Scooter of the year
Vespa GTS 300
Vespas are the definitive scooter. They may be more expensive than cheap Chinese plastic ones, but there’s a reason – they’re well made in steel, beautifully finished and have the name Vespa on the front.
With 24bhp, this latest incarnation is the most powerful Vespa yet, with new suspension, better Brembo brakes, new frame and wider bars.
As a result, acceleration is sprightly, handling is delightfully light, the brakes are smooth and effective, and the new suspension laughed off Rome’s roughest streets on the launch.
Coolest bike of the year
Maeving RM1
University pals Seb Inglis-Jones and Will Stirrup set up Maeving in 2017, and what a beauty their first creation is – a unique and exquisite marriage of retro and ultramodern down to the braided steel hose which carries the wiring and even the brushed aluminium lift-out batteries with bamboo trim.
With only 6bhp on tap, it certainly won’t set your pants on fire on its way to a top speed of 45mph, but it’s not only the coolest little bike on the planet, you can save the planet by riding it, so on behalf of eco warrior urban hipster dudes everywhere, I tip my handwoven organic free range flat cap to it.
Midrange bike of the year
Honda CB750 Hornet
Colin Chapman, the legendary designer whose Lotus cars transformed Grand Prix racing in the Fifties and Sixties, was once asked his secret.
“Simplify, then add lightness,” he said – and Honda has taken a leaf out of his book with the CB750 Hornet.
For a start, it hasn’t got anything it doesn’t need, and secondly, it weighs a piffling 190kg fully fuelled.
With its parallel twin producing 90bhp, that means exhilarating progress, married to brilliant brakes and the best handling of any bike I’ve ridden this year. Or possibly ever. What a fabulous machine, especially for £6,999.
Honourable mention
Aprilia Tuareg 660
This midrange adventure bike uses the fabulous engine from the RS 660, but while the RS 660 is compact and muscular, the Tuareg is tall and slim, with a narrow seat to make standing on the pegs easier.
With brisk acceleration and agile handling, it’s the perfect machine for weekend blasts on and off-road.
Browse more than 19,000 new and used bikes for sale at Autotrader.co.uk/bikes
Adventure bike of the year
Zero DSR/X
An electric adventure bike may sound as much of an oxymoron as the Jacob Rees-Mogg Joke Book or Vladimir Putin’s cuddly charm.
You see, there was a time when the range of electric machines was about 100m, but the DSR/X has a range of 115 miles in mixed riding, and with the optional power pack, the company claims 222 miles is possible.
Progress is a seamless swoosh of joy, handling is superbly featherlight and instinctive, and off-road it’s astonishingly smooth and stable.
I loved it more than any adventure bike I’ve ridden, and indeed any other bike I’ve ridden this year.
Honourable mentions
Ducati Multistrada V4 and Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Pro
The Multistrada V2 was so good it seems perverse to change it, especially for a less powerful engine, but with more power and torque in the midrange, this is the best Multistrada yet.
The GT Pro, meanwhile, is 245kg compared to the 267kg of the original Tiger 1200 in 2011, and it shows, making it lighter, sharper and significantly better than its very tall stablemate the Rally Explorer.
Retro bike of the year
BSA Gold Star
The first model by Indian giant Mahindra after it bought the BSA rights is absolutely gorgeous, especially the Legacy model, with chrome tank, mudguards, mirrors and levers and polished engine covers.
For a 45bhp single, progress is surprisingly perky. I got it smoothly up to 90mph before I ran out of road, and I have no doubt that BSA’s claim it will do the ton is true.
Handling is featherlight, and it’s a very satisfying and beautiful package for retro motorcycling with surprising oomph.
Honourable mention
Benelli Imperiale 400
Everything about this bijou beauty is gentle, civilised and charming, making you feel that you’re back in 1950s Italy living la dolce vita.
Sports tourer of the year
Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello
With a gloriously smooth yet characterful engine, agile and sporty handling, all-day comfort and a satisfyingly visceral sound, this is a fitting tribute to 100 years of the Italian firm which still makes its bikes in the factory where it all began in 1921.
Even better, it’s got wings which pop out to keep your knees warm and dry. To be honest, I didn’t notice that they made much difference, but they look cool, which in Italy is the main thing.
Bike of the Year
Zero DSR/X
Listen, I’m as surprised as you are that I’ve picked an electric machine as my bike of the year, but it’s the bike I enjoyed most in the past 12 months.
It may be less powerful than the BMW R 1250 GS, the Ducati Multistrada, the Triumph Tiger 1200 and the KTM 1290 Super Adventure, and doesn’t have their gizmos or their range until battery tech improves, as it will.
But you know what? I enjoyed riding it more than any of them, with its brilliantly effortless performance and handling giving a unique purity of pleasure both on and off-road.
If you put all those bikes in a row and asked me to pick one for my own use, I’d pick this.
