Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mentions
Ducati 748
Dismissing Ducati’s 748 as a downsized 916 does it a great disservice. We know; we did just that before we rode it. Ride the 748 once, however, and you’ll be amazed at just how different it feels. There’s been a lot of talk about how easy the 916 is to ride, but you know what? Small Twins are even easier to ride than big ’uns. The 748 may be expensive, but it makes its rider feel like a hero. How can you put a price tag on that?
Gas Gas 250 Enduro
First, we’ll tell you what a Gas Gas isn’t: It isn’t the bike that Jumpin’ Jack Flash rode. What a Gas Gas is, is a bonafide contender for Best Enduro Bike honors. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the Spanish company is an unknown quantity in the U.S. with a small dealer network, the Gas Gas 250 very likely would have won our recent “Ultimate Enduro” shootout. Instead, that honor went to KTManother European company that Americans once wondered about. Is there a lesson there?
Harley-Davidson Heritage Springer
Let’s get one thing straight: When it comes to styling, no one can out-originate the originators. Harley-Davidson’s new ultra-retro Heritage Springer is a warning shot fired across the bow of overseas imitators. In creating the Heritage Springer, the Milwaukee factory drew from its own history, and built a bike that looks very much like one it offered half a century ago. Listen closely, and you can almost hear Willie G. shouting, “Oh yeah, top this!”
Honda CBR1100XX
Given all the overblown pre-release hype, Honda’s CBRIIOOXX Super Blackbird was fated to fail. How could it not, with a top speed that merely equals that of Kawasaki’s ZX-11? But while the XX may not have broken any speed records, it raised the bar in terms of refinement. Few motorcycles, regardless of size, handle as crisply. The Double-X was let down in our balloting by its linked brakes, bothersome drive lash and inflated price. If Honda addressed those issues, it would have another outright winner on its hands.
Yamaha YZF1000R
Okay, so Yamaha’s new YZF 1 OOOR isn’t as fast around a dusty, bumpy, windblown racetrack as a $73,000 Dodge Viper. So what, the YZF was never intended as a roadracer. Yamaha softened the YZF’s focus from its racer-replica predecessor, the FZR1000, and the result is a bike that is much more comfortable and compliant-not to mention more powerful-than before. How good is the YZF, really? Good enough that if it hadn’t been for the new sport-Twins, the Yamaha would have walked away with Best Open-class Streetbike honors. That’s good.
