Famous Italian motorcycle brand Garelli is back with a new range of scooters and mopeds. The XO is effectively their flagship model and benefits from sharp looks, stable 16” wheels and decent disc brakes. It’s a stylish and perfectly adequate...
The new Honda PCX125 scooter is the first ever two-wheeler to feature a fuel-saving idle stop system. Whether you think it’s a gimmick or a revolution, fact is the PCX125 is a brilliant little scooter in its own right and...
The Vity 125 is not a cutting edge scooter. It’s not fast. It doesn’t look good unless you’ve got a thing for the 80s. But it does the job and has one big saving grace – a £1,799 price tag which,...
The BW’s 125 is an off-road inspired scoot that goes nicely and looks even nicer - rugged styling marks it out as a small scoot aimed at blokes. At £2,499 it’s not the cheapest 125 scooter on the market, but nice...
The PS125i is sturdy, well made and has the weight of the Honda brand behind it, so you know it’s a safe and reliable purchase. That said, it’s pricier than the competition and doesn’t perform as well. Ridden in isolation...
In modern youthful speak the word bad actually means good. In any language big is big and Suzuki’s M1800R Intruder is really big – and bad at the same time. This is based on the fact the Intruder weighs in...
The Honda S-Wing is a well-equipped and competitively priced executive scooter that performs a lot better than its functional looks might suggest. Honda is pitching the S-Wing as an up-market urban commuter and in that environment it's a cut above the...
Classy styling, nice attention to detail and a list of handy well thought-out features make the Vivacity 125 look like a charming city commuter package. Overall it strikes a tempting balance between quality and price. The only slight let down is its...
The V-Clic 50 is exactly how it looks – a basic, no frills moped that will get you about town if you’re 16. It’s a bargain, but if you’re a teenager it’s unlikely to impress any of your mates outside...
If you can get past the daft name, the Peugeot Tweet 125 is a fantastic little scooter. There’s nothing new or revolutionary about it, but it’s fun to ride and offers everything you need to beat the traffic on your...
As big-wheel scooters go the Peugeot LXR125 is hard to fault – the competitive price, stable handling and a good dose of practicality add up to well-rounded package. It looks relatively stylish to boot.
If you want the comfort and practicality of a maxi-scooter but you’re limited to 125cc, the well-spec’d Burgman is a safe choice. It’s not quite up to a motorway commute, but for city use it’s a classy ride with more...
Bimota’s DB8 superbike may look the spitting image of the 160bhp Ducati 1098-engined 2008 DB7, but it’s different in three distinct ways. It’s powered by the bigger 170bhp Ducati 1198 superbike motor, it has a pillion perch and it’s cheaper,...
Based on MV’s range-topping Brutale 1090RR, the Cannonball is fitted with an array of mouth-watering MV Agusta Corse goodies. Starting with the standard £13,699 machine, which is smoother and far easier to live with than the angry Brutales of old,...
Produced by Brighton-based Sinnis, but manufactured in China, the Trackstar is a cheap, trendy 125cc alternative to the CG 125 or the Virago. It’s very easy to control and manoeuvre, making it an attractive option for learners or novice bikers....
Sadly, the two-stroke 125 is all but dead. The recent advent of credible, easy to ride and cheap to run four-strokes is killing sales of fickle, expensive smokers. Derbi’s learner sportsbike gets an all-new design with a four-stroke engine for...
With the world united on the brilliance of Ducati’s Multistrada 1200 S-models, the arrival of the two base model Multistradas have slipped under the radar and into the UK. Whereas the S-models are topped off with electronically adjusted Ohlins suspension...
This is Moto Morini’s answer to the BMW R1200GS. The Italian-built machine, which is powered by a big, booming V-twin motor has a 19” front wheel for off-road action and a roomy riding position, but it’s very racy. Instant acceleration...
There are motorcyclists out there who will cheerfully denounce the Fuoco as a car with a wheel missing. Ok so the Fuoco does have three wheels but in every other way it is a bike; it leans, stoppies has handlebars...
Reborn Triumph’s 900 Trident was about as straightforward a bike as Hinckley could produce, and also happened to be one of the best of the early machines. The three-cylinder motor was distinctive, flexible and robust, the handling, though tall, better...
It might not have the traction control, Ohlins suspension and Marchesini wheels of the more expensive ‘S’, but this base-model Streetfighter, complete with its retuned 1098 superbike engine, is still one hell of a machine. Super naked machines like these...
