as part of an ongoing process of development. Can't say I noticed the difference, but the Tuono felt superbly well sorted and ballistically fast.Chassis performance is outstanding by any standards, too. On a fast road or track you'd lose out slightly to a

and can be customised. The result is the Tricker. It went on sale in Japan last year, and now it's available elsewhere - though not just yet in Britain.Power comes from an air-cooled, 249cc single-cylinder engine making a modest 19bhp at 7500rpm. With 35mm

Japanese bikes don't come much more Italian than the revamped Hornet 600. Despite the name on its tank, the Hornet was shaped by Honda's European design studio in Italy, and built at the factory in Atessa. Given Italian sales were largely

Carolina, heading for the famously twisty and spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway. The Yam's kicked-out steering geometry and almost 300 kilos (fuelled-up) meant it needed a fair bit of effort in tight turns. But once onto the main road, the Star was very stable

is building.And it so happens that '12' is Claudio Castiglioni's lucky number. Yep, this is the Prez's personal bike. Better not do anything stupid...There was no doubt about who would end up with the very first off the production line. Massimo Tamburini

Long hailed as one of the gorgeous motorcycles ever, MV's F4 family of bikes has suffered from a lack of cc when compared to the competition with its capacity of only 749cc. The F41000s is here to make amends.I'm tonking along near-empty roads

from being a factory MotoGP missile like Valentino's M1, incorporates a number of modifications designed to make it faster and more exciting to ride.The Yamaha flicks into the tight and tricky right turn with notable ease, and when I wind open

and ballistically fast.Chassis performance is outstanding by any standards, too. On a fast road or track you'd lose out slightly to a Mille R due to inferior aerodynamics. But on the tight mountain roads of Tuscany, where Aprilia launched the Tuono, the leverage

was a light, sweet-handling sports bike with a good rider on board. But when you’re giving away more than 50bhp to the opposition, you’ve got a problem — whether you’re riding round Misano or trying to sell expensive superbikes in a showroom.Bimota boss

midrange punch, the extra cubes mean it has lost some of the 750's smoothness and high-revving charm. The slight high-frequency tingle through the bars wasn't a problem on my test but would combine with the exposed riding position to make motorway trips a