? And when it comes to saving a few pounds, surely Yamaha’s new YBR125 Custom is the answer. Returning upwards of 100mpg and in the showrooms for under £2,000, there can’t be many cheaper ways of getting to work every day. Yamaha’s YBR125 Custom injects a little bit of chrome and style into what could otherwise be another drab commuter. Ride one of these to work for a year and you’ll have saved enough for a five-star week away in the sun - that’s a reason to smile through the economic gloom.
BIKE OF THE YEAR: Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade
Since 1992 the Fireblade has set the benchmark. Redefining the superbike genre and constantly pushing the boundaries – becoming lighter and more powerful with every revision. But by 2007 many bikers felt the Blade had become so good, so slick and so smooth that it had lost the raw edge and aggression that made its predecessor so thrilling. So Honda went back to basics by reinventing the original 1992 Blade and produced a bike that was more track-focused and ready to challenge the likes of Suzuki’s GSX-R1000.
Slimmed down, yet comfortable for a six-footer to ride; user-friendly but still aggressive; fitted with a new slipper clutch and 4kg lighter than last year’s model the 2008 is an engineering marvel and only begs the question: where can Honda go from here?
Next year’s model will feature ABS for the first time, a move that has upset the purists. The Blade will never be the same again and it’s hard to believe that Honda will ever produce such a sophisticated and yet brutally aggressive machine again.
MAN OF THE YEAR: Valentino Rossi
Just when you thought the sun had set on the career of the greatest and most popular motorcycle racer of all time... Just when you thought he might leave bike racing behind him and disappear to the land of champagne and yachts of Formula 1... Just as we were bracing ourselves for a decade of flag-to-flag Ducati dominance courtesy of young Mr Stoner... Up steps Rossi with an 8th World Championship and his 5th in the premier class. If anybody doubts his claim for man of the year, go and watch a repeat of Laguna Seca – his white-knuckle pass on Stoner at the Corkscrew alone wins him our award.
