Our favorite motorcycles of 2018

There's no good answer, of course. The best motorcycle for riding two-up across Texas is a lot different from the best motorcycle for cutting some weekend laps at your local motocross track. And even within those specialized tasks, the rider's personal preferences, skill level and riding style will change the answer to which bike is "best."

So as we look back on 2018 for our Year in Review articles, I encouraged the other members of our little team to think not of which bike is "best," but which ones they subjectively favored or objectively felt were most significant. I intentionally kept the reins loose, to see where they'd go on their own. It could be a motorcycle available in 2018 or unveiled in 2018 for future release. It didn't have to be something they'd already ridden. Just give me two examples of significant new models from this year.

It sounded like a simple assignment to me. Of course that's before the king of making things complicated got hold of it. So we'll start with Lemmy, who (and if you've seen his garage, you'll know this is coming) just couldn't limit himself to two.

Lemmy says

Lightnin' Lance Oliver hurled me into emotional turmoil by demanding this work from me, as he is wont to do. I've said it before and I'll repeat myself: Now is the finest time of all to be a motorcyclist. I had to pass over some excellent new motorcycles like the Honda Monkey and the Ducati Multistrada S. There were also ones that have been around that I simply hadn't yet ridden until this year, like the Motus MST-R, and also some gorgeous customs that I could probably find a way to try out (if I asked very nicely!) that just aren't available to most of us. And of course, there is no end to the used motorcycles that populate my garage and Craigslist that capture my heart on a daily basis.

I had a ball on Kawasaki's Z900RS. That's a bike that hit all the right right notes if I understand what the retro customer is shopping for. It has great power, it's easy to ride, it looks very faithful to an earlier model without aping it, and the price, while not inexpensive, is in the ballpark. If I was shopping in this category, I'd be agonizing over this or something from BMW's R nineT family. The bike was beyond competent and can provide a rush of excitement (and nostalgia to riders of a certain age!) without that crippling financial what-did-I-just-do feeling that comes with buying a new motorsickle.

Yamaha's Tracer GT probably gets my vote for Most Rational Motorcycle of the year. A wonderfully adjustable suspension, adequate wind protection, a very comfy saddle, and hard panniers are all wrapped around Yamaha's gift to motorcycling, the 847 cc triple engine. It's as though a nicely modified Fuzz-Niner grew up in that year off after high school, enrolled in a sensible state school with reasonable tuition, and already has an internship lined up with a Fortune 500 company. The Tracer GT is the bike of choice for the the graying hooligan — self included, albeit barely. Let's see if they can do something with the price this year, eh?

And for me, the bike to beat this year was Honda's revamped Gold Wing. Yeah, the bags are smaller, and yeah, I'm not sure how the new front end setup will fare over time, but for now, that bike is still the touring king. I love a traditional dresser like an Electra Glide as much as the next rider, but if you want to really hammer down without moving to a sport-tourer, the Wingy will still run circles around an E-glide until it's modified. The Wing is the King, baby. I love this bike, and Mrs. Lem seemed to love Apple Car Play. If the Tour version of this is my perfect long-hauler with the addition of nothing more than a luggage rack, then I'd say that's as close as I could reasonably ask for.

Please don't be mad at me. I wanted to pick so many more. This theme is so... so restrictive, Oliver. I demand more picks for next year, sir!

And now Spurgeon, who was able to follow instructions

Time moved so fast this year that I honestly forgot that it was in 2018 that Kawasaki introduced the Ninja 400, and I was there! The Ninja 400 was the first new bike I got to ride this year, both along the Northern California coast and on the track at Sonoma Raceway. It made a lasting impression.

Our long-term loaner has become a foundational bike in our stable. Alessandra used it for her first track day and then we modified it to start a discussion about how it can be improved for advanced riders. We’ve ridden it, altered it, and loved it every step of the journey. Kawasaki built the world an entry-level machine that can reach well beyond riders looking for an entrance into the world of motorcycles. Still have lingering questions about the Ninja 400? We have an article for that, too.

My other choice is the KTM 790 Duke. Ignore for a moment the sophisticated electronics suite, precise handling, and the overall lightweight package and we’d still be talking about this bike, if only for the engine. The 790 introduced what has easily been my favorite street bike engine of 2018. The 799 cc parallel twin delivers the goods with nearly the same amount of torque as a larger Yamaha MT-09 but with weight that's more in line with that of the MT-07.

