Ten Best Bikes 2008

BEST MIDDLEWEIGHT

HONDA CBR600RR

A year ago we were confident in our selection of the CBR600RR for this category, and a year later, our belief has been further reinforced. Serious challenges came from the opposition but they Simply couldn't outduel the fantastic Honda on road or track. While competitors struggle to keep weight off their midsections, Big Red's middleweight tips the scales at a feathery, class-leading 384 pounds dry. Combined with impressive midrange power and a competitive top-end, it delivers superior performance in day-to-day riding. An excellent chassis makes this one of the sweetest-handling motorcycles made, while the speed-sensitive electronic steering damper keeps everything in check. The benchmark is set. Again.

BEST STANDARD

TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE 675

Expectations run high for a MotoGP-derived Ducati Desmosedici RR or a perennial AMA Superbike Champion Suzuki GSX-R1000, less so for entry-level machinery. Such is the mindset of performance-first enthusiasts. So when an example of the latter delivers unforeseen thrills at a price most anyone can afford, word spreads quickly. Associate Editor Blake Conner returned from the European press launch of the Street Triple singing the praises of Hinckley's newest naked bike, lauding its sweet-running engine, balanced chassis and upright riding position. After riding the 675-based all-rounder, the rest of the staff agreed: The Street Triple is not only this year's biggest surprise, it's our Best Standard.

BEST SPORT-TOURER

KAWASAKI CONCOURS 14

Where to begin? How about, "These are the nicest horsepower and torque curves we have ever seen." Or perhaps, "It moves with an athletic confidence and over-powerful ease like nothing else on the road. One minute it can whisper along in its overdrive sixth gear so smoothly and quietly at 80 mph it is almost like the bike isn't running. The next it is tearing out of a corner, front end light, leaving a black line and a shower of footpeg sparks in its wake." The fact is that sport-touring is about delicious movement, freedom to go slowly and relax or to turn the throttle and run, with just enough of your favorite stuff in the saddlebags. The Kawasaki Concours 14 does all that and more, elevating the performance level of the class to new heights

BEST SUPERBIKE

DUCATI DESMOSEDICI RR

Simply outrageous best describes Ducati's Desmosedici RR, a modern marvel of moto tech that defies all rules of logic. Sure, this MotoGP refugee represents complete and total overkill on the street, but even more astounding is t this bike need not even exist. With no homologation rule within the sport's premier class, the D16RR provides 200 of heart-pounding proof that the storied Italian manufacturer truly is fueled by passion in its pursuit of performance pnce. We called it "magic in the streets" and "a masterpiece with a warranty." How could we not consider the world's reet-legal MotoGP replica to be anything less than the year's Best Superbike?

BEST OPEN STREETBIKE

SUZUKI GSX-R1000

this bike rips on track. Yes, it kills arter-mile. Yes, it dyno with awe tk power and an torque curve. Yes, 1 this. What it also de comfortably on , fueling flawlessly, leutrally and Simply exactly how we 1 incredibly sport rcycle to behave :~eUing. So while o single element sets the Suzuki 00 apart, its com f close-to-chart rformance in all categories plus e sweetness on the `ly allows it to be doing everything. erriding corn d fundamental iat makes the big rue winner.

WOW, WHAT A YEAR IT'S BEEN, HUH?! NEW REPLI-RACERS, NEW STANDARDS, new cruisers, new touring bikes, new middleweights, new sport-tourers, new musclebikes, new dirtbikes, new scooters. From expensive exotics to campground runabouts, we have been treated to an amazing array of machinery. And mark 2008 as the year electronics took a big step forward. We now have fuel-injected motocrossers, ride-by-wire throttles, variab1e-length intake tracts, multiple ignition maps, powerband-smoothing programs an~ outright traction control. Trust us, the Chip Revolution has only just begun. That's in~e near future but let's get back to the here and-now, the stars of this show, our Ten Best Bikes of 2008. Some are all-new, others are repeat winners and one has been col!ecting hardware from us for 30 years, plus we've included five honorable mentions1thatwould be a welcome addition to anyone's garage. Please, enjoy.

TEN BEST BIKES 2008

BRIAN BLADES

BEST DUAL-SPORT BIKE

KTM 690 ENDURO

Taking dual-sport honors last year with its 525 EXC proved that KTM was serious about this market segment. Outfitted with all of the requisite equipment for street legality, the EXC gave consumers a competition-worthy motorcycle that didn't mind a little asphalt thrown into the mix. For '08, the Austrian company took a different approach with the brand-new 690 Enduro. The updated engine not only offers more power for the street equation but has a three-position ignition-map selector to tame those ponies for attacking the dirt. By offering a much-enhanced street ride while still meeting the demands of off-road riders, KTM has improved the breed, finding just the right balance and putting an emphasis on the "dual" in dual-sport.

BEST ENDURO BIKE

HONDA CRF450X

Adding a steering stabilizer to an enduro bike is something most off-roaders do right after purchase. Honda Simply eliminated the chore by adding its very own Progressive Steering Damper to the 2008 CRF450X. Of course, that alone was not enough to turn the always-close-contending X into a CWTen Best-winner. The X received new steering geometry and a slimmer profile that enhances rider control. The now-nimble chassis complements the lively motor, turning the X into a refined off-road tool. It rips in the desert, shreds through the trees and can even be raced in tough off-road events, proven by winning the latest Baja 1000. A bike that truly does it all off-road.

BEST MOTOCROSSER

HONDA CRF450R

When it comes to outright moto performance, the CRF450R is at the top and has been for seven years. Shocking for such a competitive class, in which yearly updates steadily increase performance for every model. This year, the ever-refined CRF fought off the fastpaced world of technology, namely, a fuel-injected Suzuki that boasted tractable power. Still, there was no match for the strength of the proven Unicam engine that received its own tech-advancements by means of a multi-map ignition system. The chassis was also updated with new triple-clamp offset and the addition of a steering damper for precision cornering. On track, the CRF can be ridden the hardest, pulls out of corners the strongest, and its suspension is ready for anything Ma Earth can throw in its way. The CRF450R is motocross.

BEST CRUISER

START RAIDER

It's pretty easy to build a fat-tired, raked out custom; even private owners and one-man shops have put together some stylish examples. The hard part is building one that has the requisite fat-tired, raked-out look but that also feels and behaves like a "normal" motorcycle. And so far, no one has done it better than Yamaha with its Star Raider. Despite its 40-degree fork angle, 210mm rear tire and 71-inch wheelbase, the Raider handles amazingly well. The raked front end doesn't flop side-to-side, and the rear tire offers no noticeable resistance to turning. Combine that with the Raider's thunderous, torque-laden 1854cc V-Twin engine, and you have one of the most satisfying rides of its kind ever built.

BEST TOURING BIKE

HONDA GOLD WING

This isn't just a motorcycle, it's an institution, a rolling example that more can be more, kitchen sink jokes be damned. The Gold Wing has been winning Ten Best awards—16 in all—longer than some CW staffers have been alive, way back to 1977 when it was a naked roadster that made fairing-meister Craig Vetter a millionaire. When someone at Honda got smart and started equipping the Wing with the touring paraphernalia that owners were adding anyway, the modern big rig was born. Purists and pundits—given fresh ammo a couple of years ago when an airbag was added to the bike's long list of features—may well scoff. Yet, the amazing thing is not how much of a two-wheeled car the Gold Wing has become, but how much motorcycle remains.