2 Top Bikes of 2023
We think it's a pretty big deal. Cycle World's annual ten best bikes of of the year is out, and we've got 2 of them. It should come as no surprise that Ducati and Honda would be counted among the top 10, given their quality ability to deliver performance. So what categories did the rank best of 2023? First up...
BEST OPEN-CLASS STREETBIKE
2023 Ducati Streetfighter V4 SP2
Ducat’s 2023 Streetfighter V4 SP2 dispatched all challengers in a two-part showdown to become Cycle World Best Open-Class Streetbike.
The overall winner of our two-part open-class naked comparison earlier this year gives us our winner for the Best Open-Class Streetbike category: Ducati’s Streetfighter V4 SP2. What ultimately set the SP2 apart from its competitors wasn’t just its otherworldly raw performance from the engine, chassis, and electronics, but the fact that it was also the most comfortable and practical to live with on a day-to-day basis.
Powering the Streetfighter V4 range is the same 1,103cc Desmosedici Stradale V-4 that produced an amazing 173 hp at 13,500 rpm and 75 lb.-ft. of peak torque at 9,300 rpm at the rear wheel on the Cycle World dyno. So if you don’t want to spring for the higher-spec versions, you at least would get the same identical engine and electronics package as our SP2.
Although it slays the track, the Streetfighter V4 SP2 is also great for daily commutes.
Backing up the V-4 is a comprehensive and class-leading electronics package. No other company is executing its rider-aid packages better than Ducati right now, and the SP2 drives the point home. From the TC to engine-delivery strategies, the SP2 is there to help you go quicker, not hold you back.
The SP2 comes equipped with an almost identical chassis to the V4 S with the same excellent Öhlins electronic suspension. Track or street, there was always an ideal setup available at the push of a button to optimize the chassis for the ride. The one key chassis upgrade from the S to the SP2 are the carbon fiber wheels; great to have on the highest-spec model, but not a deal breaker if you don’t.
Roll all of these attributes together and the result isn’t just one of the best naked sportbikes available, but one of the best streetbikes we’ve ever ridden.
View our 2023 Ducati Streetfighter V4 SP2 inventory
Best Touring Bike
2023 Honda Gold Wing Tour DCT
No motorcycle connects point A to B with the ease of a Gold Wing.
On good days in fine weather, even the worst motorcycles can be awesome. Bad days in horrible weather? Have to cover 500 miles anyway? Give us a Honda Gold Wing every time. It’s a touring motorcycle that makes you feel impervious when faced with the worst the world can offer, and rolls with spectacular ease when conditions are more inviting.
The above is just one of the essential reasons a Gold Wing in its many iterations since 1975 has been on the Ten Best Bikes winners list an amazing 25 times.
As ever, effortlessness defines the Gold Wing. Yes, it weighs 845 pounds ready to ride, but it carries its competitive full-rig-tourer weight like nothing else in its class. Its 1,833cc flat-six makes a ridiculous 108 lb.-ft. of torque at 1,200 rpm, with sublime engine response and a snarling sound when you rev it up. You don’t notice the linked brakes—you just stop with authority and control. Good cornering clearance, light, neutral steering, and unflappable stability work with the engine and brakes to make for a tremendously capable motorcycle. Rider and passenger accommodations (electrically adjustable windscreen, heated grips, excellent ergonomics, and super comfortable heated seats) are among the best ever to take humans on two wheels. It’s a great daily rider, or use it to carry your iron butt over the longest days.
Honda’s Gold Wing DCT is Cycle World’s Best Touring Bike for 2023, this is the 25th time it has been named a Ten Best.
Luggage capacity and passenger comfort were kicked up a notch a few years ago. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are there for your infotainment and comms needs. Like more than 80 percent of Gold Wing customers, we choose the seven-speed DCT because it is a perfect application of an excellent motorcycle automatic (or paddle shift, if you like) transmission. On a Gold Wing, all you need is a destination—you’ll be leaving from the top of the touring class in 2023.
View our 2023 Honda Gold Wing Tour DCT inventory