Detractors will scoff at its MSRP of $10,500. Yeah, that’s a lot of money, but there is really nothing else out there like this. I heard from a lot of MT-09 and Z900 owners talking about the screaming deals they got on their bikes and how happy they are and to be clear, I am happy for them. But that is not this bike. I’ve ridden both of those machines and, regardless of what the spec sheet jockeys on the internet will tell you, the KTM is more aggressive. Plain and simple. It’s a hell of a machine for people who are willing to pay for it.

Andy Greaser cements his reputation as Common Tread Small Bike Guy

A little over a year ago, I wrote Common Tread’s first look article on the Kawasaki Ninja 400. I liked the 250, really liked the 300, and had high hopes that Kawasaki would deliver my favorite little Ninja yet with the 400. Turns out, they delivered my favorite bike of the year.

Kawasaki kindly sent us one, and my first test ride had me nodding in my helmet. Pure fun, at least to me, Common Tread’s resident Small Bike Guy. The power was exactly what I wanted from a 400 cc twin, the weight was very easy to handle, and the bike carries itself more like a full-size motorcycle than its predecessors. After Joe Zito upgraded ours with Öhlins suspension and a pile of other speed parts, I took the 400 to a Yamaha Champions Riding School track day at NJMP. Verdict: a sweet little track bike that allowed me to focus on improving my riding. Spurgeon beat me twice — he got to ride the Ninja 400 before I did and he named it for this article before me — but I'm still choosing it because it won me over and it also made a mark with our readers.

My second choice is two bikes: Honda’s Super Cub and Monkey. I know, that’s two motorcycles, but if you add their displacements together, it’s still less than the next smallest bike on this list. At just 125 cc apiece, the Super Cub and Monkey are limited in their abilities, but apparently unlimited in their appeal, which is why they get my pick. From what I’ve seen, these little bikes have done more than any other 2018 models to get non-motorcyclists interested in riding. They’re approachable (optional ABS!), fun, and among the cheapest new bikes on the showroom floor today. Even if those potential riders don’t buy Honda 125s, I like motorcycles that communicate the fun of riding. Nice work, Honda.

Lance's picks come with big "ifs"

The other guys hit a lot of the obvious choices, so I'm taking a different approach. I'm going to name two motorcycles that aren't that groundbreaking by themselves, but have the potential to be significant because of what they could portend. Let me explain.

In my lifetime, if you bought a motorcycle from a major U.S. manufacturer, you bought a cruiser or some derivation of a cruiser. It might have been a comfortable tourer like an Electra Glide or a bike with nearly UJM ergonomics, like the Sportster I owned 25 years ago, but they still had elements of cruiser style and function. Yes, I know, there have been alternatives from Buell to Motus, but they were always small players and where are they now? Even when someone started up a new brand (Excelsior-Henderson, Victory), it had to follow the V-twin cruiser rulebook.

The Indian FTR1200 and FTR1200S could be the first tentative step away from that stiflingly restrictive thinking. The key tell will be whether it is the first step of many or a last step of one before a retreat to the false safety of doing the same old thing. Both remaining major U.S.-based manufacturers say they are going to broaden their product lines. Do they have the guts to follow through?

If the FTR1200 is the first in a line of Indians that veers ever further away from the limiting orthodoxy of American cruisers, and if Harley-Davidson successfully comes out with the array of new bikes it has promised to begin unveiling next year, we may look back some day and see the FTR1200 as a turning point.

The other new motorcycle that has the potential of being significant but also comes with a big "if" attached is the new Kawasak ZX-6R. Not because there's anything revolutionary about it. (Sport bikes are too thoroughly developed for that.) Not because I think the Supersport class is going to return to the popularity it had in the early part of the 21st century. (Nor do I think it should — 600 cc sport bikes are not the best choice for very many street riders.)

The significance of the "636" is that Kawasaki decided to build it at all and has priced it just under $10,000, if you give up ABS. You see, we were beginning to wonder a couple of years ago if this class would disappear entirely, and that would leave a huge void in the racing world. The 300- and 400-class sport bikes are popular and liter bikes remain the epitome of performance, but professional racing series (and racers) need an intermediate class to provide a ladder for progression. There isn't really a satisfactory alternative. So if we look back in a few years and see that Kawasaki's decision to update the ZX-6R and be aggressive on the pricing (along with Yamaha's continued refinement of the YZF-R6) has fended off the extinction of the Supersport class, it will be a big deal, at least in the racing world. And there's that "if."

What new motorcycles did we see in 2018 that you thought were significant?