Ten Best Bikes 2006

Like the swallows returning to Mission San Juan Capistrano or Chicago Cubs’ fans getting their hopes up yet again, if it’s spring then it’s time to pick Cycle World’s Ten Best Bikes of the year.

This does not get any easier, despite the magazine's 30 prior attempts at winnowing from a cast of hundreds the best machine in each of 10 categories. Going by our 2006_ Buyer's Guide_, there were 440 distinct models for sale in U.S. showrooms this year. You have to look hard to find a bad bike these days, but finding the best is even harder. Comparison tests provide some answers, but in many classes the final decision isn't made until impassioned arguments are made pro or con, usually over a good lunch at a nearby bistro–though alcohol was banned several years back in the wake of some particularly vehement (not to mention slurred) debates. Sometimes even that doesn't work, and all-day back-to-back rides are laid on to determine a winner. Beats livin' heck out of digging ditches, no?

This year’s crop of Ten Besters (plus five Honorable Mentions) indicates just how good every bike-maker’s game has gotten. Wasn’t that long ago that one manufacturer might walk away with four, five or six “Besties.” No more: In 2006, six countries and 11 companies are represented. It truly is a Motorcycle World.

Time, then, to present the best motorcycles in that world...