As far as MBT is concerned, 2004 has been a year of change, of growth and of development. Most of the year has been pretty positive though, with a revised format seeing bigger, better pictures in articles and an increased number of reviewers seeing a wider range of bikes and events covered from more places. The move toward a paper magazine remains slow but steady, while other commercial relationships have started to bear fruit as well.

We've done our best to promote good causes this year, working with Burning 2 Learn to help children with educational problems, working with Nick Turner to promote his efforts to raise money and awareness for the Poppy Appeal and, most recently, promoting the attempt to get the World Record for Santas on Motorbikes back into the UK and raise lots of money for sick children at the same time. More on those later.

Happily this year we've been very light on obituaries. In fact, I don't think we've had to write any though both Caz and I have come close to needing our own. Not as close as Nick Turner, though. The things some people will do for publicity...

Of course there have been lots of exciting developments outside of the hallowed halls of MBT Mansions, both mooted and actual, and these are the things we've looked at and between us have voted on.

Categories and nominations are, in no particular order:

New bike of the year (regardless of whether you've ridden it or not)

MZ 1000DS
Ducati 999R
Suzuki GSX-R 750 K4
Kawasaki ZX10-R
Honda Fireblade
Yamaha R1
Yamaha M1

Yes, the MZ, while quirky to the point of eccentricity touched us all with it's blend of comfort, performance and handling. The styling may be an acquired taste and the vibration may get intrusive occasionally but there's no denying that it's a fine bike and a worthy contender.

Ducati's 999R takes the word sublime and renders it inadequate. The exquisite handling, shattering performance and huge presence mean that there's no way it could fail to make this shortlist. And pretty near the top, too.

The 2004 GSX-R 750 may be the runt of this litter but it's a fantastic overall package that, for most people, is probably faster round a circuit than any of the current litre bikes as well as being miles cheaper to buy and run. It's fast, it handles brilliantly and it's everyday usable. Bike of the year? Could be...

The ZX10-R sits at the other end of the scale. Brutally powerful with a wickedly responsive chassis and the ability to knock your teeth out with a carelessly opened throttle, Kawasaki's contender for Mr Nasty is still an exceptionally good bike for the brave, talented or restrained.

Honda's CBR1000RR is the first Fireblade to gain an official 1000cc and it's probably the most aggressive since the name launched way back when. But it's a Honda so it's still rideable and practical though the underseat exhaust robs some useful cubbyhole space.

And rounding off the roadbikes is Yamaha's new R1. The most powerful roadbike ever made, with 180bhp claimed the R1 had to get a mention. the fact that it handles and stops well and looks a million dollars helps as well, of course.

Finally, Valentino Rossi's Yamaha M1 must be a contender for Bike of the Year. After all, this is the bike that knocked Honda off the top of the tree in MotoGP. So it must be pretty good, although I can't imagine nipping down to the shops on it, and the commute to work would be, um, interesting. In a scary sort of way...

Ride of the year (Best bike you've ridden this year)

That 999R gets back in there, you'll notice. The best bike we tested this year? Maybe so. The look, the noise, the sheer speed. It's a hell of a package, though at a hell of a price.

And the GSX-R 750. We've had it for nearly a year and still we can't fault it. To the extent that it no longer belongs to Suzuki - it's now a very long term test bike as I have bought it. Which has to speak volumes about just how good it actually is...

The Honda Blackbird may be a surprise to some of you, but as a tool for covering huge distances very, very fast and in comfort there's little that even gets close.

The Fireblade is the third of our Bike of the Year entrants to get a Ride of the Year nomination. Which is no small praise, especially as many of the nominations came from readers.

And finally, BMW's oddball Rockster was nominated by three readers as being the best thing they'd ridden all year. I've not ridden one so I can't comment, but they all seemed to love it and had bought one themselves. So fair play to them.

Man (Woman?) of the year - someone in biking who has really achieved something special

James Toseland
Valentino Rossi
Shinya Nakano
Euan McGregor and Charley Boorman

James Toseland gets a nomination for being the youngest ever World Superbike Champion, being British and proud of it and being a thoroughly nice, down to earth bloke as well. Oh, he's quite a handy rider, too.

