The Best-In-Class Motorcycles That Define Their Segments [2024 Edition]

Why We Picked It:

This was one of the more hotly debated choices for us, as there are so many motorcycles out there in this segment it's bordering on ridiculous. Yet, once we drilled down into the core of what a standard motorcycle should be, there really was only one apparent choice: The 2023 Triumph Speed Twin 900.

Consider that standard motorcycles were the first to use parallel twin engines in the 1950s and 1960s, and were the preferred bikes to be converted to cafe racers. This means that a standard motorcycle needs power and performance. Then consider that a standard motorcycle needs to be comfortable, capable of being ridden all day, and have proper road manners combined with agility and ease of use.

Yes, there are bikes from Royal Enfield, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and others that fit the mold of a standard bike, but with the Speed Twin 900, Triumph just gets it. It has enough power, without having too much. It is comfortable and complacent, but will still attack a corner if you show it one in anger. It is bang up to date with its rider aids and high tech engine, yet it looks like it was lifted from the 1970s.

For those that are wondering why the Speed Twin 1200 isn't our choice, it was a very close call. The argument that pushed it off the board was that with the bigger engine and sharp jump in power, it wasn't quite as agile and had that little bit too much power. We're talking single digit percentage points here, but it was just enough to tip it over the edge.

Why We Picked It:

Okay, readers, put down the pitchforks and torches and let us explain this choice.

Yes, there are superbikes out there that are the absolute peak and pinnacle of performance and precision. There are supersports that can ride circles around pretty much any other bike. So why did we choose the MT-10? For one simple reason: It's the best of all worlds.

It has a slightly detuned version of the engine from the YZF-R1 superbike, covering that angle. It is insanely flickable and agile, like a supersport. It has the hunched up and taut feel of a streetfighter, with its angular front and peaked fuel tank. But despite all of this, it's as comfortable to ride as a sport tourer. Somehow, Yamaha has thrown all of that into the cauldron, whispered a few magic words while stirring, and out popped the MT-10.

It will absolutely catapult you down the road if you open the right wrist, but your tailbone will be intact after a full Sunday ride because it hasn't been jammed up near your shoulders from an overly stiff suspension setup. It wants to get its lean on, but it also won't let you fall over because it's dancing on a razor's edge of traction. It is progressive in feel, awesome in power delivery, and, at least in our minds, probably the best, shiniest example of exactly what sport bikes are all about: Fun.

Why We Picked It:

Okay, as much as the sport pick was controversial, this one we can understand the pitchforks and torches about. To be honest, it was an extremely tough call to make, but there was one factor that made us pick the Rebel 500 over pretty much every other bike out there.

Cruisers, in general, have a reputation among the non-riding public as these gigantic and loud slabs of metal that seem to have no point apart from being annoying. It's when those same people get the chance to be a pillion on one, or even better yet, decide to learn how to ride, that they start to understand exactly why so many people ride cruisers. Yet, even the most fervent of cruiser riders will not suggest a Fat Bob 114 or a Chief Dark Horse as a first bike, or even as a second or third bike if the rider isn't into those types of cruisers.

That is why we picked the Rebel 500 above all others. It is a cruiser distilled and concentrated into a bike that is friendly and forgiving for the new rider, but still works as a comfortable and fun cruiser for the veteran. It is a raw bike, letting both newbie and veteran alike feel the road, feel the pulsing vibration of the engine, feel what cruiser riding is all about.

It is also a bike that can easily be a lifelong bike. You can learn on it, gain confidence on it, and as you get more experience, the raw nature, appreciable power, and fun handling opens up more and more. For the first time in nearly a decade, motorcycle ridership is on the upward trend, so why not have a bike that introduces a lot of those new riders to the cruiser life?

Why We Picked It:

The 2023 Harley-Davidson Breakout 117 gets a nod in this list as it is the best-in-class muscle cruiser for experienced riders. A name that left the streets for nearly half a decade, when it came back, it came with a 117 cubic inch V-twin that absolutely thunders out 103 HP and a very chunky 126 lbs-ft of torque.

This is a cruiser for those that aren't shy, that don't want to be quiet, that want to make a goddamned statement on the road. It features one of the best saddles in H-D history, with a stretched riding position and controls so far forward they're almost on the front wheel. It is low but absolutely not lean, instead being a menacing hunk of American Iron that dares someone to challenge it.

Yet, despite it all, it is amazingly capable. You could cruise around in town, then take it to the drag strip, set a quarter mile time, and then immediately after take it down the California coastal highway without needing to change anything about it. It has more than enough grunt to carry a passenger and some saddlebags, and you can get a small windshield as an accessory so it can even do a little touring if you wanted.

