This year, the prestigious Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) 2016 Award went to the Yamaha YZF-R3. Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director, JK Tyre & Industries Limited, and Aspi Bhathena, Editor, Bike India, and Chairman, IMOTY 2016, along with other members of the IMOTY jury presented the Indian Motorcycle of the Year trophy to the Yamaha team on behalf of the esteemed jury. The award ceremony witnessed the presence of eminent guests, including scions of the corporate world, senior officials from the automobile industry and representatives of industrial bodies. IMOTY is the most credible and coveted motorcycle award in the country.
This award is an expert and independent judgement on the best new motorcycle sold in India and is aimed at recognising focused, consistent and rigorous efforts made by motorcycle manufacturers in the areas of design excellence, innovation and R&D. The award has been gaining prominence with each passing year and JK Tyre has been associated with it since its inception. This year the final short-list of contenders saw a dozen motorcycles battling it out for the highest honour. The chosen ones were then put through a further round of assessment by the jury members at Lonavala on 4 December. After a session of evaluation followed by voting, the top three contenders for the IMOTY 2015 turned out to be the Yamaha YZF-R3, Honda CBR 650F and Benelli TNT 300. The nominated motorcycles were judged on various parameters such as price, fuel economy, styling, comfort, safety, performance, practicality, and technical innovation, value for money and suitability for Indian riding conditions.