Bike of the Year

Bike of the Year

UP FRONT

MARK HOYER

INTERNATIONAL BIKE OF THE YEAR NEVER ceases to be interesting because of the diversity of countries and publications that participate. Here at Cycle World, we have traditionally let our Ten Best Bikes selections be our guide, and so it was again as we voted this year with 11 other magazines to find the IBOTY of 2009.

Historically, sportbikes have stolen the show, with GSX-Rs, CBRs, ZX-6Rs and Ris typically taking the top spot. One recent notable exception was the BMW R1200GS that won in 2004. And even that one is a demon on a backroad. You'll see this year that sporting machines have kept their spot on the list.

Timing is a bit confusing. Votes are for bikes available in the publications' home markets during 2009, so some of the big-news machines on all our minds right now-such as the BMW S1000RR and Honda VFR1200F-aren't eligible. That didn't stop Japan's Auto-By from voting for the Honda. Yeah, the VFR is good (see the full test, pg. 34). Look for it to be in the running next round.

It was, in fact, Honda that killed in 2008 voting, topping the chart with the CBR1000RR (a.k.a. Fireblade in the rest of the world). The `Blade would have won by a landslide if it weren't for the second-place CB1000R naked bike getting so many votes.

This time Aprilia's stunning RSV4 Factory took the top spot, a first-ever win for the relatively small Italian bike maker.

Said Spain's La Moto, "The RSV4 is the first four-cylinder bike of the brand, and it is also the best bike ever built by Aprilia. In 2009, the Factory won all of our sport comparative tests against the best Japanese superbikes. It has a powerful engine, at the same level as a Kawasaki in top-end power, has the han dling of a Honda and the typical balance of a V-Four. With its ride-by-wire throttle and switchable engine maps, the Aprilia can also be used effectively on public roads."

Many others echoed these comments, including us. And like many of the other publications, we would have voted for the $15,999 R model since performance is so close to that of the $20,999 Factory, but the less expensive version wasn't available for sale in time to be eligible. So to the Factory goes the spoils.

As unprecedented as Aprilia's win was, the second-place finisher turned out to be a nod to Japanese-superbike normalcy, at least in terms of IBOTY: Yamaha's YZF-R1. Thierry Sarasyn of Belgium's MotorWereld put it very well: "With the Ri, Yamaha has brought racing technology to a larger audience. Many manufacturers have done this to some degree or claim to have done it, but nobody has ever gone this far. Yamaha took a revolutionary engine conceptthe crossplane crankshaft-and built a bike unlike any other, combining the character of a V-Four with that of an inline-Four—and it sometimes even feels like a Triple! It’s unrivaled and it’s high-tech. It shows that Yamaha not only has the technology but that it is also passionate enough to bring racing to the street. In the end, that’s what we all hope for when we watch MotoGP.”

Australian Motorcycle News wasn’t swayed by either of these newcomers, though, once again making the CBR1000RR its number-one choice, helping 2008’s winner achieve a solid third place overall this time around. “Although a lot of new bikes have been released in 2009 and a lot of them came close, nothing could top the benchmark set by the CBR1000RR in its release last year,” the editors argued. “It’s a class act and one that has proven very hard to beat.”

Although the Aussies were happy with the standard CBR-RR, most others who voted for the bike focused on a technological advancement that simply could not be ignored.

“The Fireblade was and is a masterpiece in the 1 OOOcc hypersport category,” enthused Kicxstart of the Netherlands. “Although the ’Blade itself didn’t change from model year 2008 to ’09, there is one innovation that brought the new-generation machine into a class of its own: the Combined-ABS Honda developed for supersport bikes. On the road, the system is a confidence-inspiring safety feature. On the track, especially in wet and/or changing conditions, it allows you to experience braking of a level way above your personal ability. Honda has shown a lot of courage to introduce ABS in this class. It’s a brilliant and convincing system that takes the Fireblade to a new level. No doubt, others will soon follow.”

I know Kicxstart is trying to sound psychic in its prediction here, but I also know they voted after the ABSequipped S1000RR was already on the road and track, so they knew BMW had taken the ABS leap. But they are right: There will be more.

In fact, looking back over the past 25 years of IBOTY, it’s a string of incredible, envelope-pushing motorcycles. Past winners include the ’86 Honda VFR750, ’90 Kawasaki ZX-11, the ’93 CBR900RR, ’94 Ducati 916, ’98 Yamaha YZF-R1, the ’99 Suzuki Hayabusa and a whole bunch of GSX-Rs.

The overriding message here is that competition is good and in the end, we who love and ride motorcycles are the real winners. □