Tests have shown that nine out of 10 road testers prefer the Kawasaki ER-6f to virtually any other middleweight machine. Bandits, Fazers, Monsters, SV650s… The Kawasaki ER-6 has trounced the lot of ‘em. A cunningly-disguised riot of fun, the Kawasaki...
The supermoto version of a rubbish bike, the D-Tracker 125 is based on the titchy KLX125 trail-style learner machine. Not a great start in life – the D-Tracker’s supermoto-style road wheels and tyres are a minor improvement, but there’s nothing...
There was a time when Yamaha’s Tenere range of bikes ruled the earth, literally. As desert and dirt blasters for Paris-Dakar like competitions, the name Tenere became synonymous with adventure and off-road riding. Then it all went quiet and BMW...
Take Triumph’s superb Sprint ST (Sport Touring) and make it more adept at touring and also pillion friendly and what do you end up with? A Triumph Sprint GT (Grand Touring), that’s what. Sounds easy enough but in practice Triumph...
The Victory Hammer 8-Ball is basically a lower-seat, cheaper specification version of the Hammer muscle bike. It still has the same gutsy motor, but instead of twin front brake discs it has a single caliper and rotor, plain black paint...
Rarely do mainstream manufacturers build a bike that doesn’t have at least one reason to buy it – but Kawasaki have pulled it off with the KLX125. It isn’t a dangerous bike, and it does perform a basic function as...
This is the world’s first production electric superbike. With two 96V Angi 95R motors housed in a KTM RC8 rolling chassis, this is an electric bike that not only really handles, it’s powerful and fast too. It’s brilliant around town...
The ‘DCT’ bit of Honda’s new VFR1200F stands for ‘Ducal Clutch Transmission’, Honda’s name for it’s all-new, clutchless, semi-automatic transmission system which is so different it warrants a review all its own, and so impressive and revolutionary it heralds the...
A bike for the kind of people who want to customise their Harley but want someone to do all the thinking and work for them. Ride it down any street and you can see people’s heads turning and mouthing the...
For 2010 they’ve made the Shiver more user friendly by lowering and narrowing the seat. They’ve also improved the sporting side of the Aprilia by giving the new bike higher and further set back pegs, slightly different bars, narrower rear...
Yamaha’s original FZS600 Fazer and later models always represented value for money workhorses – the sort of bike you could commute and have fun on anytime, anywhere. But now the XJ6 and Diversion fills the cheap and cheerful slot left...
Yee-haar. Puzzled? Don’t be. The simple truth is Ducati’s 796 - the Bologna-based company’s latest air-cooled Monster – slots nicely between the first-timer Monster 696 and the more powerful Monster 1100 and it's one of biking’s easy-to-net pleasures. It’s not...
The Street Glide tries hard to bridge the gap between full-on tourer and custom street bike. The bike is based on Harley’s spine frame touring chassis but is ‘slammed’ for a low mean look. The twin cam 96 cubic inch...
The Victory Vision Tour is so out of this world, you wouldn’t be surprised if little green men stepped out of a pannier. But underneath the outrageous size and style is a damned good big-twin tourer loaded with gadgets.
This is Victory’s exciting air/oil-cooled 1634cc chopper-style V-twin Vegas. It’s American made, but unlike a Harley Davidson has a much more modern level of performance, while still looking stylish. It might be missing the Harley badge, but it has everything else,...
The Honda XLV750 R was the first Japanese made monster trail bike to go head to head with the R80GS from BMW. Both bikes were twin cylinder machines and both had shaft drive. Unfortunately the XLV was too top heavy...
Even the most militant environmentalist is going to be disappointed with the performance and durability of the Quantya Evo1. It accelerates swiftly to its 40mph top speed and is very maneuverable in traffic but its range is poor and the...
Like the Ducati Monster 696 that arrived earlier in 2008, the bigger capacity Monster range was, after 15 years, in desperate need of an update. And the result is the best air-cooled Monster ever. Only subtle styling tweaks have been...
While the rest of the motorcycle industry struggles with inflated pricing, Suzuki is offering the 1250cc, full-faired all-rounder GSX1250F for less than £7k. That’s partly because mechanically it’s almost entirely a Bandit 1250SA – but the fairing and accessories list...
Unless you’re enduro god David Knight who prefers the extra grunt of the 530, the 450 EXC is everything you could want in an enduro bike. Light, more power than most of us know what to do with and it’s...
