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Another year of commuting to work on a motorcycle, and the 2023 Daily Rider leaderboard is full, which means it’s time to review what we learned in the past 12 months.
The bike of the year came right at the end, in Honda’s new (to North America) Transalp XL750. And boy oh boy, what a terrific machine. Honda has as solid a reputation for building motorbikes as any company, and yet I was ready to be disappointed by the Transalp. When I think about why that was, I’m not sure.
On paper, it appeared ready to dismiss Suzuki’s V-Strom 800DE. Honda’s new 755 cc parallel-twin engine is slightly smaller than Suzuki’s 776 cc mill and yet it claims about 10% more power. Plus, the Transalp is nearly 40 pounds (!) lighter on our scales and costs almost $1,500 less. In practice, dismiss the Suzuki it did. You have sunk my Battle-’Strom.
The Transalp does feel slightly more road oriented than Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 and Aprilia’s Tuareg 660, which might be a small mark against it for dirt-oriented riders. The Transalp also lacks a bit of feature depth compared to the Tuareg, but then again it’s a couple grand cheaper, too. Beyond the specs is where the Transalp really shines — the feel of the bike in general is superb.
The engine doesn’t just feel strong, it has a heft and purpose about it, with a brilliant baritone pumping out in every direction. And it’s just as refined as you’d expect, from the dash to the feel of the brakes and the comfort of the cockpit. It’s a brilliant way to get to work, or just about anywhere else.
Biggest disappointment
You might think I’m ready to spend more time lashing that poor V-Strom 800DE. Alas, I cannot. Even though it stacks up poorly on the spec sheet next to that Transalp, and truthfully the new ‘Strom left me pretty cold, when I put my feelings aside I have to admit that it is a truly good motorcycle.
That being the case, it’s easy to look to the bottom of the leaderboard and pile some more hate onto the Sondors Metacycle, a bike which seems to answer the question: What if you could buy a sci-fi-movie prop that was never meant to be used by anyone? Truly one of the most uncomfortable and discombobulated machines I’ve ever tested.
Creating an accessible, easy-to-use electric motorcycle was, and still is, a great idea. Sadly, as of the publishing of this article, it has not gone well. Sondors not only failed to successfully build the sleek and simple commuter, or sell it for the enticing price of $5,000, but it appears to be in the process of imploding. We’ll see where BMW’s CE 02 and Kawasaki’s electric sport bikes go, but we still don't have the affordable and capable commuter Sondors originally promised.
Biggest surprise
When I look to the top of the leaderboard, my gut says the Bonneville T100 deserves a callout. How is it that a bike as handsome and charming as that can be so easy and good to ride? It’s… well, it’s a Triumph, in more ways than one.
But actually, my big surprise of 2023 is below the halfway point on the leaderboard, CFMOTO’s 450SS. It’s not the greatest commuter, I’ll admit that, and there are plenty of other flaws you could (and will) point out — a fledgling dealer network, poor aftermarket support, and of course headquarters in everyone’s Least Favorite Country. But it’s a good bike.
Not just better than the hollow, Versys-wannabe 650 ADVentura we tested last year but arguably better than Kawasaki’s famously fun Ninja 400, as Ari wrote about a couple of months ago. The 450SS is svelte and smooth, and truly satisfying to use. It’s cool to look at and enjoyable to listen to, in a category where that’s often not the case. It was the first CFMOTO we rode that made it seem like the company had plans beyond imitation machines, and that caught me off guard.
2024 housekeeping
Largely, next year ought to be more of the same. DR superfans might remember last year that the place where the intro to each show is filmed had to change, and the new kick-off spot seems to be working, though there’s a lot of road noise. Incidentally, I should mention that just about every intro that you watch(ed) with the red brick wall behind had an audio adjustment done by our video editor, Stephen.
He does his best to push background noise out of the footage, not to mention massage each line to weed out “ums” and make the episodes as coherent as possible. In other words, if you meet me in person and I don’t seem quite as articulate as I do on YouTube, that’s Stephen’s fault. Along with the ever-present advice of our producer, Spenser — who encourages me to do things like ride across Delhi and record it — Daily Rider videos benefit from a lot of work that most people don’t see, and that’s worth a slow clap.
As usual, we are open to suggestions for DR subjects, though we at Common Tread reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, just like a bartender. If all goes well, at the end of 2024 we will record the 100th episode of Daily Rider. I would say we’ve got something special planned, but actually we only have one idea. Hopefully, you'll like it.
| 2023 Daily Rider Leaderboard | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Machine | More from Common Tread |
| 1 | 2024 Honda Transalp |
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| 2 | 2023 Suzuki V-Strom 800DE |
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| 3 | 2023 Suzuki SV650 🙂 |
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| 4 | 2023 Suzuki GSX-8S |
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| 5 | 2023 Triumph Bonneville T100 |
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| 6 | 2023 Kawasaki Z650RS |
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| 7 | 2023 Honda CB500X |
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| 8 | 2023 Ducati Diavel V4 🔥💰 |
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| 9 | 2024 Kawasaki Eliminator |
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| 10 | 2023 Ducati Streetfighter V2 |
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| 11 | 2023 Kawasaki ZX4-RR |
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| 12 | 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 400 🙂 |
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| 13 | 2023 CFMOTO 450SS |
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| 14 | 2024 Triumph Scrambler 400X |
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| 15 | 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa 🔥 |
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| 16 | 2021 KTM 890 Adventure R Rally 💰 | |
| 17 | 2024 Honda Shadow Phantom |
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| 18 | 2023 Zero DSR/X 💰 |
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19 |
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20 |
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