Cycle World's Ninth Annual Ten Best Motorcycles of the Year Celebration

CYCLE WORLD'S NINTH ANNUAL TEN BEST MOTORCYCLES OF THE YEAR CELEBRATION

Each year, there comes a time when the staff of This magazine has to hold its collective breath for an instant, to slow its ongoing charge into tomorrow just long enough to take a brief look at where it is today. And that momentous occasion is marked by what has become an institution in the motorcycle industry: Cycle World's Annual Ten Best Awards, this year in its ninth celebration.

Being chosen as one of the Ten Best means that a bike will be remembered and hon ored far past its time. But be ing on the list doesn't mean certain other things. It doesn't, for example, mean that a bike is the absolute performance king in its class. We don't measure quality in terms of seconds at a dragstrip or inches of suspension travel, because that's not what the Ten Best is all about. What really matters is what ama chine is like to ride and to live with, and how well it's able to excite the rider and stir his imagination.

Admittedly, those hardly are quantifiable crite ria for making such a weighty decision. So what you have here are educated opinions and collective judgment calls determined by the votes of the Cycle World staff. Of course, we can only cast votes based on our own experience, so eligibles are lim ited to bikes we've tested during this model year. And because it's impossible for us to test every mo torcycle made every year, again we exercise our judgment in deciding which bikes to test through out the year.

Perhaps the most significant judgment call of all isn't the selection of the Ten Best bikes, but rather of the Ten Best categories.

There are almost as many types of mo torcycles as there are motorcycles, so some lumping-together is in order.

To that end, we've grouped all Superbikes together, with "Superbike" defined as any mo torcycle, regardless of displace ment, that resides in the upper stratosphere of performance.

A far broader category is new for this year-Best : Cruiser-and the only quali `~ fication is styling. To be a cruiser, a motorcycle has to have what Europeans call the American Look, and what Americans call Custom. The

Japanese have a name for that styling approach, too: profitable. Cruiser sales easily outnumber those in any other category.

That popularity is the primary rea son the Cruiser category was included this year, replacing the Under-450cc Streetbike category used previously. That class has shrunk in size and significance until it no longer rates as one of the Ten Best. When a really good motorcycle in that category appears, we'll point it out in the Honorable Mention section. When a great one appears, it'll be eligible to win the Under600cc class.

Great motorcycles are rare, though, and such awards aren't given lightly. That's why it is with considerable pleasure that we present, without any further discussion, the Ten Best Bikes of 1984.

UNDER 600cc STREET KAWASAKIGPz550

Confused? That’s understandable, seeing as how just two months ago, Cycle World declared Honda’s 500 Interceptor as “the middleweight bike to have when it comes time to blast down a winding country two-lane.” But fate hasn’t smiled on the VF500F since then, for the early models have developed a tendency to break their crankshafts and spin their rod bearings—not the kind of credentials likely to get any bike voted Best In Class.

That honor therefore falls to the what would have been the first runner-up, Kawasaki’s GPz550. The GPz is practically unbeatable in box-stock racing, even against the likes of VF500s and FJ600s, and yet it’s more comfortable than either of those bikes around town. By any standards, the GPz is light, fast and impeccably mannered. And it’s something else, as well: It’s proven.

600-TO-800cc STREET HONDANIGHTHAWK S

In the future, 1984 will be remembered as the year in which government wrapped its cold, unsympathetic hand around the motorcycle industry and squeezed so hard that the sport was reshaped for years to come. This is the year that a stiff tariff on imported motorcycles larger than 700cc caused the 750cc streetbike to all but disappear.

Honda not only survived that change, but brought us the Nighthawk S, a monument to the industry's ability to find a bright spot even under the darkest bureaucratic cloud. The Nighthawk S breaks a lot of rules: It's a 700 that can run with or ahead of the remaining 750s; it's a shafty that handles like a chain drive sportbike; it's an air-cooled inline Four that gives up nothing to the liquid cooled V-Fours. And it's clearly the surprise streetbike of 1984.

SUPERBIKE KAWASAKININJA

There's no roor for compromise when it comes to Superbike performance. Especially now, ith an armada of Superbikes deceding on motorcycling with all the subt y of a World War III.One motorcycl though, has come streaking throug with more clarity of purpose than any ther Superbike ever to wear a made-in pan label: the Kawasaki Ninja. This n’t your usual Japanese sportbike t has been compromised by the d to appeal to the masses; this is a ard-core performance motorcycle aime directly at the hardcore performanc rider.

There are oth '84-model Superbikes that have a er scope, that are smoother or mor comfortable or faster in a straight line. But the Ninja is without equal when comes to generating excitment on a wisty backroad. And that's what a Sup rbike is all about.

for compromise when bike performance. Esdth an armada of ding on motorcycling ty of a World War III.

though, has come with more clarity of ither Superbike ever to tpan label: the Kawavn’t your usual Japa]t has been compropd to appeal to the !ard-core performance directly at the hardnder.

'84-model Superbikes 1er scope, that are ‘comfortable or faster But the Ninja is withcomes to generating Ufisty backroad. And *rbike is all about.

