The 10 Best

THE 10 BEST

Everything you've heard is true: Moto-magazine work really is a life of fast motorcycles, endless rides and free gasoline. But there is one time of the year here at CYCLE WORLD when we have to pay the piper. Every fall, all of the editors are locked in a room and made to fight a bike-versus-bike battle of the brands. And they aren't allowed to come out until they've picked the Ten Best Motorcycles of the Year. The rules of combat are simple. Each editor goes into battle armed with his personal choices for the award. The nominees have to be bikes that we have tested or have had some serious experience with that year. And to win, a bike must be shown to be the best in its category. Sounds easy enough; but there are so many excel lent motorcycles and so few categories in which to give them recognition that the Ten Best selection process turns out being one of the most difficult tasks imaginable. So much so that if, at the end of our annual debating session, you were to look in that room, you'd find among the debris an exhausted edi torial staff and scores of arguments that had been shot full of holes. But you would also find 10 motor cycles that had risen above the rubble. They are the survivors, the winners of our annual Ten Best awards. We invite you to peruse our choices for 1986, and compare them with your own picks for the year's greatest hits. And if your favorite didn't make our list well, just consider it a casualty of war.

Under 600cc Street YAMAHA RADIAN

THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS of performance. There’s the type of performance that earns trophies, and then there’s the type of performance that earns sales. Yamaha’s 600 Radian has both kinds. The engine of the Radian is a direct descendant of the all-conquering FJ600, which dominated its class in box-stock racing for two years. Yet the Radian isn’t intended for racers, but rather is for everyone who can appreciate a bargain, with its revolutionary price of $2395. With all that going for it, the Radian is a performer in every sense of the word.

600-To-800cc Street HONDA VFR750F

WHEN THE CHINESE BUILT THE GREAT WALL, THEY didn't try to one-up themselves by building a Great Roof or a Great Floor a century later. It's hard to follow up one of the' wonders of the world. But when Honda shocked the world with the VF750F Interceptor in 1983, that was just the beginning, a sneak preview of things to come. Now Honda has given us the VFR750F, and it's even more incredible than its predecessor. The VFR is the fastest and best all-around 750cc sportbike ever made, truly a wonder of the modern-day motorcycle world.

Cruiser YAMAHA VIRAGO 1100

YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO MENTION THE WORD "PERformance" when the conversation turns to cruisers. It's usually a no-no to mention anything about horsepower, torque or speed. Instead, you talk about style, beauty and flair. But with Yamaha's 1100 Virago, you have to talk about how much torque the big V-Twin makes, and how the bike leaps forward with the slightest crack of the throttle. And once you're done marveling over the motor, you might notice something else: The Virago just happens to be one of the most beautifully finished motorcycles Japan has ever produced.

Superbike SUZUKIGSX-R1100

WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT TRUE SUperbikes, you're talking about the ultimate in two-wheel performance. You're talking about enough horsepower to turn a $200 rear tire into clouds of smoke and shreds of rubber in less then 11 seconds. You're talking top speeds that some light aircraft can't manage. You're also talking about light weight and racetrack-caliber handling in a no-compromise performance machine. In other words, you're talking about the Suzuki GSX-R1100. In the literbike category this year, no other machine comes close.

Touring HONDA ASPENCADE SE-i

WHEN IT COMES TOURING BIKES, Honda wrote the rules of the game 11 years ago with the first Gold Wing. And the company has been rewriting those rules every year with newer and better models, while the others struggle to keep up. In fact, in the 11-year history of CYCLE WORLD'S Ten Best awards, the Gold Wing has won the Best Touring Bike award six times. This year, the Aspencade SE-i comes out on top once more because it is hands-down the best way to cross the country, as we dis covered in our six-bike touring shootout in the June, 1986, issue.

125cc Motocross HONDA CR125R

QUESTION: WHEN YOU TAKE WHAT is already a very good 125cc motocrosser, give it more power than anything in its class, build it lighter than anything in its class, and make it handle better than anything in its class, what do you get?

Answer: You get the Honda CR125R, the best effort Honda has had in the 125 class for years. Plus, you get a bike that has won the 125 national championship, and that has earned a reputation for dominating the small-bore class by winning countless local races. And you also get the bike that wins CYCLE WORLD’S Best 125cc Motocrosser of the year award.

Dual-Purpose HONDA REFLEX

How MANY MOTORCYCLES CAN YOU name that are capable of exploring terrain so tight and inaccessible that only mountain goats would dare to follow? And how many of those are street-legal for cruising down to the general store or going back and forth to school? Not too many, huh? In fact, there is only one we could think of—the Honda Reflex. This is a motorcycle that marks a new direction in dual-purpose bikes, one that doesn't let its street-legal require ments compromise its ability to crawl around in places where once only a full-fledged dirt bike could go. That makes the Reflex not just the best bike of its kind; in America, at least, it's the only bike of its kind.

Enduro HUSQVARNA 400

THERE'S A REASON WHY HUSQvarna has won so many national enduro titles. There's a reason why Husqvarna has won so many Baja l000s. And there's a reason why most local enduros look like a get-together of several chapters of the Husky owners club. That reason is that Husqvarna makes bikes like the 400 Enduro. It is, without contest, the finest enduro machine made to date. It puts together power, suspension and handling in such a way that lets winning come naturally to its riders. And that's the reason it wins CYCLE WORLD'S Best Enduro Bike title for the second year in a row.

250cc Motocross HONDA CR250R

IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN, MAYBE EVERY DECADE OR two. But once in a great while, a truly special motorcycle like the Honda CR250R comes along. It's a motocrosser so good it not only dominates national and local motocross, but is also winning everything from desert races to enduros. It has the power of an Open-classer, the handling of a 125 and the potential to take virtually anyone into the winner's circle. In fact, the CR250R might just be the best motocrosser ever built, of any size. It's just a shame that we'll have to wait 10 or 20 years for another bike like it to come along.

Open Motocross HONDA CR500R

LAST YEAR, THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT THE HONDA CR500R from winning everything in sight was its unspectacular suspension. This year, Honda has given the big CR excellent rear suspension, plus the best fork ever to come stock on a production bike. Add to that a powerband that is both smooth and potent, handling manners that allow the bike to turn more sharply and easily than any Open bike made, plus near-bulletproof reliability, and you have a bike that just might win everything in sight. That includes the national championship as well as CYCLE WORLD'S award for Best Open Motocrosser.