Valentino Rossi, of course, gets a nomination. Just for being Valentino Rossi, really. And for being, arguably, the most talented motorcycle racer the world has ever seen. Nobody thought he'd have a hope this year, and to win so comfortably on something so outgunned was astonishing to see.

Shinya Nakano. For sheer guts. For getting off his bike at 208mph and racing again two weeks later like nothing had happened. For facing and beating the fears that must have been lurking. And for treating the whole horrific thing as nothing more than a bad day at the office.

Euan McGregor and Charley Boorman are nominated for bringing us Long Way Round - bringing biking to the masses in the most positive way possible and being entertaining at the same time. Just the sort of thing our licence fee should be paying for.

Event of the year - the biking event that you think was best or most important for biking

World Superbikes at Brands Hatch
MCI Test Day at Mallory Park
When a member of the Royal Family took an interest in bikes
Recordbreakers trying to get the record for Santas on bikes and raising money for kids as well
Shaw's Harley Davidson tryout day

Brands Hatch SBK saw well over 100,000 people at the largest sporting event in Britain without any trouble, attitude or overwhelming Police presence. Great racing, gorgeous weather and a holiday atmosphere made it an event to remember. So what if we didn't get a British winner? Frankie and Nori did the business and they're adopted Brits so it's close enough.

The MCI test day was a new idea to get the non biking press onto bikes and writing about bikes in a positive way. Or at least with some current knowledge. Did it work? Maybe. But as a brave idea it deserves a mention, regardless.

Prince William revealed that he prefers to ride his bike than drive. That simple statement in an interview earlier in the year must have done more to put biking into a better light with the parents and grandparents of future bikers than anything else.

The most Santas on bikes gathered in one place. What an idea. Make it all a fundraiser for a worthy charity and suddenly it becomes even better. So what that the record attempt didn't succeed - it was a worthy attempt and raised plenty of money for children who really need it. Plus, again it doesn't do our collective image any harm.

Shaw Harley Davidson down in Eastbourne let the public loose on their demonstrators around the Speedway circuit and even allowed complete novices to have a try as well. What a fantastic concept, both for the dealership who will certainly have made some sales from it, and for the brand as a whole. And for biking, too, as being seen to be fun for the whole family.


Bike you're most looking forward to next year

Buell City X
BMW K1200S
Ducati 999S
BMW K1200R
KTM Superduke

The Buell CityX may already have been tested but as it won't be officially available until 2005 then it sneaks in here. And deservedly so, because it's a hoot to ride, looks outrageous and is ridiculously good value for money as well. The commute to work will never be the same again.

Meanwhile, BMW have taken the big boys on head to head with their fastest and arguably most sporty roadbike ever. There are a few problems with manufacture at the moment which allow it to get in here as none have been delivered yet. But we've ridden it and it rocks.

Ducati have tweaked the already sublime 999S for 2005 and made it better in every way. To all intents and purposes it's as good as the 2004 999R. For a lot less money. We're already drooling in the office and I'm trying to work out how to stop any of the others from getting the keys.

The BMW K1200R looks as though it should be magnificently, gloriously mental in the way that only terribly serious German bike manufacturers can make bikes. Big unconventional BMWs make us grin 'til our faces hurt, so this should be a laugh and a half.

The KTM Superduke will either be sublimely good or it will suck. We hope it's the former, and are gagging to give it a try. Could this be the alternative to either a 1200GS or a Japanese monster trailie?

Disappointment of the year - the thing or person that could have been great but...

CCM
Max Biaggi
Frankie Chili
Ken Livingstone
Kawasaki MotoGP team
Ducati ST3
Ducati MotoGP

CCM did so well getting new motors, better looking bikes and an improving reputation. So what went wrong? Wish we knew, but what we do know is that one of the last British bike manufacturers bit the dust earlier this year after a short illness.

Max Biaggi was all set to finally get that elusive MotoGP title. He had the talent, for sure. He had the best bike, being Honda mounted alongside Tamada in the Camel prmac team. And he surely had the hunger. 2004 was going to be the battle of all battles as he was finally going to give arch-rival Rossi a run for his money. Or not, as it transpired, with an inconsistent and rather lacklustre performance punctuated by the occasional flash of the old brilliance.