Add on top of that, despite is huge power, menacing presence, and high levels of chrome, it's actually very affordable for a Harley at just a hair under $21k. The Breakout 117 was nearly our best-in-class pick overall, but the only thing about it that didn't get it the top spot is that it doesn't open up the cruiser segment anywhere near as much as the Rebel 500 does. But it came damned close to taking the spot, so it deserves mention.

Why We Picked It:

Dear webBikeWorld readers, this was probably the hardest segment for us to agree on. For the fans of KTM, Harley-Davidson, Husqvarna, and Ducati, believe us, our final list had 15 bikes on it, all of which could be considered best in class. However, we had to pick one to win our best-in-class for 2023, and that bike is the BMW R1250 GS Adventure.

It really did come down to the little things that pushed BMW to the top. It's more comfortable than a KTM. It has more power than a Suzuki. It has better suspension and rideability across both on and off road situations than a Husqvarna. It even has a brother in the R1250 GS, which is the more on-road adventure tourer.

The little things that won it our vote are the gigantic 7.9 gallon endurance tank, the massively customizable ride modes, both grip and seat heating as not-too-expensive options, the longer than average 3 year warranty where most bikes have a 1 or 2 year. There's also the fact that it has BMW's legendary oil-head boxer twin, although it uses liquid cooling instead of oil cooling in 2023. That low and forward placement of the engine makes the R1250 GS Adventure extraordinary stable for low-speed crawls just as much as wide open desert dashes.

It really is just every thing you want in an adventure motorcycle, with that little touch of German engineering excellence to push it to the top. In fact, the cherry on top of the cake, for us at least, is the shaft final drive. While others will use chains, BMW has steadfastly used shaft drives and with stubborn German-ness, have made them the best you could ever get on a motorcycle.

Why We Picked It:

We felt the Honda CRF300L Rally deserved some attention because while it may not be the best-in-class overall adventure bike, it is for sure the best in class dual-sport adventure bike. This choice is not based as much on reviews or personal opinion as it is on actual, real-world examples of this bike going through utter hell and coming out 99% unscathed on the other side.

Perhaps the most famous of these examples is the YouTuber and full-time adventure rider Noraly Schoenmaker, better known as ItchyBoots. She rode a CRF300L Rally across all of South Africa without a single issue. She then did the Pan-American highway from the bottom of South America to the very tip of Alaska. In all that time, despite falls, drops, rough handling, inclement weather, and well over 100,000 miles on the bike in just under 1.5 years, the only thing that outright broke was a front fork seal. That's it.

You can honestly go to any adventure riding or dual-sport forum out there, and in their Honda section, you'll read of amazing journeys done on the CRF300L Rally. You'll read about how it can be fixed in the middle of nowhere with a hammer and a few curse words, about how it can tumble down the side of a mountain and be perfectly rideable afterwards, and about how it can carry nearly its entire weight in luggage plus a rider, and still somehow just tractor on, not stopping for anything. It is, honestly, the best dual-sport adventure bike in a generation, and well deserving of praise and mention.

Why We Picked It:

Electric motorcycles have, for the past two decades, existed either as short-range dirt bikes, or moderate range sport models. Zero, Damon, Energica, Lightning... they all sustain themselves on those two segments, where the interest in electric bikes are highest.

Yet, for 2023, Energica has put out what can realistically be called the first genuine attempt at an electric ADV. Zero has the DSR/X as their proposition, but that is more of a DSR dual-sport with some pannier lockers hung on it and a bigger battery. The Experia, on the other hand, is a ground-up, all-new, specifically-designed adventure motorcycle, and quite honestly, it ticks nearly every box.

It is not a pathfinder, we'll put that out there as a flat out fact. This is 90% road-based adventure tourer, capable of two-up riding with luggage as well. Part of that type of bike is the need for range, and the Experia has a purpose built motor, the PMASynRM liquid cooled 3-phase unit, to optimize the power it gets from the 22.5 kWh battery pack. It has a claimed city range of 261 miles, an "Extra-urban" (off-road) range of 130 miles, and a combined range of 160 miles. These may not seem overly large in comparison to a petrol-powered bike, but for an electric bike, those are pretty astonishing numbers.

Even better, as the reviews of the bike have come in over the summer of 2023, a lot of testers were finding that the claimed numbers were fairly accurate. While the Experia may not be the sportiest of electric bikes, nor as dedicated to off-road use as a dual-sport electric, what it represents is what makes it the best in its class... because, truthfully, it is the only bike in the electric ADV class!