Dancing the Polka

It’s been quite a year. My dog died, my son was born, I visited India for the first time, and I rode a lot of motorcycles.

Inspired by at least two of those things – and the wisdom of Arnold Schwarzenegger – I have, you may have noticed, dramatically increased my output in recent weeks. Along with everything else, 2025 has been a year in which I’ve rediscovered my love of motorcycles and motorcycling, as well as writing about those things.

I’m hopeful for a good 2026 (and would ask that you click the button above to learn how you can help and support this blog for as little as no dollars a month). There are some pretty cool things already in the pipeline. 

But before we charge into the new year I thought I’d take a look back at which articles have been the most popular this year. Here, in reverse order, are the most-read stories of 2025:

10 – What I can afford: 2008 Aprilia Mana 850

One of my favorite regular features are the ‘What I can afford’ articles, where I hunt down a motorcycle that fits within my current budget.

Back in March, my search led me to Aprilia’s quirky Mana 850, a naked all-rounder with naked all-rounder styling but an arguably ahead-of-its time automatic transmission. Automatics are all the rage at the moment, but were rare back in 2008.

Sold in the UK from 2007 to 2011, the Mana 850 is not a bike that I’d ever heard anyone swooning over. But clearly there are people who like it – enough to search for articles about it.

9 – What I can afford: 2012 Kawasaki Versys 1000

Another bike from the ‘What I can afford’ files, this is the machine that I currently own and rely on for everything from sunny-day jaunts to cross-country hauls.

I do wonder if its spot in this year’s Top 10 is a result of people searching for information about the first generation of Kawasaki’s big adventure tourer, or if it’s simply down to the fact that I tend to reference the motorcycle in all of my bike reviews. 

I’d hope it’s the former. I’m planning to spend some time working on my Versys 1000 in 2026 and will be writing articles about the (inevitably disastrous) process of teaching myself to do maintenance jobs that extend beyond chain cleaning/lubing and a basic service.

Step 1 will be cleaning the damned thing – something I haven’t done since 2024.

8 – 2025 BSA Bantam 350 – First ride

The Bantam 350 finished 2025 as one of the UK’s best-selling motorcycles. According to data from the Motorcycle Industry Association, the cheerful, single-cylinder, India-made commuter was at the top of the modern classic category in October and November.

I suspect the bike’s £3,499 asking price plays a big part in that. 

My first impressions of the bike weren’t glowing, so I recently spent a few weeks with the bike on loan from BSA, trying to get a better sense of what it would be like to live with. I’ll be writing about that very soon, so if you have any questions, please fire ‘em my way.

7 – UK’s Mutt Motorcycles goes under

One of the themes for 2025 was that the motorcycle industry in the UK is not in good shape. Sales are down, dealerships and major gear outlets (eg, M&P) are closing, and niche brands are falling by the wayside.

In fairness, Mutt’s business model of selling pimped-out, rebadged Chinese bikes didn’t really fit with the times. Many Chinese manufacturers are operating under their own names (or their own brands) now, and offering bikes that are just as good or better than what Mutt had to offer – often for less. See No. 4 on this list.

6 – Indian Motorcycle unveils new PowerPlus-driven Chieftain

Right at the start of last year, Indian decided to put its liquid-cooled PowerPlus engine into its Chieftain platform. It wasn’t a surprising move, but still a good one. I am of the opinion that the Chieftain is aesthetically superior to all other baggers. Equipping it with a 120bhp engine is all kinds of good.

For reasons that I don’t understand, only the expensive versions of this bike are available in His Majesty’s United Kingdom. Whereas the God-blessed US of A gets a slightly more affordable standard Chieftain PowerPlus, Brits (and those of us living in Brit-land) are only able to choose between the £27,655 Chieftain PowerPlus Limited and the £28,555 Chieftain PowerPlus Dark Horse.