And while we're on inconsistency and missed opportunities, we all laud Frankie Chili for being great entertainment but why can't he keep it together for more than a couple of races at a time? He led the championship at one point and lots of people thought that 2004 would be his year. But it wasn't to be. Sure, he went well, but to finish fifth was a bitter disappointment to all the old blokes who follow racing and were rooting for him.

Ken Livingstone is the Mayor of London. Again. We'll stay off his politics except to say that London is the most backward city in the Western World when it comes to integrating bikes into transportation policies. Bikes still aren't even allowed in bus lanes, and the only reason we don't get hit with congestion charges is because we don't have front number plates.

Kawasaki should be in the good bit, and they would be if they'd just spent some money on their MotoGP team instead of running it on petty cash. The team did brilliantly but the company should be kicking themselves fo an opportunity squandered. They could have been major contenders instead of also rans relying on the bravery and skill of their riders and the ability of their technicians to make something from nothing. Maybe nothing would have changed. But at least a decent budget would have made life easier.

The Ducati ST3 should have been a fantastic bike. And it's not bad at all, in isolation. But several of you have complained that it's still so much less than it could have been. It's not that quick, it doesn't handle that well, and, worst of all, it may not be that comfortable either. we know that Ducati can make fantastic sports tourers - the ST4S for example - but this seems not to be one.

And while we're beating Ducati up, what happened in MotoGP? The most promising new team we'd ever seen went from being cutting edge competitive to back markers in one development cycle. And it took Troy Bayliss, not exactly a man short on talent, all the way to the end of the season to get the bike onto the podium and halfway through the season to actually stay on the thing for a whole race. We hope that whatever they broke last winter they're fixing this time.

Product of the year - as it sounds

The new generation of race bred tyres
Tchibo/BMW heated insoles
Honda Electronic Steering Damper
Starcom intercom
GTS Kevlar 'leathers'

Racing is said to improve the breed, and I guess that in tyre technology that's certainly true. The new generation of sports oriented race developed tyres are so much better than their equivalents of even a few years ago that I wonder how we ever managed to get around trackdays without falling off. And we don't just get better grip at the extreme, either - they wear better, work better in the wet and everything...

Cold feet suck. So having heated insoles is great. having them cheaply and reliably is even better, and that's what Tchibo offer. They wrok, they're easy to use and they are cost effective. Looks like a good contender, then.

HESD is a great gadget. It works well, as a trick as you like and it comes as standard on a very highly respected sports bike. But it's so ugly!

Starcom loaned us an integrated comms setup that worked well, looked good and is British. It's good value for money and if you want to get your phone, stereo, satnav and intercom all plumbed into your helmet then it's possibly the best way to go. Other than getting a car, of course.

GTS make race suits out of kevlar. They are FIM approved, they can be any design and colour you like, they'll keep you intact when you fall off, you'll not sweat buckets when you wear them and you can pop them in the washing machine when they need freshening up. Fantastic and though not new for this year they are new to us.

The rest is all pretty personal. We could talk about the horrible feeling of seeing your bike missing, of hearing a mate is hurt or, worse still, seeing them get hurt. Or, indeed, getting hurt yourself. We could lament on the frustration of trying to get an insurance quote or wail about seeing your bike fall off its stand in front of you (but tantalisingly just out of reach). We can celebrate personal best times, collection of new bikes and so on.

But we can't vote on any of them because they're so subjective. So they don't belong here, though they were great to read...

But finally, then, we can announce the winners of the classes. And they are:

Product of the year, 2004

Tchibo heated insoles
for bringing us BMW quality at rock bottom prices.

Event of the year, 2004

World Superbikes, Brands Hatch
for being the biggest sports event in Britain and for having no trouble at all.

Person of the year, 2004

James Toseland
for being a worthy champion, for staying on to defend it and for being an all round nice guy.

Bike of the year, 2004

Suzuki GSX-R 750 K4
by the smallest margin but recognised as being, overall, the
best roadbike that sensible money can buy today.

 

That's it until next year. No doubt you'll have opinions, and no doubt by now you know how to air them, too.