Cycle World says it was treated to an amazing selection of bikes for 2010, but "there are some that set themselves apart for delivering just the right combination of performance, quality and style to suit the times and emerge as better than the competition".
So here are their picks...
Best standard bike: Kawasaki Z1000
"Kawasaki has delivered an all-new machine that shares little more with its predecessors than a name and its broad-focus, real-world sporting intent. And we have been torqued into submission by its all-new sublimely smooth, instant-power 1043cc inline-Four. This, along with a sporty chassis and fully adjustable suspension upped the Z's sporting prowess and sealed the deal."
Best Dual Sport: KTM 990 Adventure R
"What makes the R such a worthy recipient is how much it feels like a "real" enduro, despite its 490-pound dry weight. Key is the suspension—which offers 10.5 inches of travel at both ends—and a chassis that somehow allows this machine to turn and handle like a real dirtbike should. But it's equally adept on the road, with its controllable 96.2-hp V-Twin ripping up the asphalt as well as it does a rocky trail."
Best Open Streetbike: Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Sport
"With its broad, high-leverage handlebar and bolt-upright ergonomics, a punchy, superbike-sourced 135-horsepower liquid-cooled V-Twin and 17-inch wheels, the newest Multi is comfortable and fun and fast everywhere—a true horizon-expander."
Best Cruiser: Triumph Thunderbird 1600
"It rumbles along smoothly, soulfully, while providing comfortably kicked-back ergonomics and suspension that actually suspends. Triumph being Triumph, it couldn't even keep from building a big cruiser that handles okay, too, and then wrapped it up in crisp styling, with a shapely no-seams gas tank, maximum chrome and minimal plastic."
Best Middleweight Streetbike: Kawasaki ZX-6R
"The Kawasaki ZX-6R is not merely a sportbike, it's a well-balanced machine that ranks among the very best mid-displacement streetbikes ever conceived."
Best Enduro Bike: KTM 450 XC-W Six Days
"The XC-W's chassis excels in its intended environment: cross-country racing. Factor in a powerful and proven engine, and the Six Days rises to the top of the enduro category."
Best Motocrosser: Yamaha YZ450F
"Excellent KYB suspension glides over braking bumps and eats sharp impacts, while the YZ’s fuel-injected engine—regardless of its layout—provides excellent low-end to midrange output, resulting in more usable power for a wider variety of riders."
Best Sport-Touring Bike: Kawasaki Concours 14
"Speed. Power. Handling. Agility. Stability. Comfort. Payload. It’s hard enough to pack all those endearing qualities into a motorcycle, and it’s even more rare to find them in great quantities in any one machine. But that’s what Kawasaki has accomplished with the Concours 14."
Best Touring Bike: Honda GL1800 Gold Wing
"The 1800’s ethereally smooth flat-Six delivers a bottomless well of stump-pulling torque that would do a Peterbilt proud, and the chassis offers a ride as plush as that provided by some cars. Toss in a great sound system, cruise control, heated grips and seat, adjustable windscreen, cockpit-adjustable headlights and rear-suspension preload—plus more than 75 accessories that include a navigation system, anti-lock brakes and even an airbag—and you get an over-the-road experience that nothing else on two wheels can match."
Best Superbike: BMW S1000RR
"On the road in our own little fiesta of speed, we found it almost as refined and comfortable as the established superbike players. And just to rub it in, the base-model BMW is actually a bit cheaper than some of its Japanese equivalents."