The standard Dorsoduro has always been impressive; much more user friendly on the road compared to the larger Ducati Hypermotard and KTM, but couldn’t match the competitions on track performance. However the new stiffer racier Factory should narrow that gap...
The Derbi Cross City is an off-road influenced learner bike that manages the three-card trick of being stylish, novice-friendly AND affordable – but it’s not perfect. What pricks the Derbi’s bubble most of all is the tall seat. For lads...
As Japanese customs go, Honda’s Fury is arguably the best Harley-Davidson clone to date. Its looks are radical for a Japanese custom, majoring more on a raked-out chopper design than a straightforward custom or cruiser, and Honda America’s design team...
There wasn’t much wrong with the old Versys, it just needed a few minor faults addressing which Kawasaki have done. They have reduced the engine vibration which was a major fault and improved the bike cosmetically, whilst adding more extras...
The all-new Ducati Multistrada 1200 S looks set to redefine not just the ‘adventure bike’ or ‘tall-rounder’ class, but motorcycling in general. The base package (detuned 1198 V-twin, chassis bristling with Ohlins and Brembo, loads of equipment) is good enough...
The Royal Enfield Bullet Woodsman EFI is a modern take on a bike produced by the 1950’s USA importer, who turned Bullets in to scramblers and branded them as Indian Woodsman. The 2010 bike shares a name and basic layout,...
One of the laziest new bike developments for 2010, the Yamaha XJ6 Diversion F is simply a standard Diversion with a full fairing and ABS. It’s a similarly easy to ride all-rounder that’s practical as a day-to-day bike, but it’s...
When you hear the spec of the Derbi GP1 250 Racing scooter it’s easier to think of a proper motorcycle rather than a funky-looking twist-and-go scooter. It’s got radial brakes, earlier versions had a single rear shock and it even...
MV’s new-generation F4 is still an unashamed racing bike with lights, but the Italian firm have smoothed out all the old rough edges and created a thoroughly usable superbike for the road. It’s 10kg lighter too. It’s still not as...
This is the middle capacity in the GP-1 Derbi range and when you hear the spec of the Derbi GP1 125 Racing scooter it’s easier to think of a proper motorcycle rather than a funky-looking twist-and-go scooter. It’s got radial...
Moto Hispania is a Spanish company with a reputation for quality at a price, which sums up the RX125R to a Tee. The newcomer is a stylish, sports learner 125 with a Yamaha-alike four-stroke engine. It’s competitively priced, with sports...
The Yamaha FZR400 was always over-shadowed by the class-leading Hondas, both the CBR and V4 NC30 and NC35s, and, on track, was a little behind Kawasaki’s ZXR400 for sheer speed. However, the rev-happy Yamaha FZR400RR attracted the hooligans by the...
The Honda VFR400R, or NC30 as it’s commonly known, is effectively a 400cc version of the iconic VFR750R (RC30) and as such is a cheaper alternative to the RVF400R which succeeded it in 1994. It has excellent handling, still looks...
The world’s biggest monster traillie is a ridiculous concept that on paper at least shouldn’t work at all. It weighs 223kg, the suspension is three inches taller than the standard R1200GS and with a 33-litre tank full of fuel you...
A brilliant touring bike as long as you like it in grey. The RT gets a new fairing, new clocks and an all new 110bhp twin-cam engine which gives it just enough grunt to make it entertaining and sit at...
This is Harley’s all-singing all-dancing, top-of-the-range tourer. In standard trim it’s fully-loaded with touring accessories that are only available as optional extras on lower-spec Electra Glides. It also has a larger capacity engine. The major problem with this bike is...
Kawasaki’s KR-1S was the quickest mass-produced, 250 two-stroke ever (139mph being recorded in a 1990 speed test), being quicker than both Suzuki’s RGV and even Aprilia’s later (but RGV-powered) RS250. On the downside it came with slightly questionable reliability and...
Yamaha’s funky race replica two-stroke scooter is nippy, agile and lots of fun, although the single seat limits pillion options. It’s one of the best looking scooters around and can be seen tearing up city streets as well as being...
Yamaha’s XT125X is Yamaha’s learner-friendly road going supermoto. The 125cc four-stroke machine is a scaled down version of the XT660X and has the same supermoto styling cues, like a big single front disc brake, aggressive styling, 17” wheels and wide...
