REBELS & RULERS

From street chaos to track precision, these bikes led the pack this year

- By Manaal Mahatme

Some made us laugh. Some made us question our life choices. And a few made us briefly believe we were better riders than we actually are. But that's the charm of this 'job', isn't it? You spend a year chasing two-wheeled nirvana, tasting bliss in every form from single-cylinder saints to V4 sinners and by December, your brain's a showreel of revs, manic laughter, and a lot of questionable decisions.

This isn't a list of winners. It's a roll call of personalities and memories that each bike here left. They came from different garages, spoke different languages, and wore very different faces. But they all had one thing in common they made this a lot faster, louder, and even a less sensible than it needed to be. So here it is our class of 2025. Nine motorcycles, nine different kinds of madness.

KTM 390 Enduro R

Mr Overachiever

Most likely to: Turn every assignment into an adventure

Hard to believe that a bike as ‘focused’ as the Enduro could earn the tag of an overachiever, isn’t it? But every class has that one student who'll sign up for everything, right? From art classes to debate clubs, football and dance lessons, yet tops the class... that was 390 Enduro R. It may have signed up for majors in dirt, but that didn’t keep it from taking commute sprints or even touring — and yes, I've got 2000 km worth of homework to back that up.

It was fascinating to see how it could balance its wild streak and everyday sense. It felt more than prepared for what Mumbai roads had to offer — yeah, the 200-mm suspension travel, dual-purpose tyres and the slim profile are as important to beating Mumbai roads as they are to surviving the gnarliest of trails.