As the Summer of 2010 nears an end, the new 2011 motorcycles are creeping into showrooms and all the big motorcyclist publications compile their Motorcycle of the Year awards (MOTY). As fun and interesting these articles are, I’ve come to lament them from time to time. Why, Sven? Well because they all lack consistency.

How can one motorcycle be MOTY for one publication and not for the other? To be titled MOTY for any class should mean that one particular motorcycle is the undisputed best for that motorcycle class. The biggest fallacy of this MOTY contradiction is between Motorcyclist and Cycle World magazine. It is reasonable to say that both publications are well respected in their quality of work, but the two have given the title of MOTY to a handful of different motorcycles that contradict each other as “MOTY”.

I’ve noticed that a way the two big magazines have allegedly dodge this incongruity is by changing up the titles and slight definitions of their completions. Motorcyclist has the the big bad MOTY while Cycle World has a similar, but “totally different”, Ten Best Bikes. Both define the alleged best bike of each category, and both have a handful of contradictions.

For MOTY to have standing, there needs to be uniformity, and you will not get uniformity if you read both Motorcyclist or Cycle World. An independent third party of reviewers and journalists would be ideal. For example…. say the crew at Brenandsven.com (what, did you think we wouldn’t opt for the chance?)

So keep an eye out for the Bren and Sven MOTY.