Yamaha’s YP 250R X-Max is a middleweight twist-and-go ‘maxi-scooter’. It has all the practicalities of a conventional scooter with a bit more oomph for longer journeys and decent-sized wheels and tyres for cornering confidence.
The Honda CB400 Super Four, like most 400cc grey imports, is a junior, Japan-only derivative of a larger model, in this case the CB1000 ‘Big One’. As such it’s a chunky, good-looking, well-equipped roadster that’s both novice-friendly, reasonably versatile and...
Suzuki’s GSX-R400 is easily mistakable for its larger brother the 750 with its distinctive slingshot looks and aluminum frame. Not as sought after as the other Japanese 400cc imports, but that keep prices low and means you can grab a...
Honda’s chunky little 50cc Zoomer is a weird cross between a twist-and-go scooter, a Tonka toy and a stripped-bare army Jeep. It’s easy to ride, nippy and stylish. Honda claim low emissions, it has lots of bungee hooks and there’s...
Honda’s RVF400 was a pin-up race replica that had sports bike fans dribbling down their paddock jackets in the mid-nineties. The trouble was that Honda never officially brought the NC35 (its ‘factory’ code name) into the UK, which was a...
Italian manufacture Italjet are best known for their futuristic-looking Dragster scooter, which came into the UK from 1998-2003. With funky styling, a Ducati-type steel trellis frame and hub centre steering the Dragster has developed a cult following, and spawned dedicated...
Derbi’s Terra Adventure 125 is a fantastic looking machine which bears more than a passing resemblance to the best selling BMW GS – albeit in a learner legal package. If you’re looking for adventure on a budget or just a...
This is the naked version of Derbi’s sexy GPR 50 race replica, officially brought into the UK from 2004-2009. The Spanish firm are now part of the massive Piaggio group, which includes Piaggio, Vespa, Aprilia, Gilera and Derbi. It’s the...
The GTS 300 Super is Vespa’s biggest scooter to date and blends classic Vespa style with bang-up-to-date performance, refinement and sophistication. It’s up to more than outings across cities and suburbia: get the extra luggage, load it up and it’ll...
When it comes to scooters, there’s none more iconic and successful than the Peugeot Speedfight. The French runabout has been around for an impressive 12 years selling a staggering half a million units around the world during that time. For...
The Aprilia SportCity Cube is a totally restyled version of the Sportcity 250ie chassis fitted with a bored and stroked Piaggio Quasar engine, taking it to 278cc. It may seem like 300cc is an odd choice of capacity, but it...
Back in the late 1980s and early 90s the two-stroke RGV250 was the closest thing you could get to a Grand Prix bike on the road. If you were lucky enough to own what we regard as the best RGV250:...
The Royal Enfield Trials EFI is rubbish and brilliant at the same time. Rubbish because it’s slow, under-braked and ill-handling – but brilliant because it offers a unique, charming, easy-going ride you won’t get with any other bike less than...
Revived Norton’s new Commando 961 SE is a ‘feel good’ bike par excellence. It gives riding and owning pleasure by the skip-load and is a machine you’ll park up and spend hours admiring in the garage with a cuppa. Yes,...
The original Kawasaki ER-6f was universally acclaimed by MCN’s road testers and the revised ER sees the love affair continue. It’s a rare package of fun, practicality and affordability, which is great for novices and experienced riders alike. Its sporty, Ninja...
Ducati describe the new Hypermotoard as an evolution of the radical original bike and the SP is race ready version for the track. Both bikes share the same now single spark V-Twin engine which is 5kg lighter than the previous...
BMW’s S1000RR is the German company’s first venture into modern superbike territory and what a serious effort it is. Although it shares similar technology to the competition (GSX-R1000, Fireblade, ZX-10R etc) of dohc, 16-valves, stacked gearbox and so on, the...
The Buell XB9SX is an oddity. What you get is an old-school v-twin in a high-tech chassis, all wrapped up in a mad-max style urban scrambler. On paper it makes very little sense – a modern naked middleweight out-performs it...
The 2010 Z1000 is the most impressive sports naked ever to roll out of Japan. It has excellent performance, handling and is super-stylish to boot. It’s less intimidating and easier to ride than a fire-breathing European super naked too. Compared...
This is the basic Aprilia SR 50, called the SR 50 Street. There’s also a higher-spec SR 50 R and SR 50 R Factory. With lots of styling cues taken from Aprilia’s fire-breathing superbikes, this 50cc scooter gives Italian style...
