Ten Best Bikes 1998
Ten Best Bikes 1998
HERE. IT Is, A COUPLE OF YEARS FROM THE new millennium, and what have we got to show for it? Two decades ago. star Wars showed us the flying motorcycle of the future, yet all we've got are flying toasters on our PCs. Atomic power fuels our microwave ovens, and the best we can do is an electric scooter? if we didn't know better, we might believe that air-cooled pushrod V-Twins were still with us... Doh!
If 1998 will be remembered at all, it will be as a period of qualified revolution. The prevailing theme was one of refinement, as manufacturers vied to pro duce high-performance motorcycles that were both powerful and user-friendly. While truly groundbreak ing technology was scarce, high-tech spins on timehonored ti.iemes ushered in the return of two-stroke sportbikes and four-stroke motocrossers, albeit with differing degrees of success. There also were almost weekly announcements of start-up motorcycle com panies. two of which are poised to strip HarleyDavidson of its status as America's only bonafide bike-builder. Speaking of Harley, cruisers continued to attract new riders to motorcycling, while simulta neously pushing the boundaries of the touring and musciebike market segments. And the styling status quo was strongly challenged, as more an.d more machines debuted with decidedly untraditional appearances, even if their underpinnings were decid edly traditional, All in all, a healthy. fruitful, if a bit curious year that begs the question: What the heck will they think of next?
BEST SUPERBIKE
Yamaha YZF-R1
What can we exclaim about the R1 that hasn’t been exclaimed already? At last, Japan has returned to the top of the superbike hierarchy with a four-cylinder machine that is much more powerful, yet just as lightweight, easy to ride and-dare we say it?-soul-stirring as an Italian Twin. The fact that it costs many thousands of lira less only sweetens the pot. Never before have our testers checked the “excellent” box under as many categories as they did on the Rl’s evaluation forms; a couple even called it perfect. All we can say is, we can’t wait for the 600 and 750cc versions!
BEST TOURING BIKE
BMW R1 100RT
Okay, so call its boring for choosing the same Best Touring Bike recipient that we did last year. Believe us, if someone had improved upon BMW's R1 100RT, we'd have picked it-but the truth is, no one did. When it comes to covering ground. preferably at high rates of speed, nothing works as well as the RT. It has the creature comforts of a luxury tourer, the roadholding of a sporibike and the maintenance requirements of a riding mower. Plus, it displays the same unhurried manner that has long made BMW's Boxer Twins the sport-touring standard. Truly, the RT is la creme de la creme.
BEST OPEN-CLASS STREETBIKE
Honda VFR Interceptor
The king is de long live the king! After wearing the Best 750cc Streetbike crown for an eight year reign. Ho vaunted VFR finally has abdicated its throne. For 1998, Honda upped the V FR's displac from 748 to 78 1 cc, which bumped it up to the Open Streethike category. And to and behold. VFR wins yet another Ten Best award, a record-setting 11th in all! As befire, the VFR defin~ user-friendliness, matching unmatched smoothness and tractability .with a healthy dollop of newf and, fuel-injected performance. Plus, its growling V-Four remains one of the best sounding engin ever.
BEST CRUISER
Victory V92C
Yep, you read it right, the alt-new Victory V92(' from Polaris garners Best Cruiser honors. What's impressive here isn't the fact that Polaris' first cruiser compares favorably with all the other cruisers on the market; what's impressive is that Polaris' first mortorcycle compares favorably with all the other motorcycles on the market. And to hear company spokesmen tell it, this is just the tip of the iceberg: The $1 billion-per-year ATV/watercraft/snowmobile manufacturer intends to become a player in every segment of the U.S. streetbike market. We can't wait to taste Victory again.
BEST 750cc STREETBIKE
Suzuki Katana 750
All right, let's be honest: Suzuki's Katana 750 is o match for Honda's VFR Interceptor. Bitt with the Honda now ineligible for Best 750cc Streetbike honors, the Su/uki doesn't have to worry about it anymore. And the Katana is a fitting winner; all, it was the last bike to top this category before the VFR began its long win streak. As always the Katana is an excellent all-around streetbike, made even better this year by redesigned body uprated running gear and an engine that was retuned to boost low-end and midrange power Perhaps best of all, no other 750cc streetbike comes close to matching its bargain-basement price
BEST DUAL-PURPOSE BIKE
KTM 620 Adventure
Picking the Best I)ual-Purpose Bike is never easy For one thing, the class is coiistaiitly being redefined. One year, the trend is dirtbikes with I icen plates, the next it's streethikes with knobbies. This year's winner, the KTM Adventure, takes the category in a previously uncharted direction. It may look like a rally racer, hut it's really more o an ott-road touring bike, a 1 WI) 4x4, if you will. The Adventure wins for two reasons: I) It dares to he dift~reiit: and 2) last year's winner, the 620 R'XC, took an unexpected turn toward the street side this year. 11' we're going to swing in that directioji, we might as well go all the way!
BEST 600cc STREETBIKE
Kawasaki ZX-6R
Keeping tabs on the Best 600cc Streethike is like watching a game of volleyball-it goes back and forth, back and forth, until someone spikes it from the second row! And this year, that's what Kawasaki has done with its totally redesigned ZX-ÔR. Never mind that the Ninja is the quickest, fastest and most-powerful 600cc sporthike ever, or that Doug Chandler and it are currently itndefeated in AMA Supersport competition. What matters is that it manages all this while still being a thoroughly pleasant street ride. Who says you need ergonomics designed by an out of-work chiropractor to win races'?
BEST ENDURO BIKE
KIM 300 EIXC
With rare exception, KTM has had a veritable lock on Rest Enduro Bike honor In fact, E/XCs have trophied seven times in the last 10 years. alternating between 250 and 300cc variants. Why the displacement discrepancy'? Frankly, because the 250 and 300 are both so similar, and SO good, that we've usually just picked whichever one weve tested most recently-and this year that was the 300. The Austrian two-stroke's victory is especially impressive this year because it withstood healthy competition from a record number ol new tour-strokes, which are revered for being rider-tI~iendIy. Maybe, hut the KTM is that and lightweitzht too.
BEST STANDARD
Buell S1 White Lightning
It's baaack! Two years ago, Bueil's S1 Lightning swept the Best Standard award by virtue of its evocative styling and semi-scintillating performance. Then, last year, Suzuki's bargain-of-a-life time Bandit 1200 debuted, and the Buell suddenly didn't seem like such a good deal anymore. This year, however, the pendulum has again swung the other way. and the new-and-improved S1 White Lightning brings the gold back home to Buell. With 85 rear-wheel horses, the S1 now has the "go" to match its "show." And with the capital afforded by I larley's recent buyout of Erik Buell's name sake, the future of America's only sportbike manufuicturer looks very bright indeed.
BEST MOTOCROSS BIKE.
Yamaha YZ400F
A slam dunk, that's what the Yamaha YZ400F winning Best Motocross Bike is. If you don't believe us, pay a visit to your local MX track and check out all the racers who voted with their checkbooks. Off-road riders apparently appreciate high technology as much as their street counterparts, because the four-stroke Yamaha sold out even quicker than the aluminum-framed Honda CR250 did last year. What's the attraction? How about that the Yama-Thumper gives racers two-stroke zing and four-stroke grunt. You may not feel as fast on the YZ-F, but the stopwatch says differently, particularly at the end of a long, tiring moto. And that's when they throw the checkers, isn't it?
