are Michelin’s Pilot Power 2CT and Pilot Road 3; other popular choices Pirelli’s AngelST and Diablo Rosso Corsa, and Continental’s ContiMotion andSport Attack.Fuel economyWith their big, inviting engines, Z1000s seem to be slightly thirsty machines, with 28

I still count myself as a very lucky man. Yes, I'm having to work for a living now that I've stopped racing, but occasionally the work is almost as good as the racing used to be (and without the nerves - I can stray more than 20 feet from a toilet

to provide a secondhand, previous generation counterpoint to our box-fresh 2009 RSV-R, the yellow bike’s brand new Pirellis need scrubbing-in and, following the shift to British summertime, there’s sunshine on the Aprilia’s sparkling yellow paint as I slip

there with Pirelli Supercorsas on a Ducati 998 and Bridgestone’s control slick on Yamaha’s MotoGP M1. Great on tarmac, the Siracs manage to find grip on the most unlikely off-road surfaces too, from Lincolnshire mud to Saharan sand.Yamaha launched the Tenere

of it the GT1000 looks like a bike that could be all style and no substance. The aesthetics of the Ducati are spot on and a lot of work has gone into making it look right. The Pirelli tyres are a modern compound with a special retro tread pattern cut into them

of the Hinckley firm’s total sales. Nearly two and a half years later, it remains a strong seller and has a loyal fan following.The 800 is the more road-oriented model with a 19-inch front tyre on a cast alloy wheel, while the XC has an off-road bias and sports a

miles.TyresStreet Triples roll off the assembly lines wearing Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsas, which are retained on 42% of respondents’ bikes, along with the odd Strada or Supercorsa. The most common aftermarket tyres fitted are Michelin (Pilot Road 2

to see rearsets, loud cans and tinted screens as you are sensible exhaust systems and luggage racks.15. Tyres: Sport/touring tyres rule here. Bridgestone BT021s remain popular, alongside Michelin Pilot Road and Pirelli Diablo Stradas. Expect to pay around

hesitation on the throttle. Cleaning the carb heater’s coolant filter helps, as does using Silkolene Pro FST (around £9 a litre), which stopswater vapour freezing in the carburettors.SUSPENSIONBlessed with a great front end, the 7R has always been a precise

to the opposition, the FireBlade cannot be accused of being down on real-world power. What it does have it uses well for the road. One negative point here is the fact that some machines – both feel at low rpm, while others have a strange ‘buzziness’ at 5-7000rpm