5 – I am losing faith in the Indian Motorcycle brand

Longtime readers – all three of you – will know that I am a fan of Indian Motorcycle, but the sort of fan who gets really grumpy when Indian doesn’t do what I think it should be doing.

In February I wrote an article expressing my frustration with Indian for its seeming lack of sparkle. To me, the brand was guilty of walking away from some of its best ideas (eg, the FTR platform), had fallen into a rut of only doing the most obvious things (eg, Chieftain PowerPlus) and was foolishly trying to skim sales from Harley’s dwindling success.

You will note, however, that the first sentence in that article is: “I think I’m about ready to give up on Polaris.” 

In other words, my real frustrations were with the Minnesota-based corporation that had owned the Indian brand since 2013. Sure, it had helped to reinvigorate and relegitimize Indian, but had seemed to be losing interest ever since the pandemic.

Turns out I was right. In October of this year, Polaris abruptly announced that it was largely breaking ties with Indian, shifting its 800 employees and assets into the hands of a random private equity company.

4 – There’s something strangely attractive about this Chinese motorcycle

Chinese manufacturers have been flooding the UK market in recent years with bikes that are genuinely good-quality and genuinely interesting, and with prices that can make it easy to overlook whatever foibles may still exist.

Back in February, while doing research for an article for Bike magazine on Chinese bikes, I came across the very unique Benda Napoleonbob 500, a 476cc V-twin motorcycle that was set to arrive in the summer. I was intrigued. It seems quite a few other people were as well.

3 – The 2025 Voge DS625X is hard to ignore

One of the most successful Chinese brands to hit the UK has been Voge. The luxury brand of China’s Loncin, it has delivered a number of models that have become best-sellers. Chief among them is the incredibly popular DS900X, which is powered by the same 895cc parallel twin engine as BMW’s F 900 GS. The brand has also had tremendous success with the Rally 300 and, more recently, the DS800X Rally.

In April the DS625X was the latest Voge machine to hit UK shores, boasting an attractive £5,999 asking price. Readership numbers suggest plenty of people have been interested in the bike, but sales numbers show that more people have opened their wallets for the aforementioned DS800X Rally. In October 2025, it was the UK’s best-selling adventure motorcycle.

Incidentally, I presently have a Voge DS800X on loan and will be writing a full review of it in 2026. If you have any questions, let me know.

2 – 2025 Kawasaki Versys 1100 – Review round-up

A second appearance of the Versys platform in the Top 10. This time for the most recent generation, the Versys 1100. My round-up of review of the bike showed that it is as good as it has always been, maintaining most of the strengths and weaknesses of its previous iterations. 

In other words it is an excellent, super-comfortable touring machine, but it is heavy and perhaps just a little long in the tooth when compared to other bikes in the adventure-touring class. I’d happily own one.

1 – 2025 Triumph Speed Twin 1200 – Ride Review

The success of my review of the Triumph Speed Twin 1200 surprised me a little. It is not only the most popular article of 2025, it is one of the most popular articles of the last three years. All that for a bike that I didn’t think was all that great. 

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though. My most popular article of all time is a long-term review of the Triumph Bonneville T120. People really, really like the Triumph brand.

As I say, my review of the Speed Twin 1200 wasn’t glowing. My assessment was that I liked it, but largely that was because it reminded me of other, better Triumph models. That was back in January 2025, though. With almost a year of hindsight my heart has warmed to it. 

Partially that’s because the Speed Twin 1200 is a bike that represents a shift in my life – a pivot point in my personal timeline.

I had the bike on loan from Triumph for the sake of doing an article for Bike magazine: riding the UK’s longest B-road (May 2025 issue). That assignment was my first for Bike and it felt really special to finally be doing work for one of my favorite publications. It was the first time, after more than a decade in the moto-journalism business, that I really felt legitimate.

That feeling has fuelled me through the year and is at the heart of the recent uptick in articles on Dancing the Polka. I love doing this. I hope that you like reading it (and – again – I hope that you’ll support it). Here’s to an exciting and adventure-filled 2026.