Results from the MOTORRAD reader's choice 2016

Favourite Machines

Written by Eva Breutel , Date 3:27 PM

Three countries suffice for choosing the absolute readers’ favourite machines of 2016 as part of the MOTORRAD reader’s choice 2016: five winners come from Germany, two from Austria and two from Italy.

European policy may not be to some voter’s liking currently, but this doesn’t apply to Europe’s motorcycles. The results from our major reader’s choice for the “Motorcycle of the Year 2016” could hardly be clearer: Of the 27 podium positions, European manufacturers claim a whopping 24 for themselves. Only Germany, Italy and Austria made it to the top of the podium, and there was only one change here compared to last year: Among the crossover models, Ducati’s Multistrada is displaced by the BMW S 1000 XR, which means that the Munich-based company pulls in five wins this time.

The clearest victory with over 30 per cent of the votes was the BMW R nineT/Scrambler. This means that it even beats the sacred cow, the R 1200 GS, which in turn defended its eternal top position among the enduros well with a good 23 per cent. The new Honda Africa Twin is second here, in third place is also a newcomer in the Ducati Multistrada Enduro. KTM lost out, since the adventure models from Austria, which took second and third place last year, fell under the ‘also-ran’ category.

Naked Bikes, 125-series, Cruisers, Scooters

In return KTM trumped among the naked bikes and again took first place with the Super Duke R. An important victory in a competitive group, which is of particular interest to the majority of the over 52,000 voters (new record by the way!) by their own account. KTM is also subscribed to first place among the 125-series – no one builds such smart motorcycles for 16-year olds, not even the Italians. They bask in the chopper and cruiser brilliance, because Ducati treats itself to a double victory with its exclusive models XDiavel and Diavel.

The scooter champion also comes from Italy: The Vespa very obviously wins here, after all it symbolises the Italian way of life and has for over 70 years. There is nothing like the tried and true with a certain amount of exclusivity – this is true with motorcycles as well as in real life.

Motorcycle of the Year 2016: Modern Classics