for long-term testing. It's a hell of a perk of the job. So, faced with new GSX-R1000s, R1s, ZX-6Rs, Z1000s, CBR600RRs, what did I choose? Triumph's Tiger 1050. Why? I have finally had my fill (for the time being at least) of 'owning' sports bikes

available on Aprilia's RSV4, Ducati's Panigale, Yamaha's R1 and for me, the best setup is on Kawasaki's ZX-10R. These systems are so subtle you can barely feel them working. If what's on the old S1000RR is a Super Nintendo, then the new crop are like a Play

.Compared to its peers, the Honda has a lack of bottom end compared to the R1 and GSX-R1000 of the day, but the ’Blade kicks in at around 6000rpm, beating even the 9R for torque before hitting around 140bhp at the back wheel at 11,00rpm (954cc we’re talking about

have a Fazer available for test rides, customers don't seem to have much of a problem with it, which I can't understand because it really is poor. Niall reckoned it ruined the whole bike. The old R1, which the Fazer takes its motor from, fuels perfectly

it gets in the way of a good ride; jack up the preload to keep 'em off the ground and the bike's too skittish on its too-stiff springs. The motor lacks grunt low down because the crank's too heavy - a deliberate dumbing down of a once proud 2004 R1 motor

the crowd and make an obvious statement about the person who’s riding it. The superbike mob have virtually popularized themselves off the face off Britain’s roads by now. You see so many R1s, ZX-Rs and the rest on the roads today that you don’t even notice

would now get more of a slap than a tickle with his cheesy old lines, so the FJR isn't the outright force of firepower it's forefathers were once considered.Nope, that job falls to your R1s and the like these days. It's a lazier deal than

of instructing I’m always keen to have a sports bike as a longtermer but I found last year I had to dig deep on my R6 if I ever got someone on a Blade or an R1 with some pace. Hopefully the 750 will give me the best of both worlds with its 600 chassis and extra

the Scorpions, which after 7,000 miles were pretty much dead as well.When I arrived at the track, I was confronted by a sea of Blades and R1s, and I felt a little out of place on my big green touring machine. But once we got going, I had a really good time

in '96 when the GSX-R750WT came out as the hooligan to have, and then a further slump in '98 as the R1 made its entrance. But I never forgot the Blade. I watched slightly aghast as she porked out a bit, then had my skirt blown up again as she did