Ben Cope

Suzuki's V-Strom never hit the big time but it's been a solid seller, loved by owners. But is it any good on a blast to France?

KTM's first 950 Adventure won over a horde of fans when it first hit the market with rave reviews. So what's it like on a blast to France?

Triumph's trusty Tiger is comfortable, reliable and good fun to ride. But does it fall short anywhere? We find out

BMW's all-conquering flat twin reviewed and rated on a French thrash

If you like adventure bikes and you want that air-cooled Harley character, then your choice is pretty limited. Enter the Buell Ulysses

Suzuki's V-Strom really does have something to offer riders with a wide range of requirements. On top of its versatility, it's great fun

Easy going and ticks all the boxes for Commuters and inexperienced riders, but if you've been around bikes for a bit it's charms pall quickly.

Alex Hearn bought this Ducati Sport Classic to review with his own money. But he wouldn't be so crass as to mention that

IT’S TAKEN A while to get round to it but Honda has finally come up with a solution to the issues affecting the VFR800’s variable valve VTEC.

A Ducati with 50 per cent reduced maintenance costs? What have they done? Chopped off one of the cylinders? A confused Jon Urry investigates

Clear road, tuck in behind the screen and pin it. The speedo reads up to 280kph, but there’s an unmarked segment beyond that, where ‘300’ should be but isn’t. The needle swings up to and a millimetre or two beyond the phantom ‘300’ (186mph in English) with indecent haste; the tacho nudges past 11,000rpm and refuses to go further.

Torque-laden tourer with the benefit of maintenance-free shaft drive

IT WAS FAIR to say this was not the most glamorous of launches. There was no hot and cold running champagne, no business class flight to a far-flung land, and nor was there anyone offering me gifts and trinketry at every available opportunity.

WHEN TWO TESTED an early prototype of the Moto Morini Corsaro a few issues ago it impressed, but was by no means perfect. Despite beautiful styling, the old Italian bugbear of imprecise fuel injection reared its ugly head, and the exhaust was positioned so the collector box scraped the ground without much effort.

Kawasaki prefers not to mess around. Other manufacturers might make lighter bikes, prettier bikes, or bikes that are easier to ride, but Kawasaki - quite rightly - sticks two fingers up at such sentimental softness and consistently delivers red-blooded motorcycles with more power and higher top speeds than anyone else.

It’s increasingly difficult for manufacturers to come up with really individual bikes. Especially big bike manufacturers. One designer decides underseat exhausts are the way forward for example, and suddenly so do all the others. But CCM is a company more able to plough its own furrow.

The Ducati Monster 695 (2006-2008) fills a niche for a more powerful but well-priced bike that retains the legendary design touches of the marque

No two ways about it, Ducati’s Sport 1000 isn’t a comfy bike. It stretches you out like a rack and breaks both your wrists at anything less than 70mph with harsh suspension and aggressive clip-ons.

The latest incarnation of the Monster gets a 999 130bhp engine and a chassis to match any superbike. Wide bars, wide attitude, wide grin

Thirty-three years in the planning and Ducati's Sportclassics are finally here. But you'd better be quick if you want one

Too fast, too furious? Niall Mackenzie takes a walk on the wild side onboard Aprilia's Tuono 1000R