It?s always the hardest article to write, but also the most fascinating to research. Our annual roundup of the most popular customs on Bike EXIF reveals the dominant trends in the scene as well as the builders who have their fingers on the pulse.
This year, outside of the top two builds, the competition was tighter than ever before. Some builds that dominated site traffic barely registered a blip on social media; other bikes that went haywire in our social channels simply didn?t translate to solid web traffic.
As always, this Top 10 is driven by data alone, rather than the personal preferences of our writers. It?s based on page views, comments, incoming links, and shares on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. If there are dead heats, we weight the rankings according to long a bike has been ?live? on the site. Everyone will draw their own conclusions from the Top 10, but a few things stood out for us. Firstly, the generic ?café racer? category is well and truly dead. Many of the most popular bikes combine elements of different genres.
The offroad vibe is on the rise, whether it?s hints of classic Dakar styling or a trend towards rebuilding enduro/dual sport machines. And classic racing in general, from flat track to endurance to MX, is having an increasing influence on builders. Functional styling (with a twist) and authenticity is increasingly appreciated.
Read on, and you?ll see the ten bikes that revved our readers? engines the most over the past year. Some you may hav...