The start of the 1980s saw the Japanese firms abandon the horsepower race that culminated in the Kawasaki Z1300 six. Air-cooled engines and twin shocks still dominated, and most fairings came from aftermarket firms such as Polaris and Vetter. But fourvalve heads were on their way...

2001Harley-Davidson V-Rod Pasadena, CaliforniaIn 24 years of attending launches I've only ever been on one at which the world's press gathered with no clue to what the bike looked like. And when Bill Davidson revealed the V-Rod two dozen jaws hit the floor. At Irwindale drag stri...

1995 began messily with mass-murderer Fred West dead in his jail cell and thousands killed in the Kobe earthquake that also wrecked Kawasaki’s factory. But it was a great year for motorcycling. New bikes included Ducati’s 748SP and Suzuki’s genre-defining Bandit 600, while Foggy’...

If you’re old enough to remember 1977 it might not seem that long ago: Elvis died, Microsoft was founded, and the Space Shuttle flew into action. But the bike world was very different. Laverda’s Jota ruled the roads, Sheene was the world’s best rider, and Suzuki and Yamaha launch...

1984George Orwell’s novel 1984 with its predictions of a State watched over by Big Brother made some motorcyclists twitchy as the big year approached. But we needn’t have worried. GATSO cameras hadn’t arrived yet, and 1984 turned out to be arguably the greatest ever for bikes. A ...

High-performance bikes looked doomed in ’93, as EU politicians seemed set to implement a 100bhp limit across Europe. “Enjoy full power now because strangulation seems inevitable,” warned one mag, even though Brit market bikes were already restricted to 125bhp under an importers’ ...

IT'S MISERABLE here today! Started off with bright sunshine, then the heavens opened. Oh well. We’ve just been riding the smaller Hypermotard on the road, no track action today. Probably just as well given the weather. Engine’s great, much punchier than the 696 which is a bit gut...

VETERAN ROAD TESTER Roland Brown has just returned from his first ride aboard the 2010 Kawasaki Z1000 and here are his first impressions:"It's seriously quick. With 138bhp tugging at at your right hand, the bike's blindingly fast. Sportsbike quick

Bimota's new DB7 ... powered by a Ducati 1098 lumpYOU'RE LOOKING at the new Bimota DB7 - a Ducati 1098-powered superbike, which the company hope will secure their future in the high-end sportsbike market.The liquid-cooled Testastretta Evoluzione engine fitted with a new injection...

1981Back in ’81 most superbikes were just as they had been for more than a decade: big, naked air-cooled fours with high bars and twin shocks. We loved them that way too, of course, despite the wobbles and the neck ache. Revolution was in the air, with fairings, liquid-cooling an...