CRUISER HARLEY-DAVIDSONFXRDG DISC GLIDE

Any machine dubbed Best Cruiser is going to be judged according to how it compares to the original. Unless, of course, it is the original. And the Harley-Davidson FXRDG is the prototypal American cruiser, the machine with the magic that all the others are trying to master. The Disc Glide even has more of the Harley-Davidson look than most other Harleys. That translates to more chrome, more shine, more made-in-Milwaukee Harley-Davidson appeal than just about any motorcycle made.

But the Disc Glide goes beyond having just another pretty case. It has the V2 Evolution engine, the first truly new powerplant that Harley-Davidson has produced in years. Still, there's enough tradition left in the FXRDG to secure its position as the original. But it's also new enough to be the best.

TOURING HONDAASPENCADE

Honda's Aspencade is more than just a touring big-rig; it's an establishment, a two-wheeled monument to The Long Run, a bike that is as much a part of American motorcycling as open-road touring itself. But just because it's a Gold Wing doesn't automatically qualify the GL as the best. In 1983, Honda's dominance of big-wheel touring was interrupted by Yamaha's Venture Royale, a bike that was a vast improvment over the barely changed Aspencade.

This year the tables have turned once again, and now it's a redesigned Honda shooting down a virtually unchanged Yamaha. The 1984 Honda is smoother, more sophisticated and as easy to manage as a bike half its size. In fact, it's a better-handling machine than any full dress touring rig in the history of motorcycles. And that does automatically qualify it as the best.

DUAL-PURPOSE HONDAXL350R

To work flawlessly both on and off the road, a dual-purpose bike would have to rewrite the laws of physics. The XL350R doesn’t go that far; it simply makes use of the laws of common sense. The size of the machine most clearly demonstrates that point. Taking a full-size, 600cc dual-purpose bike on a trail ride can be enough to intimidate the Incredible Hulk; but anyone who tries to merge on the freeway with a 250cc tiddler quickly learns that you need more.

The XR350 is a middle-ground machine, combining near-250-class weight with near-Open-class horsepower. The end result offers the best combination of talents yet to tickle the fancy of the go-anywhere gang. The XL simply splits the difference and doubles its usefulness. It’s just a matter of common sense.

ENDURO KTM250 MXC

Choosing the best enduro bike is just as hard as choosing the ultimate riding place. The emphasis could be on woods, desert or mountains, but the very best riding area would have it all. And the very best enduro bike would be able to do it all. That’s why the KTM 250 MXC ranks as the top enduro bike of 1984: There’s virtually no two-wheel dirt endeavor beyond the KTM’s scope. The machine handles high speeds over puckerbush-dotted landscape with faultless desert savvy. And when the trail gets tight, the MXC’s steering and agility are above reproach.

This doesn’t mean the MXC can transform you from a Bob Hannah to a Dan Ashcraft and then to a Mike Melton over three consecutive days of riding. It does, however, mean that a 250 MXC can take you more riding places faster than any other machine you can buy.

125cc MOTOCROSS KAWASAKIKX125

Kawasaki’s KX125 sales pitches. In a year fined its Power Valve, its Power Reed, and its ATAC, the KX1 about producing mor production 125cc made, without the miracle motor break look up the KX125’s nothing but an ordina nary ports producir amounts of power.

In handling, too, 125cc field with techn date, and nothing rear-suspension syster novations, and the of the ordinary. The that there’s no trick

Kawasaki’s KX125 just ruined a lot of sales pitches. In a year when Yamaha refined its Power Val Suzuki reinstated its Power Reed, and onda introduced its ATAC, the K 25 calmly went about producing m power than any production 125cc otocrosser ever made, without the p of any tricks or miracle motor bre throughs. If you look up the KX12 sleeve you'll find nothing but an ordinnary ports produ g extraordinary amounts of power.

In handling, too, awawsaki tops the 125cc field with tec logy that is up to date, and nothing re. The Uni-Trak rear-suspension syst hides no new innovations, and the me is nothing out of the ordinary. The X simply proves that there’s no trick winning races.

250cc MOTOCROSS HONDACR250R

Success is a fragile and temporary commodity in the world of motocross. A company can build the world’s hottest MX bike, then before the decals wear off the tank, that bike might be left coughing in the dust left by something newer, faster and better. Honda wouldn’t let that happen to the CR250R. Last year the CR was the newest, the fastest and the best, and this year it continues to be the machine making the dust. Before any other company could even retaliate against the old CR, the bike was redesigned from the knobbies up, getting a new engine, frame and suspension.

The end result is a new CR250R that is much faster and slightly lighter than last year’s model. But one very important aspect of the CR hasn’t changed: It’s still the best 250 you can buy.

OPEN-CLASS MOTOCROSS HONDACR500R

Horsepower means nothing in Open-class motocross. Controllable horsepower, on the other hand, is everything. The amount of power the CR500R makes doesn’t set it apart from the bigger-is-better school of muscle-think that dominates today’s Open-class start lines, but the personality of that power does. The CR’s horsepower manifests itself as acceleration, not wheelspin; confidence, not intimidation; wins, not middle-of-the-pack finishes.

Even in the peak output wars, the CR holds it own. This year the bike is bigger and stronger than ever before, and very few machines can keep pace when a CR500R reaches its stride. Still fewer can stay with a Honda through the turns and across the rough stuff. And none are even close at the finish.