The Ten Rest

THE TEN REST

UP FRONT

EDITOR'S LETTER

GREATNESS COMES IN MANY FORMS

Some combination of excellence, significance, and audacity gets a bike the highest honors of the year in CW. Being really close gets it an Honorable Mention. But there are other forms of greatness or, ahem, distinction, that land a motorcycle on this list called The Ten Rest.

BEST WAY TO RIDE AS A FAMILY:

ANY URAL SIDECAR

Oh, obligatory, predictable, you say, and I agree. My two-year-old son Ian loves these, and there is nothing else like them. Wacky, useful, and smell-theflowers slow.

BEST WAY TO BECOME WORLD CHAMPION:

KTM RC390 CUP BIKE

Helmets off to Wayne Rainey, MotoAmerica, and KTM for planting the seeds for American roadracing stars. Oh, to be 14 to 22 years old again!

BEST WAY TO BE YOUR OWN DRONE STRIKE:

BMW R1200R

Loving the retro-inspired R nineT is easy until you ride the R1200R naked standard. Amazing electronics and surprising sizzle from that flat twin. Retro has its charm, but the future BMW naked is here.

BEST WAY TO SAY ARRIVEDERCI: APRILIA CAPONORD1200 TRAVEL PACK The red-hot glow of the other Italian asphalt adventurer obscures this otherwise fantastically balanced and supremely comfortable travel bike.

BEST WAY TO MAKE A CHEAP DUAL-SPORT EXPENSIVE:

YAMAHA WR250R I’ve ridden almost everything everywhere. But I bought a used WR, threw a bunch of time and money at it, and now have my own personal perfect motorcycle I call ADV Lite. The more remote we ride, the happier I get.

BEST BIKE TO ESCAPE ON:

ANY MOTORCYCLE YOU CAN BOTH AFFORD AND LOVE Seriously, just get on a bike. Anything that runs. Life is better.

BEST WAY TO ENSURE THE SUN

NEVER SETS ON THE BRITISH EMPIRE: TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE We know there is a new, sportier classic coming from Triumph this fall. But we are pretty certain this new bike is meant to augment the existing line of 865CC parallel twins. In fact, Triumph would be crazy to give up on the current Bonnie and the worldwide allegiance it has gotten for the British brand. The Union Jack still flies everywhere!

BEST BEARD-STICKING-OUT-OF-YOURHELMET BIKE:

REVIVAL CYCLES J63 DUCATI CUSTOM

It’s a rare custom-built bike that looks as good as it goes. But I was fortunate to take the Revival J63 Ducati around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for a few laps in conjunction with The Quail Motorcycle Gathering. Makes me wish I had the financing to commission one. A bellowing Ducati V-twin in a gorgeous chassis that actually works— beauty in motion.

BEST AMERICAN-MADE NAKED BIKE: EBR1190SX

EBR was to be auctioned in late July as a whole entity and put back in business. Hope so because we got an SX in hand right around the bankruptcy, and it is seriously fun, featuring loads of improvements compared to the 2014 RX we tested.

BEST WAY TO ENCOURAGE PUTTING YOUR VELOCETTE ON CRAIGSLIST: YAMAHA SR400

I admit I am bitter about the decadeplus of mechanical punishment my peculiarly faulty ’54 Velocette MSS 500CC single has levied against me. When I ride the SR400 I almost think I should move the Velo on to someone new. Almost. The SR is that much fun and dead reliable. Makes me wish I could be cured of my British addiction.

MARK HOYER

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

THIS MONTH'S STATS

1 VEHICLES THAT BROKE 200 MPH IN THIS ISSUE

since 1976 thirty-nine YEARS OFTEN BEST BIKES

25 APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF MILES SPENT AT ABSOLUTE WIDE-OPEN THROTTLE DURING TESTING