Harley’s cruiser V-Rod has been about since 2001, and the new Muscle is… is just another styling exercise to bolster what is arguably a tired range. The Muscle is essentially a reworked V-Rod with design touches (muscular, flowing lines) to...
SMC is the abbreviation of Southern Motorcycles, an American company delivering affordable and reliable intermediate off-road-biased trail bikes and full-on competition. Although the bikes are off American design, for cost reasons they are manufactured in China. The SMC YB150 (150cc)...
The idea behind the Yamaha YBR125 Custom is dead simple: take the straightforward YBR125 commuter, customize it a bit with high bars, more chrome and a lower seat, bump up the price a tad, and there you go, a pointlessly...
Based on the 2009 XR1200, the XR1200X is slightly more sports biased than the sports biased XR1200. Confused? Don’t be. All you have to think about is the X-model has vastly improved, multi-adjustable suspension that makes a difference when riding...
Even though the bike tested was a pre-production unit – virtually finished bar the paintwork and decals – this bigger capacity 690 Duke is altogether a different machine than non-R model 690 Duke (654cc). The extra 36cc (KTM won’t confirm...
Aprilia’s RSV4R is a more affordable version of the all-singing, all-dancing RSV4 Factory. The engine is basically the same, without some of the Factory’s advanced electronics, but the chassis parts are slightly lower-spec. Despite this it’s still a beautifully-balanced technology-packed...
Strictly speaking, the BROS 400 is heavy, underpowered and outdated. But the cheap grey imports are surprisingly nice to ride – they’re well balanced, steer well and the engine is flexible, torquey and characterful given its 33bhp output. That also makes...
Kawasaki has given the GTR a significant upgrade, added to the comfort of the original model with a larger screen and include heated grips as standard. But more interestingly they’ve improved the safety of their flagship tourer with new ABS...
The new VFR is a good bike – but it’s not a great one. And after all the hype and expectation (Honda themselves are pumping it up as “the Ultimate Road Sports Motorcycle” and it’s simply not) that is not...
Harley’s Wide Glide dates back to the seventies. The new for 2010 bike retains the old-school low-rider looks of long, raked and wide-spaced forks (hence the name Wide Glide), skinny front wheel and minimalist bulk. But what makes the new...
Yamaha’s all-new WR125X has everything it needs to be the class leading learner supermoto. It’s great looking, well-equipped, has a great new engine, is solidly built and is great fun to ride. The Yamaha WR125X is a serious, substantial piece...
Kawasaki has revived a dead class of motorcycle – the cheap and cheerful trail bike. Soft power, a novice friendly chassis and low running costs are completely at odds with the hardcore enduro styling. It’s as happy getting back and...
Ducati’s entry-level 803cc Hypermotard 796 is a stormer of a machine. It’s 12kg lighter and its seat is 20mm lower than the Hypermotard 1100, which makes it easier to ride and in the real world, and every bit as fast...
MV’s new range-topping Brutale 1090RR, the first of the new-generation of machines built under Harley Davidson ownership, might not look very different to the old one, but it’s a revelation. It’s 85% new, boasts a dual power map, an eight-stage...
Replacing the old Brutale 989R, the new 139bhp 990R has a sleeved-down version of the new 1090RR engine. It’s slightly lower spec, so has non-adjustable footpegs, more durable Pirelli Diablo Rosso tyres (not Dunlop Qualifier RRs), forged aluminium wheels, no...
From the café racer styling to the air-cooled India-built single-cylinder engine, the Enfield clubman is soaked with nostalgia. Even the addition of modern-day fuel injection, front disc brake and the new 5-speed unit construction engine fails to dent the projected...
Triumph’s decision to revamp the original Rocket III into a streetfighter is an interesting one. Why? Because it hardly fits the bill – stripped version of a sports bike with oddball looks – because of its custom-biased specs of long...
If your parents have a fair old wedge to chuck on your first bike, 125SM ownership is not only guaranteed to put a ruddy big smile on your face, but also pull the girls outside the local KFC. Nothing in...
Rieju’s new Marathon 125 supermoto is powered by the same engine you’ll find in Yamaha’s YZF-R125 and WR125 range, albeit fitted with a 30mm Keihin carb instead of fuel injection. Costing £3199 this Spanish-made machine is actually £400 cheaper than...
You might recognise the name Confederate. MCN featured the original version of the Hellcat in 1998 and you may also remember that their New Orleans factory was flattened in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. They’re back in business now, still building...
