Readers' Choice

READERS' CHOICE

The Cycle World 100 pick their Ten Best Bikes

Editor's note: When we asked readers to join the Cycle World 100 Readers Group, sort of an in-house research panel, we were overwhelmed by the response. Almost 10,000 people volunteered for the 100 slots. What follows is the first in a series of CW 100 articles, in which we asked group members to vote for their choices of the Ten Best Bikes of 1991.

Best Superbike: KAWASAKI ZX-11

Kawasaki’s big bad Ninja, the ZX-11, was the group’s consensus pick as Best Superbike, garnering 46 percent

of the votes.

Typical comment:“Why drive when you can fly?" said Marty Capadona, a group member from Washington.

Yamaha's FZR1000 was second, notching 26 percent of the votes.

Best Open Streetbike: KAWASAKI ZX-11

A rule for the CW 100 balloting was that members couldn’t vote for the same machine in two different classes. Well, apparently all those who voted for something else as Best Superbike put an X next to the ZX-11 in this class, where it got 21 percent of the votes, making the bike a two-class winner.

Typical comment: “This bike is beautiful, fast, comfortable, fast, smooth, fast, well suspended, fast, reliable, fast, etc." said Canada’s Donald John Gibson.

A close runner-up was Ducati's recently introduced 900SS, with 15 percent of the votes cast.

Best 750cc Streetbike: HONDA VFR750F

Winner by a good margin here was the versatile VFR Honda, pulling dow n 33 percent of the ballots.

Typical comment: “Competent and so damn good looking,” enthused Victor Landau from New Hampshire.

Another Honda, the Nighthawk 750, finished second, picked by 18 percent of the voters.

Best 600cc Streetbike: HONDA CBR600F2

Winner by a landslide was Honda’s impressive CBR600F2, piling up a 63-percent majority.

Typical comment: “This bike can deliver on the racetrack, in the twisties or down to the corner convenience store. Its finish is beautiful and its comfort is acceptable. This is an easy pick.” said Texas group member L.W. Bricker.

First runner-up was yet another Honda, the V-Twin Hawk GT (which was included in the class despite its 647cc displacement), with 20 percent of the votes.

Best Under-500cc Streetbike: SUZUKI BANDIT 400

An upstart newcomer beat out the incumbent in this race, as Suzuki's Bandit 400 collected 42 percent of the votes.

Typical comment: “This puppy is beautiful! I don't care that red vehicles receive more tickets, just get me one. I think I’ll set it in the garage and look at it. No forget the garage; this one goes in the living room. No, forget the living room; the Bandit belongs on Highway 16 between Bandera and Kerrville," said Texas resident David Sprinkle.

A mainstay at the top of the 500cc class for four years, Kawasaki’s EX500 still has a lot of fans, and was picked by 34 percent of the voters.

Best Touring Bike: HONDAGOLD WING

This one was never in doubt, Honda's omnipotent Gold Wing taking top honors with some 59 percent of the votes.

Typical comment: “Is this a trick question?" wondered Louisiana’s David Legan.

BMW's K100LT was a distant second-place finisher, receiving 15 percent of the votes.

Best Standard Bike: SUZUKI GSX1100G

A tight race here, with Suzuki’s GSX 1100G winning by the depth of its tire tread, fetching 15 percent of the votes cast.

Typical comment: “It’s big, it's strong, it’s smooth, it’s a shaftie, and I love inline-Fours. The $6000 price tag is reasonable and it's fast—more than fast enough for its purpose," said Kentucky's Gordon Loberger.

Call second place a tie between four bikes, the Honda Nighthawk (with 14 percent of the votes), the Harley-Davidson Sturgis (12 percent), the Kawasaki Zephyr 750 (12 percent) and the Harley Sportster 883 (10 percent).

Best Dual-Purpose Bike: SUZUKI DR350S

Another squeaker, almost too close to call, as the win went to the DR350S, which finished with 25 percent of the votes.

Typical comment: “Suzuki is headed in the right direction with the DR-S series. An affordable four-stroke that works in the dirt, the 350 seems to offer the best compromise between power, weight and cost,” thought Minnesota's David Eide.

Hot on the Suzuki’s tailpipe was BMW's R100GS, 24 percent of respondents voting for the big Beemer.

Best Enduro Bike: KAWASAKI KDX250

A tight class, with ballots all over the board. In the end, Kawasaki’s KDX250, the recipient of 18 percent of the votes, took overall honors.

Typical comment: “A tough class to pick a winner.” said Illinois' Michael Kneebone, “but the KDX is enduro ready (for us Novices, anyway), it's liquid-cooled and dealers are easy to find.”

Second place was another dead heat, this time among six bikes, the Kawasaki KDX200 (12 percent), the ATK 604 EFI (10 percent), Honda XR600R (10 percent), the KTM 300 E/XC (8 percent) and a pair of Yamahas, the WR250 and the WR500 (each with 8 percent).

Best Motocross Bike: HONDA CR250

Honda's rapid red CR250 was the readers’ choice in this division, snatching 31 percent of the votes.

Typical comment: “Boogie!” was Texan Terry Jones rather concise summation.

Taking the checkered flag next was another Honda, the CR500, with 18 percent of the votes.