The motorcycles we’ve ridden and loved most this year

2025 was another exciting year for us here at Road Dirt. We had the opportunity to sample many incredible motorcycles, riding them in amazing places around the United States. We are thankful for every opportunity we’ve been given, and look forward to even more in the new year.

Looking back over the past 12 months, we decided to compile a short list of our favorite bikes this year. Everything we rode we absolutely enjoyed, but here are a few that we particularly had a blast with. Leave us a comment below on any of these you got to ride or purchase, or any others you may have enjoyed.

5. Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450

Rob got to sample this bike up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Royal Enfield’s North America home. Running the new water cooled 450 Sherpa engine that the brand uses in their latest version of the Himalayan, the Guerrilla 450 is a peppy, well-sorted single thumper just may be the perfect around-town roadster for a new generation of riders.

In Rob’s words, “The vision behind the Guerrilla 450 is simple- an affordable, approachable, highly capable motorcycle for urban/suburban riding, that is lightweight, easy to handle, and fun to ride. Yet with the 452cc Sherpa engine, this new bike, like its stablemate Himalayan 450, the Guerrilla can take to the highways and byways with much higher speeds.” This bike and engine marks a new era in Royal Enfield design and reliability.

For our Guerrilla 450 review, click here: Guerrilla 450

4. Yamaha YZF-R9

It’s no secret that we love Yamaha’s CP3 triple mill. We’ve sampled it in their Tracer 9 GT+, the MT-09 and SP models, the mod-retro XSR900, and have been anticipating the Tuning Fork’s debut of the engine in a sport package. When 2025 hit, Yamaha did just that, and Ryan Nolan got the chance to throttle one around Sonoma Raceway.

In Ryan’s words, “Yamaha set about making high performance more accessible, rewriting the definition of Supersport to give the segment longevity for the foreseeable future. After riding the YZF-R9 all day at Sonoma Raceway, I think Yamaha nailed their target. The bike fits perfectly between the R7 and R1 with the approachability of the R7 with the CP3 engine and lightweight chassis, but with the high end performance brakes, suspension and electronics that would be at home on the R1. Where this fits though, isn’t where the R6 was because this bike is something different.”

For Ryan’s full review, photos and video, check it out here: Yamaha YZF-R9

3. Harley-Davidson Street Glide Ultra

Editor-at-Large Joshua Placa was gifted the opportunity to tour with the 2025 H-D Street Glide Ultra, as he rode out to the annual Tombstone Helldorado Days. The Street Glide Ultra is aptly named, as the bike represents the ultimate in luxury moto-touring over long distances and hours/days. From its incredible sound system and electronic rider aids, the power delivery from the Milwaukee Eight 117 motor, the capacious storage space, and so much more, this bike is the “Cadillac Seville” of motorcycle touring.

As Joshua so eloquently states, “H-D claims the Ultra gets a combined highway/city fuel efficiency of about 44 mpg. That seemed high for such a brawny beastie, but it was pretty spot on. In fact, there were highway stretches where I got almost 50 mpg. A tip of the lid to The Motor Company for building a bike with tree-stump pulling power and rocket speed that also sips gas. Usually, those qualities are mutually exclusive of each other. The Ultra’s 6-gallon tank (maybe a half-gallon less since the fuel pump displaces volume), will take you around 260+ miles at mostly rational highway speeds.”

For more of JP’s travels with the Ultra, check out his review here: Street Glide Ultra

2. Honda Fury

The Honda Fury is an anomaly and an enigma in 2025. Honda brought their version of a chopper to market some years after the chopper craze had passed, and yet the bike has developed a cult following of sorts in the years since. Search the web, and you’ll find Fury forums, social media groups and pages, and hard-core enthusiasts of the bike that seems like it was born out of time. Practically speaking, it is a well-engineered, sleek machine, that actually rides very well.

Drew Perlmutter got to spend considerable seat time with one, and had this to say about it- “I equate the Fury to riding a longboard, surfing or skateboarding. It’s an entirely different ride; the length of the bike through the curves felt like carving a wave. It was fun learning how this bike handles turns, quickly meeting the peg feelers to the pavement. They were gone soon, and sparks began to fly around every corner. I almost believe that Honda made the feelers extra long, just for added effect.”

For Drew’s full take on “Honda’s Forgotten Chopper”, click here: Honda Fury

2025 Road Dirt Motorcycle of the Year: Honda CB750 Hornet

Okay, Rob reserved the right to make the call on this year’s Numero Uno, and he chose the brand new Honda CB750 Hornet, specifically in that dazzling metallic pearl paint and Marilyn Monroe lipstick red frame. What a gorgeous motorcycle. Rob had the opportunity to first sample Honda’s Hornet machines (also in a CB1000 iteration) out in Sacramento CA this summer, and loved the CB750 so much he was loaned one for a long-term head-to-head comparo against Yamaha’s MT-07 (another bike we liked). The 750 Hornet won the middleweight naked sport bout, and of course now takes the RDTV 2025 title.

As Rob and Drew described it during the comparison, “Both bikes have similar though not identical rider triangles. The MT-07 ride height sits less than half an inch taller than the Hornet’s, but feels a bit more than that due to a somewhat wider seat at the tank. Drew noted, ‘The Honda feels a little more aggressive in the rider position, with its lower handlebar and footpegs that are slightly more rearward. On the Yamaha I felt more upright, while on the CB750, I felt leaned in to the bike a bit more.'” As Rob had noted back the first time he sampled the CB750 Hornet, “By the end of our 215 mile first day, I had totally fallen for the CB750A Hornet… I rode one in the metallic pearl white with red and black accents, and it was drop-dead gorgeous. That 270 deg crank in the 755cc twin mill is magic, and sounds so good, especially as you run up through the rev range in each gear. Geez, what a sweet ride.”

Here’s Rob’s review of the Honda Hornet bikes: Honda Hornet 750

Rob and Drew’s comparo of the Hornet 750 vs. the Yamaha MT-07: Middleweight Matchup

So we officially bestow our “2025 Motorcycle of the Year” on this fantastic, affordable bike!

We hope you enjoyed this short ride down 2025 Memory Lane with us, as well as all of our stories, travelogues and adventures this past year. Its been quite a ride. We look forward to 2026, and hope to see you out on the road somewhere as well. Wishing you a most blessed new year!

The Road Dirt Crew

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