Ben Cope

These sell very well and the handling is fine for most uses. If you like the look of it, then buy one – you won’t be disappointed

A learner legal machine with more than a nod to cruiser styling, the Marauder is a good choice for the money.

A capable bike that was worthy of its bad-boy image, back in the day.

A sports-tourer that handles well, but is too slow to be taken seriously

Awsome fun to ride despite the questionable bug-eyed looks

Retro racer based on Eddie Lawson's KZ1000 on which he took 2 AMA titles

Single seat version of standard 748 with lighter frame, titanium rods, and steel brake lines

Sounds great, quirky looks, poor build quality lets it down

Tuneable 1200 motor in a fine handling chassis makes the most of the torque

About as sexy as it gets under 50cc

The first place to look for 50cc sportsbike cool

A good, no frills honest learner machine

Daytona 750 without the fairing. Over-weight and under-powered

Not as much fun as the 900, not as good value as the 600

Lovely road bike. Big range, big motor, eye-bulging brakes. Good value

TZR looking single cylinder race bike with Deltabox chassis and 1/2 fairing

Updated version of Sport model with carbon exhausts and front guard

Essentially the same as the S1 Lightning with a top fairing fitted

It was an attempt to cash in on the success of European-style sports twins; introduced to Europe in 1996 the TRX850 sold steadily.

Obviously Kawasaki UK didn't have one, it being a deleted model and all, but as I trawled my contact book's worth of friendly dealers across the country, I found the same story everywhere. "Can't get 'em for love or money right now" or even a burst of laughter followed by a blunt "you've got three hopes, mate..."

Try a Boxer engined bike first, especially the new R1200RT

The once bad boy on the block has lost its edge to younger upstarts like the Fazer Thou, but the big Bandit is still the boss to many